From research we know that engineers and designers tend to use themselves as the ideal for which they create new technologies. That means that we often end up with technology that is designed by engineers and with engineers in mind. While a small proportion of technically-versed men (and women) might find this technology easy to use, most people probably won’t. My research on gender and technology has shown that women prefer to use technology that is intuitive to use and does not require you to study the manual for hours. In fact, many men would prefer this as well.
Creating technology that is more intuitive to use is an important step in making technology more accessible to all. While the graphical user interface and the mouse as input device was popularised in the 1990s, not much has changed since then. Until recently. Apple’s new iPhone and iPod touch use a multi-touch technology to make the technology more intuitive to navigate. And what could be more intuitive than using your fingers. Last week I attended a presentation by Steve Ballmer, Microsofts’ CEO. He presented a new piece of technology which included a multi-touch screen similar to the one of the iPhone. The Microsoft Surface is a table PC that is operated by touch alone. It syncs with other devices such as mobile phone and digital cameras through simply putting them on the surface. These new touch technologies make it more intuitive to operate technology. In fact they provide tools to integrate technology much more into everyday life. Then technology is no longer designed for engineers by engineers but by engineers for people.
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/iphone-review.ars
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/The-iPod-meets-the-iPhone-a-review-of-the-iPod-touch.ars
Is this ever likely to catch on? With the exception of the XBox, Microsoft’s forays into hardware have been spectacularly unsuccessful, and who cares about their alternative laptops: Do you know anybody who owns or even wants a tablet PC or a UMPC?
Interesting debate. But often the marketing is even more key than the product when talking to women and Microsoft get it SO wrong. This video is a a year or so old but clearly demonstrates the point- If Microsoft did the Ipod packaging what would it look like? A mess. What Apple do so beautifully is make intuitive technology that is sexy, beautiful and desirable for women (and men). Women want technology to feel luxurious as well as feeling intuitive. If you are to convince a women to spend £400 on a phone versus £400 on a designer outfit and pair of shoes, you have to make the experience as sensual.
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=36099539665548298&q=if+microsoft+did+the+ipod+packaging&total=2&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1