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Two Lineups I Won't Be In

May 19, 2005 › Sandy McMurray | comment

The last installment of the drawn-out Star Wars saga opens this week. All over North America, IT folks will be calling in sick with Force Flu and then lining up to watch George Lucas's action figures go on an on about tax embargoes and spout wooden piffle that makes the Matrix look like the mutterings of a drunk Philosophy prof (not far from the truth, actually).
Meanwhile, in a shopping mall far, far away (north Toronto), Apple devotees will be lining up for the opening of the company's first Canadian store - in the Yorkdale Shopping Centre. What the lineups can teach us

Queueing for toast
Both queues say something about the problem with technology today. It's often designed by and for people who are, to be polite, not the most socially adept folks in the world. Though I count myself in that legion, I have no interest in spending precious hours on Earth waiting for either event, and I'm self-conscious of my social limitations (painfully shy, miss social cues frequently etc.)
I'm also not writing code, designing software or deciding how many buttons to put on a remote control. But, the fanboys and girls who camp out to see Anakin Skywalker turn into a lava-toasted antihero, do. And, very often they make design decisions for other fanboys who like their buttons plentiful, their interfaces complex and their characterization and dialogue broad and obvious.
On the other hand, the Apple lineup will be populated by fanfolks who are willing to trade their wee weekend hours for a Haines Beefy-T with an apple on it. They may be the biggest Macophiles in Canada, but they're not the average Mac user, and many may visions of Jedi dancing in their heads. It's great that Apple inspires such loyalty. But, it would also be nice if computers were so simple and invisible that they were about as exciting as a new toaster. Nobody lines up for a toaster. Okay, nobody outside of Russia.

May 19, 2005 › Sandy McMurray | comment on this item