Are gadgets getting too complex for the average person? My parents don’t even use all the features of their standard Verizon Wireless phones. And I pray that they don’t decide to get a Windows Smartphone because I know I’d be writing a personal FAQ for each of them.

A Netherlands researcher noted that “Half of all malfunctioning products returned to stores by consumers are in full working order, but customers can’t figure out how to operate the devices.” This was reported in a recent Reuters article. It also noted that the average consumer in the United States will “struggle for 20 minutes with a device before giving up,” and even a group of employees from the consumer electronics company Philips couldn’t figure out how to get some new products to work.

What are the reasons someone has to struggle for 20 minutes to get something working the way he or she wants? Is it poor user interface design? Poor documentation? Operator error? I am a big fan of simplicity when it comes to a user interface. Two phrases from former college professors come to mind when I think about this. One: K.I.S.S., which stands for keep it simple stupid! Overly complex hardware or software products are not only confusing for consumers to figure out, but also mask bugs and other problems increasing the chance of a buggy product being shipped. The second phrase that I think of is from a computer science professor. He said to design your code to do one thing and do it well. This is better than doing 14 things half-assed like much software and hardware I see these days.

Ever hear someone say they are “OOF” when they mean “Out of Office”?  You might wonder why it isn’t called “OOO”.  Well, it comes from the old Microsoft email system which had an option “Out of Facility” and was shortened to OOF by users.   This is a great list of OOF replies.  Number 6 is my personal favorite.  Anyone got some more to add?

1) I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood.

2) You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn’t have received anything at all.

3) I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you send me until I return from holiday on 4 April. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

4) Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first ten words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.

5) Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.

6) I’ve run away to join a different circus.

7) I will be out of the office for the next 2 weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as ‘Margaret’ instead of ‘Adam’.

8) I am out of the office this week, and will not be checking email.  Please re-send your message to Sally who will pretend to help you until I return next week.

9) Thanks for the email.  I leave my OOF on so you know I was on vacation last week and you were not!

I got most of these from Blake’s post.