Recently, I got a copy of Adobe FrameMaker. As I’ve written before, FrameMaker is sort of long in the tooth. Much to my surprise however, in September Adobe did a tiny update to it for the first time in years. So maybe it’s not headed for the abandoned software bin yet after all.
Tiny update notwithstanding, because FrameMaker is still rather old, it has a number of the characteristics of older software. It got me thinking that in many ways we’re really going backwards when it comes to software. Unlike the unspeakably expensive Adobe Creative Suite, FrameMaker comes with…get this…a PRINTED manual. I just about fainted.
I mean, when was the last time you got something in the box other than a CD? I was sort of thrilled because FrameMaker is rather complex software and I wasn’t looking forward to wading through the online help or finding some aftermarket book. Online help is great for searching if you know what you’re looking for, but a printed manual lets you browse and get a feel for the software and what it can do far, far more easily.
The other thing that’s notable about FrameMaker is that when you open it up, you aren’t bombarded with 79 palettes, panes and other screen detritus. You pretty much just see the page, which when you are doing writing or layout is all you WANT to see really. FrameMaker also has a lot of built-in productivity shortcuts that involve the keyboard and not convoluted mouse actions.
Anyway, seeing this "blast from the past" made me really think about how little software has evolved in the last 15 years or so. I mean I was quite productive in Word Perfect 4.2 in 1988 with its completely blank screen. Realistically, as a human you can only focus on one thing at a time, so what have we really gained with those 79 palettes and panes anyway?