Feature Overload–Why are Consumer Electronics So Complicated?

It seems like everything is so complicated these days, especially anything electronic which is more and more products everyday.

Why are they so complex? “Hey, our cell phone takes pictures, sharpens knives, mows the lawn, pays your bills, steers your car, and cooks dinner, all by voice command!” Give us a break!

Unfortunately, the reason so many electronic products are stuffed with features is that it is relatively cheap to add features to them! Do we consumers really want or need those functions? That is an entirely different question. Often, the answer is no. But the manufacturers add them, in many cases, simply so they can advertise that they have more features.

It costs a lot more to carefully determine what features are most wanted and to design products so that they are feature-rich, yet easy and intuitive for people to use. That is why this vital step is often shortcut.

Ever had trouble figuring out how to program your VCR? Did you ever think that perhaps it’s not really your fault? It’s the fault of the engineers who designed a lousy user interface to the product. And you think they are bad? Try using a combination VCR-DVD player!

There is second reason why manufacturers keep cramming more questionable features into products. In the case of products like cell phones, sales have slowed down because most people who wanted one have one. So, the phone manufacturers keep adding features in order to try to find ones that motivate people to buy new phones. They keep looking for that latest cool feature that people will be willing to buy a new phone to get.

Similarly, digital camera manufacturers keep coming out with cameras with more and more megapixels. Two megapixels, then 3.2, then 4.0, then 5, now 6, 7, even 8. Do consumers need 7 or 8 megapixel cameras? Not in the least. For shooting snapshots or sharing pictures online, a 3.2 megapixel camera is more than adequate. Really.

Why then, do manufacturers keep extending the capability? It is as we said above: 1) so they can advertise they have it, and 2) to try to get people to stick their old camera in a drawer and buy a new one.

Our advise: It pays to look carefully at the features being offered in the products you are interested in. Don’t assume that a product with more features (or higher numbers) is the better choice. Often it is not, it is just more complicated to use! And, there is more to go wrong.
Bloatware
There is a similar phenomenon in software. It is called “bloatware.” Programs that are overloaded with features, especially those not essential to the basic purpose for the software, carry this moniker.

When I was in the software industry and we were working on the next versions of software products, the programmers would sometimes come and say, “Hey I can add such-and-such feature with only 100 lines of code,” or some such number. That�s not much, since a software program can have hundreds of thousands of lines of code. But often it was a feature the users of that software had no need for. Playing consumer advocate, I’d ask why such a feature would be needed. If the answer was questionable, I’d tell them to leave it out. Too often, though, those features make it into software products, and they become bloated with unnecessary features. Bloatware.

– reid N –

Men’s Crocs Shoes Have Gone Hi-Tech!

Mens Crocs shoes have started a new revolution in hi-tech comfort. Men are always looking for hi tech shoes that will give them the comfort they need at a price they can afford. Crocs are shoes for the hi-tech man of today. Crocs are designed to keep the busy man looking great, whether at the office or playing on the beach. Designed from high tech material, Crocs shoes are lightweight and comfortable.

Men today are looking for shoes that go beyond the ordinary. They want an advanced shoe that is lightweight, hi-tech, and of course, comfortable. Crocs mens shoes are becoming more and more popular among men who are into these hi-tech standards. Mens shoes have notoriously been plain and boring, usually with limited colors available and not designed with comfort in mind.

Crocs shoes use a PCCR technology that molds to your foot and fits any man perfectly. This technology is the ultimate in foot comfort. PCCR is a patented closed cell resin that will warm and soften with your bodys temperature. The PCCR is an anti-microbial material that is resistant to bacteria and fungus and will prevent your shoes from smelling of foot odor. Mens shoes of all types are becoming more and more advanced. Crocs shoes are determined to lead the industry in comfort and hi-tech quality for men.

Many men want to bring their shoes straight from the office to the beach. Crocs hi-tech clogs are perfect for walking the floor of the stock exchange or cruising the sand of the beach. Crocs Highland shoes are a closed shoe and absent of all ventilation ports. A pair of black highlands is great for comfort at the office and will go with any business attire.

The beach is not the first place you think of when you are thinking technical or hi-tech. Bring your Crocs to the beach and watch their hi-tech comfort transform. Crocs are the perfect mens shoes for boating, beach volleyball, or any kind of water sports. They are water resistant and will protect your feet from the hot sand without getting hot from the suns rays.

Hi-tech has never been this easy. Men dont have to worry about getting their Crocs dirty because Crocs are easy to clean and even sanitize. If you have been on the beach playing and need to have your Crocs cleaned up for your next day of work, simply dip them in a sink of warm water or hose them off. Even medical professionals can keep their Crocs up to health standards by sanitizing them in one-cup chlorine combined with ten cups of water. No matter how dirty you get your Crocs, they will be shining with just a few seconds of clean up.

Because of their hi-tech design, mens shoes no longer are boring and plain. Now that men have a hi-tech option with Crocs shoes, they can be stylish and comfortable all at the same time! Crocs come in several designs and will keep your feet working hard and playing hard.

– http://www.crocsshoesonline.com/crocs_shoes_resources.html –

Basics of RGB and CMYK for ink jet printing at home

In the world of home ink jet color printing, there is some confusion concerning CMYK color and RGB color. Many photo enthusiasts don’t realize what kind of color space their digital cameras output and are confused when it comes to printing images off of their home ink jet printers. They hit print and wonder why the printed image looks different from what they see on their monitor.

CMYK is the color description representing printed material, short for the colors Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. Mixing these 4 colors together in different amounts give you the millions of colors that reproduce the colors in printed material. These are actual inks used in printing the images you see in color magazines and books. RGB is the color description for images viewed on your computer monitors, short for Red, Green, and Blue. RGB color is actually light, and mixing different levels of these light colors

creates the millions of colors that come from your computer monitor. All websites and nearly everything you see on your computer monitor is RGB unless the images have been converted to the CMYK color space.

When you print your images on your ink jet printer from your computer, your printer prints the image using CMYK inks. Viewing your image in RGB and then printing it out in CMYK may not yield the results you want. Programs such as Adobe Photoshop will convert your image from RGB to CMYK or vice versa. Some printers require the image to be CMYK before you can print the image correctly. Some printers don’t print the image correctly if the image being printed is in RGB space.

A good reason for printing with a CMYK image is to see your image in CMYK color before printing. When an image is converted to CMYK from RGB, there may be some color changes that are noticeable in the image. The reason for this is because many colors in RGB cannot be reproduced using CMYK inks. That is why it is always a good idea to convert your image to a CMYK color space before printing. You could notice significant color changes to your image, especially in the very intense color areas of your image. Some of these intense color areas may appear less intense or very dull once converted. With photo editing software, you can go in and fix these trouble color areas to your liking.

Many ink jet printers on the market today actually print directly from an RGB color image. And converting the image to CMYK may cause it to print incorrectly. You will need to determine what color space your ink jet printer supports. The packaged software usually will give you a hint regarding color spaces. If there is no option to convert the color space from RGB to CMYK, most likely, the printer will print directly from an RGB color source. Usually, the higher end ink jet printers deal with the CMYK color space as consumer level enthusiasts don’t even know these color spaces exist. New higher end ink jet printers, however, are now printing directly from the RGB color space as there is a wider spectrum of color that can be reproduced in RGB compared to CMYK color.

If you visit the website, http://www.instantimagers.com, the ‘Framers’ and ‘DVD Cover & Disc Art’ designs are provided in both RGB and CMYK color spaces. Comparing the RGB and CMYK images side by side, you’ll notice there are color differences. This is due to some RGB colors not being available as a CMYK converted color. Both versions are provided because not all printers are alike. Some tend to print better with one color space. Many of CMYK printed designs have been manipulated further after conversion to match more closely the colors from the RGB color space as many of the colors in some designs did not covert seamlessly.

If all this seems confusing, not to worry. The key thing to remember is to print using RGB color if your printer and software support it. Let the software and the printer worry about getting the colors right. If you are more experienced with photo color correction and want more control over the color of the image, print in CMYK. You’ll actually be manipulating and printing the image in the color space your ink jet printer’s inks are using. You will be able to see the limits of the CMYK printing color spectrum right on your monitor. Getting color right with RGB and CMYK is totally different from calibrating your printer to match the colors on your monitor. That is actually the second step in getting the best color out of your prints. Understanding the difference between RGB and CMYK is the first step in getting the best print outs on your home ink jet printer.