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31+ PC Steps That Made Me Appreciate Apple

I had a conversation with my mum-in-law over the holidays. By her own admission, she doesn't know a lot about computers (yet, she still has some rather strong opinions about them -- love you, Mum!) She asked me what, specifically, made Apple products better than her PC.

After I spouted off some well-worn advantages of Apple vs. PC (reliability, closed-system, easy to sync, user-friendly), she came back with, "I don't have any problems with my PC. So why would I want an Apple - and pay more for the same thing?"

The conversation took a few turns from there, but the fact that I was not able to effectively communicate why I felt Apple was a wonderful product was disconcerting. Sometimes, it’s the little things that make a world of difference and lead you into appreciating all the work and thought that goes into a well-designed product. A little thing like installing a font…

Adding A Font: The 31+ PC Steps That Made Me Appreciate Apple.

Adding a font should be easy. I’ve done it countless times on my Mac. I…

1. download the font from the site, [click]
2. the computer displays and allows you to open up the downloaded font zip file [another click] 
3. The computer asks you if you want it placed in the Fonts folder. I click Yes [a third click].
4. Done.

That’s less than a minute, including download time.

I have a PC as well. It is still running System 7 (but then most PC users are, thanks to a poorly timed, misunderstood, yet well-intentioned Microsoft system 8 release). Now I’ll follow the path I took…

1. I download a new font from a website. I wait. Nothing happens.
2. Sooo… I guess I will look for the font file in the download folder of my browser. (How do I know enough to do this? I’ve been through much problem-solving in the past for my PC.)
3. I locate it in Chrome’s download folder.
4. I double-click and see two types of font formats: one TrueType, one OpenType font. Which do I use? I forget.
5. I have no recommendations from the computer. I decided it’s safer to install both. I’ll let the computer sort it out.

[That’s multiple clicks, some searching and pondering time.]

What next? Still no advice from the computer.

6. I decide that I may have to drag the font file into the Font folder. This entails finding said folder.
7. First I look in C://system. No font folder.
8. Then I look in C://Program files/Adobe and find a font folder. But it’s not THE FONT folder, it’s for Adobe. Even though it’s for an Adobe program, I’m dubious.
9. I look again and find a fonts folder under C://Windows. This should be the correct Fonts folder, right? [More clicks, more knowledge needed about where to look and which font folder is the right one.]

10. I drag the fonts in the Fonts folder. Nothing happens. No confirmation.
11. So I scroll through all the fonts in the huge Fonts folder – including the never-used Korean, Chinese and Cyrillic fonts. It’s not there. I try dragging again.
12. After multiple tries, I decide I don’t want to be that guy that never asks for directions, so I decide a blog might help.
13. I now return to my browser, and search Google for an answer.
14. -16. After several questionable blogs, I find one that looks reputable. ‘How does a site look reputable?’, I wonder. Thoughts wander. OYI. Just shut up, brain and read.

17. The blog says I am supposed to go through a font system utility in System Preferences.


18. I go there and use the Font Installer.

It doesn’t even recognize my font as a font and won’t add them. Why not?

19-24. More reading blogs…

25. Suddenly… an idea. Not from a blog, but from experience. The files were downloaded as a ZIP file. Are they still Zipped? They don’t look Zipped. They’re not even looking particularly compressed. OK, again with the shut up, brain. I need to decompress the files… maybe?
26. So I search on my computer for a decompression program. Again, I must have learned how to do this in the past at some point.
27. I open the program and examine my files. Yep, they are still zipped.
28. I unzip.
29. I wait. Nothing else happens.
30. Now I bet I have to go back to the Font Utility and add them.
31. I have to add them twice because there is no confirmation other than the “You’ve already added this to your folder. Do you really want to do it again?” message. Fine. Make me feel stupid.

Finally, after 31+ separate actions, I have it figured out. I should feel like a champion  -- rounding up the bad guys, using my experience and smarts to create my own law and order amidst the chaos of the PC/Internet Wild West. Computers can give you that buzz. I know it well.

Nope. This time I just felt mad. Mad at a computer that which should have known that a ZIP file needs to be unzipped and should have done it for me. And when unzipped, the computer should recognize the file as a font and ask me if that’s where it should go.

That’s what an Apple computer does.

Being an open system, where anyone can build programs means that Microsoft saves R&D costs upfront. That also means cheaper price for the user. Apple took another approach and closed its system. Programs that work on Apple products have to go through a rigorous testing, design, and an application process to make sure that it will work smoothly on a Mac/iPad/iPhone. If not, Apple simply doesn’t allow it. Apple took the extra time and R&D to make the computer do the work for you so you can save 31+ actions in wondering, frustration, and even more time in writing this blog to tell the story! Compound that frustration for more PC problems over the life of your computer. How much is your time is worth? The price of an Apple?

This is not to say that Apple computers are perfect. They're not, but they have a great philosophy. As Bud Tribble of Apple has said that Apple tries to adapt the computer to the human being, rather than the other way around of creating the computer and allowing the human to figure it out. By adapting to humans, Apple provides good experiences.

Not everyone will have the appreciation for a closed system. Some people love dissecting HOW to do things on computers. If you love the thrill of figuring things out for yourself, go for a PC. But sometimes it’s nice to remember that computers are just tools for work, fun and creativity. Not an end in themselves. And sometimes the smallest of interactions can tell you so much about a product, philosophy and the makings of a good experience.

Mum, hopefully this blog finds you well and not struggling with your PC.

As always,

love you, Mum!

Masking Social Security Numbers and Other Toxic Fields - Is It a Good Thing for Users?

I'm a lead interaction designer working in a large, Fortune 500 company. Recently, a project dealing with masking form fields came across my virtual desktop. It seems that IT at my company desperately wants to desperately tighten security measures. So they have started an initiative to mask what are labelled as "toxic" form fields. I had to ask myself, "Wow, when did I last think of my date of birth as being a "toxic" field?" Then I remembered how old I was and considered there may be something to this. But being in the User Experience field, I need to ask, "Is it a good idea for the user?"

Masking is a technique by which the data is blocked from the user's view point, but not from the data that's transmitted. So masking prevents "shoulder surfing" - someone looking over your shoulder while you key in your date of birth, Social Security number or account number.

So here's the scenario. I go to sign up for an account at the insurance company of my choosing. As I key in names and numbers, certain fields show up as bullets. You know, those black round dots. I didn't ask for them, they just appeared when I tried to key in my SSN.

Q: Did I key it in correctly?
A: I don't know - I can't tell.

Q: Now that after I've entered my SSN, it's asking me to enter it again -- and the second time I have to key it in, it's all bullets, too. Did I enter that correctly?
A: About as correctly as I entered the first one -- I guess.

Q: Do I feel more safe and secure? 
A: Maybe?? No, not really. I feel more annoyed.

I do this every day when I enter my passwords. But here it just feels... odd. Why? Here are a few points to consider before masking these supposed toxicities.

1. Instant masking can frustrate users and cause errors. It prevents shoulder surfing in public areas, but is useless when the user is alone. Worse than being useless, it hinders users from seeing what they have keyed in - effectively placing a blindfold on the user. There are movements within the Usability field to eliminate masking altogether.

http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1653

http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/10/26/password-masking-hurt-signup-form/

2. Keying in all numbers is not as easy as keying in passwords. Passwords are memorized, short and contain mostly letters - which most people can do without looking at the keyboard. Dates, account numbers and SSNs are NOT keyed in often and can cause users more errors in typing. A good user experience seeks to prevent errors before they happen.  That's Jakob Nielsen, if you're interested. 

3. A quick overview of Chase.com, Nationwide.com, Huntington.com and Schwab.com reveals that NO ONE is using masking in form sign-up information and no one is providing a verification field for SSNs or date of birth fields. If none of the leading banks, insurance companies or investment firms are doing it, there might be a good reason for it. 

4. You'll make the user repeat himself in a verification field. Having to key in everything twice never sets well with users. And forcing them to do it blind - twice - is a super bad idea. It's another chance to make a typo on top of working blind in the first field. And which field - the first or second - has been mistyped? The mere fact that you will need to add a verification field for a masked input field is like screaming "We know this is a bad idea, but we're going to do it anyway!"

5. Masking can cost users and companies time and money. If the user has to bother an online specialist to get a password back, both the user and the company pay. Leaving the password field unmasked means users can easily correct their errors. See Jakob Nielson's article on password masking. 

So to answer my own question, masking features is bad for both users and companies. Of course, some people may try to sign up for online sites in public places. But most of us do that sort of thing in a trusted area, anyway. As a user, I'm more worried about the guy who is downloading my data straight from the server. Masking doesn't help with a person's security as much as make a few people feel more secure -- if they are banking at Panera. By the way, that's a bad idea, too. 

Solutions:
OK, so what if your company wants to do it regardless of your dire warnings? I was in that situation. I wasn't holding the purse strings nor did I have enough influence to make the project die. What then?? I came up with three solutions. Let me know if you come up with more. 

1. If the SSN field must be masked, allow the user to see all numbers while keying it in and then mask the number AFTER the user tabs to another field. That way the user gets a good look at it before it's masked. It also eliminates the need for a verification field. 

2. Allow the user to select a check box or button that would show the number instead of masking it. This is a second-class solution because the user is forced into take an extra step to be able to see what s/he has keyed in. 

3. Showing the number for a split second works well on all mobile devices, but is less accepted for computer browsers. My IT friends tell me it's not a reliable solution for computers. But if you're on a mobile device, you're set. 

Let me know if you have other ideas!