Prelim Bloopers




Is Technology Wonderful or ... ?


The latest developments in computing hardware and software continue to produce miraculous functionality. But it could be even better if mistakes or misguided directions in design and implementation were fixed. Technology Bloopers is a forum for calling these mistakes to the attention of the companies and individuals making them, and asking that they be fixed. We'll not only point them out, but try to point out paths to improvement.

Technology itself does not create bloopers. They are the result of two kinds of human error. The first kind is "tops down", i.e. organizational or institutional. It is the failure to create logical and reasonable policies and procedures. This creates a lot of opportunities that you could call "accidents going someplace to happen".

The second kind of human errors is "bottoms up", namely the failure to understand human behavior and design the technology to deal with this behavior. Humans are creatures of habit, error-prone, sometimes lazy, etc., and these characteristics should be taken into account in designing the technology.