This is a slight rewording of something Alex Limi once said during an internal presentation at Mozilla. The point is not about usage, but rather creation. Building something simplistic is easy, but building something simple is hard. The observation stuck with me, and I think it's a great little maxim.
Think about it in product design. Picasa was simplistic, but Instagram is simple. eBay is simplistic, but Facebook Marketplace is simple. IRC is simplistic, but Slack is simple.
To be clear, I'm not saying Picasa, eBay, or IRC are incapable. On the contrary, they're too powerful. I prefer the designs of Instagram, Facebook Marketplace, and Slack for what they can't do. Of course, whether anyone should use Instagram, Facebook, or Slack is another question. Even cigarettes can be thoughtfully designed.
Don't put too much stock in the opinion of someone who's justifying a decision they've already made.
I remember reading something like this many years ago, while comparing two different camera brands. I think it's great advice for much more than shopping, though.
I find “retention” emails so creepy. A friend recently received one from GrubHub, which guilted him for not using the service enough. They practically read like ransom notes.
“Why haven't you been using GrubHub? What can we do differently? Who's that person you keep hanging out with? Did someone slash your tires?”
Life is hard. Maybe I don't have time for GrubHub right now. Chill.
Less than one year ago, I wrote that AI would soon be able to generate new music on demand. As an example, I imagined it generating a Beatles/Skrillex mashup about hoverboards.
Well, here it is… almost. It's not perfect. It wouldn't allow me to use real artist names in my request, and it doesn't have enough Beatles influence, in my opinion. It sounds more like Fall Out Boy meets dubstep, honestly. Still, it's still a massive leap forward. Here's what it generated for “A 1960s rock / dubstep mashup about hoverboards.”
Here are some mobile games that don't suck. Most are paid. Most have no advertisements or in-app purchases. Some offer to remove ads for a fee, which I recommend paying.
Not everyone can buy games, yet we all pay eventually, either with our money or with our attention. We buy the product or we are the product. This list is for those who would rather buy the product.
DATA WING (iOS, Android): A free racing game with high production value, a great story, and fantastic music.
Lifeline (iOS, Android): Text with a stranded astronaut in real time to help him find his way home.
Space Marshals (iOS, Android): A top-down space/western shooter with stealth mechanics.
The Room Two (iOS, Android): A 3D escape room. The other games in the series are great, too, but The Room Two is my favorite.
Rusty Lake: Roots (iOS, Android): Unravel a family's history by solving escape-type puzzles. Profoundly weird. Some have compared it to Twin Peaks, which I've never watched. The other games in the universe—all branded as Rusty Lake and Cube Escape games—are also great, especially Rusty Lake Hotel, Cube Escape: The Lake, and Cube Escape: Seasons. Consider playing Cube Escape: The Lake first, because it's the first game in the series and the quickest by far, taking only about 20 minutes.
Nowhere House (Android): Very much inspired by the Rusty Lake and Cube Escape series, it's 2D escape room game with a cartoon style and a paranormal theme. Compared to Rusty Lake and Cube Escape games, the English translation is worse, the puzzles are sometimes better, and the stories are usually much easier to follow. The other games in the Dark Dome series are also great.
Super Mario Run (iOS, Android): Mario with a single button. Some complained about this game, but I found it satisfying. It has that classic Nintendo polish.
Plants vs. Zombies (iOS, Android): Defend your garden by using your plants to fight off zombies. The sequel should be avoided, in my opinion, because it's ruined by mechanics that manipulate the player into purchasing power-ups via micropayments.
Why compile this list? I'm hardly a gamer. I just want to highlight games that offer exceptional experiences by avoiding ads and in-app purchases. The lesson? Choose a business model that supports your art, rather than ruining your art to make money.
As a rule of thumb, I try not to get worked up about people I haven't met in real life. “Supporters of Political Candidate Want Toast Banned,” a headline might read. Well, I've never met anyone in the real world who wants toast banned. Until I do, I'm not going to worry about it.
Of course it's important to notice and criticize bad ideas before they take hold. At the same time, with social media and the lazy, clickbait journalism it fuels, every bad idea now has a moment in the reactionary spotlight, and most will never affect much. Let's focus on the big problems of the day, the ones we'd notice with or without sensationalism.
A film’s need to entertain has obscured the reality about change. Montages set an expectation that personal transformations are practically microwaveable; just find the right mentor, find the right program, make the perfect plan, do it a few times, and you’ll reach your goal. I call this the montage fallacy.
[…]
The truth to personal transformation is much more boring—and ugly—than a montage will let on. You show up every day. You mostly make small gains, and experience the occasional leap—and persevere through setbacks. You have to choose the things you prioritize, which means you’ll decide to give up things you want to do.
If I'm wrong about the dangers of social media, so be it. In fact, that would be a good outcome. We would need to find another cause of the discord and the weird rebellious conformity of our time, but they wouldn't be caused by the tools that are now so intertwined with society, and that would be a good thing. On the other hand, if I'm right about the dangers of social media, popular opinion will inevitably come to understand that harm more clearly over time. There will be many casualties along the way, but learning the hard way is sometimes necessary. Either way, it will be fine. I don't think I'm wrong, which I why I continue not to use social media, but it will be fine.