Series · a work in parts

Field Notes on Software

A short series on the craft of building things people use - what makes a tool quiet, honest, and worth keeping. Three parts, read in order or not.

Contents

Tools That Disappear

The software I love most is the software I can describe in one sentence and then stop thinking about.

The Weight of Defaults

Nobody changes the setting. Which means the setting is the product - and somebody, somewhere, chose it for you.

Quiet by Design

Restraint is the hardest feature to ship, because it never shows up in the changelog.

Mara Ellison

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