Swallowing the Spider

Jon Bell, on the rumor that Apple is adding split-screen multitasking to the iPad in iOS 8:

But while you can debate the worth of the feature, or whether Apple will implement it, some things are beyond debate. It’s an immovable law of design physics — adding functionality adds complexity. You can’t get around it. All you can do is try to add functionality that people really want, and do it carefully enough that the increased complexity is worth it. There are no shortcuts or magic bullets.

Or to put it in Rands-ian terms: When you say “I wish I could run two apps side-by-side on the iPad,” I hear, “I wish the iPad were more complicated.”

★ Tuesday, 20 May 2014