David platt why software

What is the most important thing to the average computer user? They want their machine to "just work". Why does Google know how to correctly translate a United Parcel Service tracking number, while the actual UPS website requires multiple entries just to get to the point where the tracking number can be entered? He discusses his findings with Phil, Matt, and Scott. Platt believes that much of the problem is related to poor design, with not enough consideration for the end user.

For example, he considers open source to be software written for other programmers, of little interest to the typical computer user. He also believes that blaming a particular operating system does little to solve the problem.

There's no other good way to say it. It's unsafe, allowing criminal programs to creep through the Internet wires into our very bedrooms. It's unreliable, crashing when we need it most, wiping out hours or days of work with no way to get it back. And it's hard to use, requiring large amounts of head-banging to figure out the simplest operations. It's no secret that software sucks. You know that from personal experience, whether you use computers for work or personal tasks.

In this book, programming insider David Platt explains why that's the case and, more importantly, why it doesn't have to be that way. And he explains it in plain, jargon-free English that's a joy to read, using real-world examples with which you're already familiar. In the end, he suggests what you, as a typical user, without a technical background, can do about this sad state of our software how you, as an informed consumer, don't have to take the abuse that bad software dishes out.

As you might expect from the book's title, Dave's expose is laced with humor sometimes outrageous, but always dead on. You'll laugh out loud as you recall incidents with your own software that made you cry. You'll slap your thigh with the same hand that so often pounded your computer desk and wished it was a bad programmer's face.

But Dave hasn't written this book just for laughs. He's written it to give long-overdue voice to your own discovery that software does, indeed, suck, but it shouldn't. Buy 2. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of Why Software Sucks Jan 01, Linda Walters rated it it was amazing Shelves: technical , non-fiction. Software is written by people who, by the very nature of their profession, do not think like most other people. The result is that while the ways in which their programs work may make perfect sense to them, they may make little or no sense to their non-programmer users.

This is core of the problem with software that Platt, an acknowledged expert on Microsoft products, exposes. The book is mainly aimed at other software developer to try to get them to mend their ways, but it also makes good reading for the end-user of software.

The end-user can gain some insights into the ways that software is developed and the thinking of programmers that might help them to make sense of the software that they have to use. Yes, most software does suck - from an end-user's point of view - and if every software developer read this book, it would suck much less.

May 10, Martyn Lovell rated it it was ok. He does a decent and sometimes witty job of both identifying problems with the software in a witty and engaging way.

He also includes some material on software creators, culture, Microsoft and even technical conferences -- though much of this feels like filler somewhat away from the book's core mission. Many of the basic flaws described in the book are true or were true in But the presentation style means only a small set of the wide range of problems with software get coverage.

In addition, despite the cover page's 'and what you can do about it', there is not a lot of practical advice here, either for users or developers on what to do about the problems in software. As a software creator I was hoping to find an agenda or principles to address these issues, but there is little such material.

I'd have recommended this book to a non-technical audience who want to understand a bit about software. But given the age of this book it is frankly too dated to recommend for anything but tech history enthusiasts. May 20, Matteo Anelli rated it liked it. A sanctimonious prose full of bad or just skewed examples that try to prove something that should be taken for granted in business: just know your customers.

The writer tries to give useful opinions on how a software should work better but most of the time they are just subjective hints or good examples of comitee decision by huge companies. The whole book is a race to the mythical programmer's fault, an assumption that the author fails to demonstrate properly, despite the huge array of loaded e A sanctimonious prose full of bad or just skewed examples that try to prove something that should be taken for granted in business: just know your customers.

The whole book is a race to the mythical programmer's fault, an assumption that the author fails to demonstrate properly, despite the huge array of loaded examples. The subtext of the book is still useful: plan your usability and interface right, for people that have no idea how software in general should work. The book is a good example of why you should always follow this simple rule: bad communication will be filled with irrelevant information or just noise. Well this book fills a lot of blanks left by bad interfaces and so bad communication by software but it won't mean these fillers are better than the initial issues.

Jun 19, Joseph Workman rated it really liked it. Let me say it again: Your. I just love the simplicity of this book and the driving concepts behind it.

It not only about keeping software simple for users it's about remember who those users are and what their needs are.

I would suggest anyone that works with software should read and implement the simple philosophies in this wonderful book. Sep 20, Nathaniel Irvin rated it really liked it. Platt's audience with this book is the average user.

Honestly, I'm not sure how well it would appeal to Joe Consumer, but as a software professional, I found this a very enlightening read.

It makes you step back and think about how software is supposed to be used , and how that should guide how it should be designed. I re-read parts of it from time to time to remind myself to keep it simple and intuitive when it comes to user-interface design. His writing style is very personal and informal, whic Platt's audience with this book is the average user.

His writing style is very personal and informal, which allows him to make his points very well. Summary It's no secret that software sucks. You know that from personal experience, whether you use computers for work or personal tasks. This book explains why that's the case and why it doesn't have to be that way. It also explains using real-world examples. This non-technical book discusses the annoyances and dangers we encounter every day when using computers.

Written with delightful wit and humor, as well as the insight of an experienced insider, it rips into the design of software much as Atul Gawande's Complications exposed the practice of medicine.

Its basic message to ordinary people having problems learning or using their software is this: It's not your fault!

It's not because you're dumb! Aimed primarily at casual users of software, the book tells readers what they should expect from their software and how to make their voices heard so that they receive it.

The book explains the mindset of the programmers behind our software: how they're different from the rest of us, and how they're similar. It looks at the decisions programmers have to make in building their system or application, and why they make the choices that they do - choices that too often leave us scratching our heads, or worse.

But the book is not just a funny rant. It shows what all of us ordinary users need to know, and can do, to make our interactions with computers less frustrating.