Are More Choices Really Better?

A. Bosch writes to mention that Joel Spolsky of Fog Creek software has a commentary that examines the need for choices in software. From the article: "This highlights a style of software design shared by Microsoft and the open source movement, in both cases driven by a desire for consensus and for 'Making Everybody Happy,' but it's based on the misconceived notion that lots of choices make people happy, which we really need to rethink." With software steadily becoming more sophisticated, are more choices really necessarily better?

Comments

Survey Says....

[antirelic]

YES. More choices is always better. Competition is always better than no competition. Unless of course you are talking about operating systems, which we all know Micr$oft is the only solution. For everything else, competition/choices is good.

Re:Yes.

[Tackhead]

> > Seriously though, yes, more choices are always better.
>
>O RLY? How would you like to die today? We have a lovely selection of slow, painful ways to die. Nobody has a wider selection!

Slashdot Poll
How would you like to die today?

. Drowning
. Burnination
. Decapitation
. Breasts!
* Snu-Snu
. Snu-Snu with CowboyNeal

Recursion

[DragonHawk]

"this should be an 'Ask Your Customer' question"

So... people should be given a choice when it comes to the question of how much choice they should get.

My brain hurts now. ;-)

Re:Absolutely.

[SuperMog2002]

Then why is Windows still around?

Re:Ecconomics 101

[giafly]

Personally, I would rather have confusing choice rather than have to eat a bunch of bland tasting Communist O's that have a picture of Stalin on the box.

Unfortunately capitalism gives you those same bland-tasting O's, except with added sugar frosting and a huge choice of cartoon characters on the box.

For genuinely informed choice, they should decorate each supermarket aisle with a different life-size photo of a someone in their underclothes, demonstrating how you'll look if you mainly eat the food sold in that aisle.

Re:Yes.

[Moofie]

{izzard} I'll have the cake, please. {/izzard}

Oblig Devo Lyrics

[Hoi Polloi]

Devo - "Freedom of Choice"

A victim of collision on the open sea
Nobody ever said that life was free
Sank, swam, go down with the ship
But use your freedom of choice

Ill say it again in the land of the free
Use your freedom of choice
Your freedom of choice

In ancient Rome there was a poem
About a dog who found two bones
He picked at one
He licked the other
He went in circles
He dropped dead

Freedom of choice
Is what you got
Freedom of choice!

Then if you got it you dont want it
Seems to be the rule of thumb
Dont be tricked by what you see
You got two ways to go

Ill say it again in the land of the free
Use your freedom of choice
Freedom of choice

Freedom of choice
Is what you got
Freedom of choice!

In ancient Rome
There was a poem
About a dog
Who found two bones
He picked at one
He licked the other
He went in circles
He dropped dead

Freedom of choice
Is what you got
Freedom from choice
Is what you want
(repeat)

Re:You'd be surprised

[$0.02]

She has too many publications. It's difficult to decide which one to read.

Re:How do you do it?

[duffbeer703]

There's a big difference between starvation and not buying overprice pomegrante jam.