Ah, the lost art of actually making something somewhat intuitive.

Is it just me or is could some companies really use an interface designer? Take for example the case of my newest extron “touchlink” touch screen AV room control system. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a really cool product that when finished should do some great things with the “touch” of a button.

I consider myself somewhat reasonably educated about AV technology, but after almost 12 hours of frustration and only few “ah-ha” moments I am beginning to think that I may just be kidding myself. Sure, it is billed as a “configuration” instead of the traditional programming, but sometimes there is a lot to be said for just a blank notebook or textedit app and a little bit of knowhow.  Just because you can “click and point” or “drag and drop” does not necessary mean that it is easy, think for a moment of your experience trying to get to use just one remote in your living room for everything before the invention of the logitech.

In the end the frustration turned into smiles as the room became much more user friendly and the faculty were able to better utilize the technology in the room in a more interactive manner. For all of those hours wishing I had yet another cup of coffee, to see an instructor walk up to the panel and figure out the use of multiple inputs and outputs (dual projector room) in a matter of seconds made it all worth it.

I guess in some ways I still have that childlike quality that makes me forget pain and frustration so quickly in light of a pat on the back and warm thanks!