Working Your Image Manitowoc WI

Posted by : Nelson King

Ease of use versus power: It's the classic tradeoff. If something is really easy to use, then it probably can't do much; and if it does a lot, it's probably hard to use. This is one of the oldest problems in computing, a problem that jumped into high profile with the personal computer. Suddenly there were millions of non-geeks (regular folk) who wanted to do the things computers could do, but couldn't or wouldn't spend the time navigating the required learning curves. The industry--in particular, the software industry--scrambled to overcome the tradeoff, for therein lay the secret to success.

I'm dropping back into history a little because the ease-of-use-versus-power issue hasn't gone away. While we've developed computers that are much easier to use than the 1970s models--which had toggle switches for binary data entry--we've also vastly increased the power and complexity. To illustrate the issue, I have only to reach as far as some new software on my desk, Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album 4 (PSP Album). I've packaged a review of this photo management product in this column because it's representative of the development zone between the ability to easily manipulate our photographic images and the complexity that lurks just below the image.

Pixel progress

Digital photography has followed a familiar pattern. The technology appears first; it's not great, but pictures can be taken for fun. The technology improves, and more pleasing and com...

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