When technology changes, it’s tempting to keep on doing things the way you’re accustomed to (assuming it still works). There are advantages and disadvantages to doing that. The advantages are obvious, but the disadvantages are subtle. New technologies often allow new ways of doing things which can be much better. Yet too often it’s easy to stay in the same old rut and miss out.
A case in point: the Windows 7 search entry in the Start menu (or whatever the proper name is). Basic search capability has been around for a long while, but the Windows 7 search is far more powerful and useful. It’s the fastest way to open documents and applications. Now I’m using it to open URLs in new Windows under Firefox. I’ve always been a fan of tabbed browsing, but now I’m re-thinking that as well. It seems faster and less confusing to use search for everything and close everything the same way, never taking your hands from the keyboard.
I’ll probably post something here promoting mouse free computing, but my point in this post is that in order to take advantage of new capabilities, you have to use them a while and forsake the comfort of the tried and true. At least for a while!
