00/06/05 - Stop the Complexity!
![[Image: A self-caricature, drawn in DiddleBug on my Visor]](http://www.jeffkirvin.com/media/me.png)
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I'm getting a little concerned with the recent trend in Palm software to grow more and more complex. The programs I see these days are at odds with what Jeff Hawkins, the inventor of the PalmPilot, called the Zen of Palm. The reason these devices took off in the first place is that they were simple. If you don't load any additional software, the Palm is so simple to use that even people who are intimidated by AOL can pick up a Palm and use it without ever cracking a manual. Now, I realize that third-party software will, by definition, be more complex than the built-in stuff (otherwise, why have it at all?), but a lot that's come out recently goes a little too far. I love some of the complex programs I've seen recently for the things they let me do, but I also long for the "good old days", when Palm software was simple, intuitive, and uncluttered. I'm just a writer of little Brain, and complicated software Bothers me.
To illustrate my point, I'm going to take some unpopular stands and even wax a bit hypocritical, given that one of the programs I'm going to mention is the very editor with which I'm writing this column. I'm not saying that any of these programs are intrinsically bad, only that they are symptoms of a growing problem that, left unchecked, could lead us into the Dark Side into which Windows has already gone. To repeat: I'm not attacking these programs, but only the trend they represent. Okay?
The first on my list is DateBk4. While this is a power-user's dream, it's a casual user's nightmare. CESD has done a fine job of putting in every feature on the wishlist of his massive user base, but the key to writing truly great software, particularly for a platform like PalmOS, isn't what you put in, but what you leave out. DateBk4 comes with a 70+ page manual, and if you don't read it, most of the features in DateBk4 will either be lost on you or actively befuddle you. Particularly, Saved Views can turn into a collassal pain in the butt if not watched very, very closely. As just tapping through the menus can show you, this program is awash in features, most of which no single user will ever need. I've often heard the same thing about Microsoft products. The average user only uses 10% of MS Office, but everyone uses a different 10%. If this is the case with DateBk4, perhaps CESD should have followed the long ago suggestion to make it modular and allow users to only install the features they need (much like the Visor's approach with the Springboard). As is, DateBk4 has a ton of compelling features, but it's a usability nightmare. I consider myself a power user, and I find DateBk4 uncomfortable to use (despite the fact that I continue to be strangely drawn to it for the advance todo feature).
Next up is pedit/pedit32. I've said before that this is my favorite editor, and that hasn't changed. pedit is a writer's editor, with almost all the features a writer would want (I'd love to see regex support, but you can't have everything). But the point remains that the dual row of boxed letters at the bottom of the screen is daunting to new users and very difficult to decipher without studying the documentation very closely (I had to read it through twice). Great program, but hard to learn (much like my other favorite editor, Unix's vi).
It is possible to cram a lot of features into a program without overwhelming the user. Good examples of powerful but simple software include Action Names, Magic Text, EVEdit, Hackmaster, Vexed, Arranger, Handyshopper (the original, not version 2) and QuikBudget. It can be done. I understand that PalmOS needs powerful programs to compete with the PocketPC, and that often the more complex software has simpler alternatives (if you really don't like pedit or DateBk4, you can always stick with the built-in apps they replace), but I'd like to see Palm developers stick as much as possible to what made the Palm successful in the first place. I know there's no going back, but we can halt the forward advance.
The Zen of Palm. Let's keep it simple.