Same, mein FTSE All-World ist im letzten Monat -9%, besteht aber auch zu 61% aus US-Aktien.

Ed Zitron's rant was a long read, but it sure did resonate with me. I've been in IT for quite a while (our first computer needed an upgrade for lower-case characters) and the current state of tech is utterly depressing. After reading the post, I think that our nerd culture in IT paved the way for the techbros. We need to take a hard look at ourselves, if we want to support this dystopian future we're heading towards.

Back then, with the family computer (now having 16Kb and lower-case), computing was magical. You all know how it felt like, everything seemed possible, the screen was a window into the future. There were constant leaps in technology - we could store and edit audio, then video, instant worldwide communication. I'm sure that you believed, like I did, that IT could really improve people's lives and make the world a better place.

But now, the meaningful improvements have become fewer, evolutionary. Consider the updates from your current phone and the last. Maybe the camera was a bit better, but did it really excite you or change your life? What about your laptop? Hardware is plateauing. Just like software.

I know that the engineering behind large enterprises like AWS or Netflix is just fantastic and improving all the time. But from a user's point of view, not much has changed in a while.

Here's the problem. We techies believe in the future, that we can change the world. And we are such insufferable know-it-alls that want to help you, and will help you, if you want it or not. There is nothing that could not be improved without computing and digitization. It's how we are trained to think, it's in our DNA. While you are speaking, we are making notes of redundancies, mentally tsk tsking your Excel sheets. We view the world a set of problems to be solved.

So then you have a site like (the olde) reddit, or your car, or your TV. All fully functional and fulfill all your needs. But we simply cannot admit to ourselves that our job is done - we must solve the next problem. Even if it isn't a problem you've got!

And so we get computers in everything. In your TV, your car, your alarm clock, your living room lamps and kitchen appliances. All with their host of issues. And we get algorithms in everything, giving us suggestions and sending us reminders.

Current tech is intrusive, overbearing and patronizing - that's putting it nice. A bunch of well-meant ingenuity is being wasted on problems nobody has.

We need to take people and their time serious, let them do their shit and just leave them the fuck alone when the job is done.

You see, that is another perfect example for why earth has to be flat, anything else just isn't logical!

Male and female are also insanely large groups but I'll never understand why the color of your skin is so important in the land of the free.

Which of the following best describes your race or ethnic background?

Seriously, WTF? Why the hell is this relevant? Is this some American thing?

Zur Beginn hatte ich den Eindruck Wissing und Lutz könnten Bros werden, Wissing klang sehr positiv gegenüber der Bahn. Lang hat aber das nicht gehalten, und ich fragte mich oft ob's an der Regierung lag, die FDP oder Wissing.

Jetzt habe ich die Antwort. Es lag an Lindner, und an Wissing, der nicht in der Lage war sich dagegen zu stellen.

Die FDP müsse da raus, die Ampel müsse enden. Er könne diese Fressen einfach nicht mehr sehen, soll Lindner gerufen haben.

Die wirst du jetzt bestimmt ganz, ganz lange nicht mehr sehen müssen.

Es ist einfach widerlich und krank, wie man auf Kosten des Landes taktiert. Warum ist sowas nicht strafbar?

Show the rest of the comic - I dare you!

Actually no, I hated the Vista era UI design. Linux themes were positively garish, add MacOS looked like a candy store. CDE greatly impressed me back then. It looked like it was made by adults for adults. Highly legible, and the pastel colors are being emulated by Solarized.

I'm sure that those UIs were a product of the times. The 90's and noughties were loud and colorful and exciting and everything looked like a comic. Now that we live in more depressing times, we can look to the science of perceptual psychology.

You see, we have an attention budget, we need to process what we see. Visually complex UIs need to be parsed, and that takes mental effort, and that robs us of mental energy to focus on our work. It's not a crippling effect, but it's there.

Look at street signs and corporate logos, they easily lodge in our mind. Effective advertising has a clear and simple visual language, and this is what UIs should strive for.