I've been feeling for a while the computers, modern spangly computers - miracle of modern technology that they are - are awful. Like, seriously shitty and something we'll be laughing at in twenty years time because even the very very best ones are like a 1970's Lada in terms of their limitations and ridiculous need to be pampered at every turn.

A few things have bought this mind over the last couple of days. One was witnessing a very modern social spectacle: a twentysomething carrying his laptop to a table to have a meeting. He walks along, coffee in one hand and two grand's worth of electronics in the other - being held only by it's corner, a boatload of torque ensuring the machine stays flat with copious concern being applied to ensure neither the delicate screen nor the hinge holding it on receive the slightest jolt during their journey. How did this become OK?

Another was Sir Clive Sinclair - who basically created the entire UK computing industry when he invented hellishly cheap home computers in the 80's - admitting that he doesn't use computers at all.

"Well I find them annoying. I'd much prefer someone would telephone me if they want to communicate. No, it's not sheer laziness – I just don't want to be distracted by the whole process. Nightmare."

And today - yCombinator, while specifically looking for companies producing iPad applications, linked to this blog post:

you can get some ideas by thinking of the marketing cliche where two people are standing around a computer collaborating on something, taking quick notes, working off a recipe, etc. Those images occur in marketing because they are appealing, but they don't occur much in real life because our existing devices and software are awful.

And that is it. Really. When are we going to start designing these things based around people first and not nerds, politics, or the need to use what exists already?

What really amazes me is that we run this industry in the retarded way we do despite the absolutely shocking amounts of progress made every time someone does it well. Like ... caller ID. The phone rings, I look at it, I decide whether or not I'm going to answer. Absolutely 100% pervasive. Or search engines - type in here some of the words you want to see in the document on the screen. A simple concept that, more or less, gave birth to the web as we know it. Or (pushing a point) facebook's identity system - locate individual people across the entire planet based on their names and who you both know.

But now, right now ... look at it. I'm publishing something and it's covered in HTML tags. In 2010. Oh my god, this stuff has miles and miles and miles to go.