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I'm talking about their claims that we're so far behind the rest of the world in respect to broadband uptake simply because our dial-up connections are so cheap, thanks to a lack of local call charges.

Yeah, right!

But today's column isn't about Telecom (thank goodness) -- it's about something completely different.

Have you noticed how the increasing power of modern electronics and software has produced a raft of new appliances and devices that have dozens of functions and features?

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Even new cars are now loaded with a myriad of gizmos and gee-whiz bits that do everything from warm your bum to give you verbal directions to your destination.

This is all wonderful stuff -- but it comes at a price: simplicity.

I was talking to a friend yesterday who has just bought himself a new Jap-import Mercedes 2-door convertible.

Although it's three or four years old, it still has lots of nifty little extras to make life fun and improve safety. The downside is that, thanks to the lack of a manual, it took him two days to work out how to turn the damned lights on!

Yes, the designers of our increasingly sophisticated and feature-laden machines are now faced with a horrible problem: just how do you fit an arm-full of features onto a dashboard or the front-panel of a new bit of consumer electronics?

In "the olden days" we had it easy. There was a switch for the lights, a switch for the heater fan and a key for the ignition, and each was clearly labeled.

Of course these days, having a switch for *every* function or feature would require a dashboard that looked like an old mainframe computer -- so designers have gotten smart (or so they think).

Cars like the new(ish) BMWs have a little twisty, pushy, turny, rocky dial that moves four directions. This knob is then connected to a computer (running Windows) that implements a modal menu system with the output displayed on an LCD in the dashboard.

The only problem is that this can require a lot of "playing around" to find the option you want -- not a good thing if you're also trying to drive down the motorway at 100Kph.

Indeed, viewers of Top Gear on Prime last Sunday will have seen just how frustrating such a system can be.

This whole interface to complexity situation is rapidly reaching a critical point, a point that first raised its ugly head when it became more than common to see VCRs with clocks that simply flashed 00:00:00 instead of the correct time.

Apple are one of the few who have managed to keep the user interface to modern technology relatively simple -- hence the outstanding success of its iPod products.

But just how do we squeeze a million options into just a few buttons, dials, knobs or switches? Will this human interface barrier become a major hurdle in the development path of new technology?

If you feel that this is a good thing and/or you hold a "geniune affection" for yours truly -- then you are welcome to gift me some money using the buttons provided. In gifting this money you accept that no goods, service or other consideration is offered, provided, accepted or anticipated in return. Just click on the button to gift whatever you can afford. NOTE: PayPal bills in US dollars so don't accidentally gift more than what you were intending :-)

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