I am a kid of the Microsoft Windows generation. I grew up with it. From 3.1 through NT4 right up until Windows “FCKGW” XP. I loved optimizing the settings. Control Panel and Regedit were my playground. I have installed and re-installed many, many times. I would have a set of settings and required software hard-wired into my brain. It would take me about a day to get you the most optimized Windows XP installation. Fast, secure and neat. The way it should be, right?
Until I realized that what I was doing, was total madness. I just did not know any better. I got so carried away in my optimization process that I didn’t realize there might be another solution to the flaws of the OS at that time; switch to another operating system. And that is precisely what I did. The upfront cost was a bit bigger, but it has saved me a ton of time.
This post is not about operating systems. The lesson I learnt then was not about software, it was about something bigger. It was about choosing the right defaults.
Whenever you choose a tool to work with, you are almost always better off with a product that is less configurable, but has better defaults. Your cost of ownership—rightfully taking man hours into account—will be a fraction of the cost of ownership of a lesser, more configurable product.
I recently wiped my computer clean and re-installed OS X. Whenever I would get the urge to configure something, I would ask myself “is this because I need it to be this way, or because I have developed a certain habit?” I have changed many habits since then, not so many options.
When in doubt, do yourself a favour. Go with the better defaults.
Child of the 90’s | Internet Explorer