好技术表现出“垂手可及”的特点。
好技术总是处于“服务状态”的。
好技术具有“互联”的特点。
好技术是具有“标准化”的特点。
好技术具有“简单”的特点。
好技术具有不使用“配件”的特点。
好技术具有“个性化”的特点。
好技术具有“可组合”特点的，
好技术具有“抗愚”的特点

这几个观点是我从加拿大学习技术专家Stephen Dowens于2000年写的一篇文章“Nine Rules for Good Technology ”摘出的。我下面把整个文章贴出来，希望对大家有启发。

part1

This article began as a in DEOS as a response to some of the complaints about educational technology being posted. It captures some of my intuitions about technology and development and tries to express the idea that people need to choose their technology. Jim Morrison asked me to write the first paragraphs to adapt it for publication in Technology Source.

Nine Rules for Good Technology
九原则好技术

Written March 7, 2000. Published in The Technology Source, July/August, 2000. Reprinted as "Mmm, God Technology", University Business, September, 2000. The CyberUnion Handbook: Transforming Labor through Computer Technology, by Arthur B. Shostak, et al., M.E. Sharpe, 2001.
Introduction

Today's educational technology is like a Rube Goldberg contraption. Enter any technology-enabled classroom or other facility, and you will see a mish-mash of computers with associated wires, video displays, modems, ITV, CD-ROM libraries, tapes, and more. To use this technology effectively and avoid being distracted by the usual malfunctions and dense manuals, teachers must spend a lot of time in the classroom themselves.

现代教育中应用的技术有点像Rube Goldberg设计的精巧装置，表面好看，但却很难操作。进入任何装有用现代技术教室，看到的是一堆计算机，以及显得杂乱的电线网线、显示设备、调制器、ITV、CD库、磁带等。如果要有效地运用这些技术支持教学，教师必须要花费很多的时间来对付一些常发性故障，阅读密密麻麻的说明手册。
（跟我们的现在现状很相似）

It doesn't have to be this way, however. As technologies mature, they tend to become easier to use. Consider the elevator and radio, for example. Once so finicky it needed operators to take riders from floor to floor, today's elevator functions flawlessly with little intervention on the part of users. Likewise, when the radio was first developed, it was the domain of specialists. Today's radio is a model of usability, requiring no special training for the listener who wants to find the nation's top ten hits.

然而，事情完全可以不是这个样子的。当技术本身发展成熟时，就会变得非常容易使用，就像电梯和收音机一样。电梯刚开始运用的时候，需要专门的操作人员操作将乘客从一层里楼载到另一层楼，而今天的电梯运行几乎不需要人工的任何干预；同样收音机刚开始发展的时候，只有领域专家才能运用，而现在收音机作为一个常用设备，收听的人要调到自己想要听的节目是不需要经过任何培训的。

It is true that not all technologies are so uncomplicated. For example, the person who operates a nuclear reactor must have some expertise and special training. But such systems are rare, overwhelmed by an array of far simpler innovations. If a technology is to become widespread, it is crucial that it be easy to use—so easy that it need not be packaged with an operating manual. Technology that teachers employ in the classroom must be of exactly that variety: widespread and easy-to-operate. A learning simulation, a conferencing tool, and a student record keeper should be as untroublesome to use as a television, a telephone, and a notebook.

当然，不是任何的技术都如此简单，比如，操作核反应堆的人必须是这方面的专家而且要经过专业训练。但是在常规生活中，应用如此复杂操作的系统是很少，更多的是简单的革新技术的应用。一旦某项革新技术需要普及推广，其易用性对该技术能否被

I believe that we currently are in a transition phase; we are moving away from complicated technologies toward simpler innovations. For the most part, however, today's technology remains clumsy. We must question whether the time and money we are investing in that technology—in teaching teachers to use it—is well spent. Certainly training is necessary to get us to a higher level of technological advancement, but we must not take our eyes off the long term goal: good technology.

我认为我们现在正处于一种转型过渡阶段，我们正从复杂难用的技术运用阶段迈向简单易用的技术运用阶段，然而，制约这种技术过渡的最主要因素还在于我们今天的技术本身还处于原发阶段。基于此，对是否培训老师使用某项技术以及对培训某技术投入的费用和时间必须予以权衡考虑，当然培训能够使我们达到更高的技术水平，但我们不能不从长远的角度进行考虑什么是好的技术。

What distinguishes a good technology from a bad technology? The following nine characteristics define the former. Think of them as a checklist; a technology that has more of these features is, in general, better than a technology which has fewer of them.

区分好的技术与不好的技术的准则是什么呢？下面的九条原则是用来定义好技术的。作为界定规则的清单，一般来说，某项技术如果拥有更多这些好技术的条目肯定比拥有条目少的技术要好。

Good Technology: The List
好技术规则列表

Good technology is always available. This distinction is what makes buses, in spite of all of their advantages, bad technology. People cannot count on catching the bus at absolutely any time of day; thus most people prefer cars. In the educational field, the technological equivalent of the bus is the equipment trolley. It is necessary because only one projector (or workstation or overhead projector) is available to serve five classrooms. Imagine what life would be like if we had to schedule our use of the elevator. Or to make reservations to use the telephone. Good technology does not require scheduling, relocation, or set-up.

好技术表现出“垂手可及”的特点。这一特点就区别出公共汽车相对于小汽车来说是劣技术，尽管公共汽车也有很多的优点。公共汽车的缺点是不能使人们在一天任何需要的乘车的时候都能够正好赶上公共汽车，因此，这样使得很多人倾向使用小汽车。在教育领域，类似公共汽车这类的教育技术就是不断移动的手推设备，因为每5个教室才能共用一台投影设备或某一工作站。设想一下，如果我们使用电梯需要预定、使用电话需要预定，那我们的生活将会变成什么样子？好的技术是不需要预定排计划、不断挪动地方和进行安装设置的。
（非常像我们的真实情况）

The availability requirement raises cost considerations. Equipment that costs less is more likely to be available. But cost is not the sole or even primary determinant. If a technology meets the other criteria described below, it will be made widely available despite the cost. Think of ATMs, electrical lights, and highways.

达到“垂手可及”使用的程度，可能会增加投入费用。经济便宜的装备更容易获得。但是费用并不是唯一或甚至是主要的决定因素。如果技术能够达到以下描述的一些标准，尽管会花费一定费用，但技术也会能够被普及。比如ATM取款机、电灯、高速公路。

Good technology is always on (or can be turned on with a one-stroke command or, better yet, starts automatically when the need for it arises). One thing that makes the telephone useful is that we do not need to boot up the operating system before we make a call. Likewise, electrical lights are a significant improvement over systems that required individual ignition with a match or candle, and streetlights are practical because they come on when it gets dark outside. A weakness of motor vehicles is that they are not always on, a fact that causes endless frustration for users needing transportation on cold winter days.

好技术总是处于“服务状态”的（或只要一个按钮激活、或在需要的能够自动激活）。电话好用原因之一是在我们需要打电话的时候不需要先重启“操作系统”。同样地，电灯相对于原先需要人们首先要点亮火柴、蜡烛有了质的改善和提高，街灯也变得特别实用，因为当夜幕降临的时候，就自动点亮。发动机装置的交通工具有一个弱点，就是它们不是随时都出于开启的状态，以至在很冷的冬天让需要使用的人尽挫折，因为很难启动它们。

Much of today's educational technology requires long and sometimes cumbersome initialization procedures. After wheeling in a projector from another room, for example, three teachers and a technician may spend time plugging it in, turning it on, spooling the film, and positioning the screen.

当今的教育技术通常需要长时间机械笨拙的初始化过程。比如，当把一台放映机从一个教室移动到另一个教室，需要3位老师和1位技术人员共同来插接、调试、放胶片、聚焦对准屏幕等。

Admittedly, the "always on" requirement raises significant energy consumption considerations. A portable device that consumes a lot of energy, for example, cannot always be on because it must carry its own power supply. Energy itself—in inefficient forms like gas and oil—is too expensive to be consumed merely for convenience. Devices with low energy consumption, however, can always be on. Think of watches, telephones, and elevators.

必须承认，一直处于服务等待状态是需要耗费能源的。比如，一个便携装置需要耗费很多能源，如果一直处于开启等待状态，就要带上它的供电装置。能源自身，如天然汽和石油就是很低效的，太昂贵达不到便携使用的目的。然而，使用低功耗的装置的设备，就能够一直处于启动状态，如手表，电话和电梯。

Good technology is always connected. Good technology can send information when and where it is needed without human intervention. Fire alarms, especially institutional ones, are useful in this way. Indeed, if the detectors were not connected to warning systems, the alarms would be useless. Again, telephones are useful because no procedure is required to connect to the telephone system.

好技术具有“互联”的特点。好技术不需要人工干预就能够达到按需服务的目的。例如火警系统，如果这些火警感应传感器没有互联，这样的火警系统就是无用的。再说电话，电话有用，因为在打电话过程中你无需去做为了电话的互联而去做连接工作。

As recently as last month, I spent fifteen minutes in a room with a dozen or so highly paid professionals waiting for an ITV system to be connected to a remote location. I have spent much time listening to my modem dial up a local provider (and luxuriate today in the convenience of an always-on Digital Subscriber Line connection).

就像上一个月，为了将ITV系统跟远端一个点进行连接，整整花了我还有十来个高级专业技术人员一刻钟。为了跟远端服务商连接，花了很多的时间等待拨号。

Good technology is standardized. One television functions much like another television (televisions became less useful with the introduction of brand-specific remotes). One telephone connects to any other telephone in the world. One brand of gasoline powers your car as well as any other—but cars that require different grades of fuel, such as diesel, are bad technology because of their reliance on non-standard fuel.

好技术是具有“标准化”的特点，不同电视之间的功能越来越相似。任何一台电话都可以连接到世界上其他任何一台电话。一种品牌汽油能够使用到不同的小汽车上，但不同的小汽车需要不同等级的燃料，如柴油机，从这一点上说，这也不是好技术，因为他们依赖非标准化的燃料。

Standardization promotes interoperability. Interoperability means that you have choices, that you are not locked into one supplier or vendor. It means that you can adapt easily to improved versions of the same technology: you can upgrade to a bigger television or engine-cleaning gasoline without replacing your electrical wiring or car engine. A video that is designed to be played only on a specific computer platform and email that may be read only via a specific Internet Service Provider are examples of bad technology. Video should be viewable on all platforms and email should be accessible through any Internet service provider.

标准化能够促进互操作，能够互操作就意味着你有了更多的选择，无需跟特定的服务商绑定在一起，也意味着你可以很容易采用用样技术升级你的系统。比如你可以升级更大的电视而无需更换电线，你可以更换发动机清洁汽油，而无需更换小汽车发动机。一段视频通常基于具体计算机操作平台设计播放，邮件也只能在由特定服务商提供的邮件工具上阅读，这些都是不好的技术的例子。通过任何互联网提供商应该都能够进行视频或邮件的观看和存访。

Good technology is simple. Simplicity is a slippery concept, but the best technologies can be learned by looking at the input device, not by studying a manual.

好技术具有“简单”的特点。简单是不断发展的概念，最好的技术，学习的时候就可以将其看着是一个输入设备，而不是用来研习的手册。

Here's how I distinguish between good computer programs and bad computer programs: I try to install and run the program without the use of any manual. Installation is much easier today, thanks to a good computer program called "Setup." Running the program is a different matter. When I have to stop and think (and read very small print) about how to get rid of a paperclip icon so that I can type a letter, I know I am dealing with bad technology. Good technology, by contrast, is intuitive. To use an elevator, I press the floor number. Simple. To make a phone call, I dial the number. Easy.

我辨别好的程序与不好的程序一个例子，就是不用任何手册，不断地安装运行程序。现在安装已经很容易进行，主要得益于计算机程序中的安装程序。然而运行的时候就是另外一回事儿，当我不得不停下来思考怎样去掉一个图标以至我可以键入字母时，我知道我在处理一个不好的技术。好技术，是支持直觉的。简单容易，就像使用电梯，只要按去往楼层的数字，打电话，只要拨号码。

Simplicity goes hand-in-hand with range of function. Features that you never use get in the way, and they make the product complicated and cumbersome. Look for technology that does exactly what you want: no more, no less.

简单就是使用举手之劳的功能，从来不用的功能会成为障碍，使系统变得复杂难用。让技术功能不多不少，正合适。

Good technology does not require parts. Cars are bad technology: they require a never-ending array of parts, from gasoline to oil to air filters. It is easy to overlook parts because they seem integrated into the whole; consumables, like oil or ink cartridges, don't satisfy our intuitive definition of parts. But insofar as they must be replaced and are essential to the operation of technology, they count as parts, at least for the purposes of this article.

好技术具有不使用“配件”的特点。小汽车就是不好的技术，他们需要没完没了的零配件，从需要汽油到需要空气过滤器。我们很容易忽略这些配件，因为这些配件好像跟小汽车是一个整体了。至少从消费的角度说，像油类、墨水盒，从直觉上我们几乎很少认为它们是配件。但从一定范围来说，他们必须被替代，成为某项操作技术的必要部分。把它们看作配件，至少从这篇文章的主题来说是合理的。

The bottom line is this: Do you have to purchase something on a regular basis in order to use your technology? Do you have to replace something that becomes worn out or depleted or that can be lost or stolen? The fewer times you have to purchase or replace, the better your technology; the best technology requires no ongoing purchases or replacements at all.

其低限是，你经常为了用某项技术而需要不断购买其他一些东西吗？你能够更换某些东西，当它磨损或耗尽或丢失或被盗？越是不需要花时间去购买或更换的，越属于好的技术。好技术是根本不需要持续不断的购买或更换。

Sometimes it is not possible to do without parts, but this is a sign of a transitional technology. Perhaps even good technologies, such as portable stereos that require CD-ROMs, need parts. But a portable stereo that does not need CD-ROMs because it can download MP-3s from the Internet instead would be better. If parts are absolutely necessary, they should be widely available, standardized, and simple to install. DVD players, for example, will not qualify as good technologies until DVDs become as widely available as videotapes.

有时没有配件是不可能的，但这是一种过渡阶段的技术，也许即使是好的技术像便携立体CD播放机也需要CD-ROM的片子，需要配件。但如果从网络上能够下载mp3的便携播放机会更好。如果是某种配件是不得不需要的，那它也必须是“垂手可得”的。

Good technology is personalized. Some of the simplest technologies succeed because they are personalized. One of the things that makes a telephone useful is that you have your own telephone number. In a similar manner, e-mail is useful because you have your own e-mail address. ATM cards would not be at all useful unless they opened your bank account and only your bank account. Credit cards, smart cards, pagers, cell phones, and eyeglasses are more examples of personalized technologies.

好技术具有“个性化”的特点。一些简单技术成功普及是因为它们具有个性化特点。比如电话能够广泛应用，原因之一是你拥有一个属于你的电话号码。同样，电子邮件很有用，因为你拥有属于你的邮件地址。ATM卡，除非它们能够打开你的银行帐号而且只能打开你的银行帐号，否则它们是不好用的。像信用卡、智能卡、寻呼机、蜂窝电话、甚至眼镜都是技术个性化的例子。

Bad technology forces you to fit its requirements. I purchased my copy of Microsoft Word in Canada, but the default dictionary was for American English. I could install a British dictionary, but Canadian English is distinct from both British and American English. Like many users, I am forced to add each distinctly Canadian word to a custom dictionary. This is bad technology. Why can't I simply tell Word that I am Canadian (or an architect, or a member of some other specialized group) and have it retrieve the appropriate spellings for me?

不好的技术要求你适应它的需求。我购买了一份加拿大的微软字处理软件，但是其默认的字典是美国英语，我可以安装英国英语字典，但是加拿大英语跟美国英语和英国英语还有明显的不同。就像很多的用户一样，我不得不自己逐个加上加拿大词汇。这是不好的技术的例子，为什么我不能仅仅告诉它我是加拿大人，它就能够给出合适我的拼写呢？

Good technology is modular. By "modular" I mean composed of distinct entities, each of which works independently of the others and may be arranged or rearranged into a desired configuration with a minimum of fuss and effort. To a degree, this requirement is a combination of the requirements that good technology be standardized and personalized, but modularity takes technology a step beyond either of those features.

好技术是可组合的，可组合就是由不同实体组成，每一个实体能够单独工作，且能够按需很轻易重新组合。在某种程度上，可组合的需求是建立在能够标准化和个性化的好技术基础上的。

Bricks and wood are good technology because they interconnect neatly and can be assembled into custom configurations. Legos are even better because they do not require parts like nails or cement (which is why Lego, and not Mecanno, is the construction toy of choice).

砖头和木材是好的技术，因为它们能够巧妙互联，而且能够组

The stereo systems we purchased in the 1970s are good examples of modular technology. Using the standardized RCA jack, we could assemble systems with or without pre-amps, tuners, equalizers, or even turntables. Today's Universal Serial Bus (USB) represents good technology because it allows computer systems to be assembled like the stereos of old. Books—and paper in general—are good because they are modular; a person may assemble a book, such as a binder, out of individual sheets of paper and a library out of a collection of books.

70年代购买的立体声系统是很好的组合技术的例子，用标准的RCA接口，我们能够集成系统而不需要什么预放大器、均衡器、或调试器。今天的USB总线接口也是好技术的代表。因为它允许计算机进行重组。书和纸从某种程度上来说，也是好的组合技术的代表。任何人都会装书，就如装订工，能够装订个人活页夹，也能够装订图书馆藏书。

Good technology does what you want it to do. And it doesn't do something else. "Doing what you want it to do" means the same thing as "idiot proof." Good technology minimizes the potential for operator error and thus the possibility of unexpected consequences. Good technology is also robust—less prone to breakdowns and malfunctions—and reliable. Software that crashes instead of running is obviously bad technology. Telephone systems that connect you to India instead of Indiana are not useful.

好技术具有“抗愚”的特点，能够做你需要做的事情，而不做其他不需要做的事情。好技术能够尽可能减少了误操作和降低非预期的后果的发生。好技术有健壮性——很少会垮掉或出错，高可靠性。软件如果没有运行而垮掉了，很明显是不好的技术。如果电话将你连接到印度而不是印地安那州，那肯定是没用的。

"Doing what you want it to do" is a highly personal thing. If you want your daughter's clothes to protect her from the cold, then her selection of a light chiffon top and an ultra-mini skirt represents bad technology. But if she wants clothes to accentuate her physical features, then the same clothes represent good technology.

“做你想做的事情”也是高度个性化的，如果你希望你女儿的衣服能够防寒，那么她选择质地轻的花边上装和迷你群则代表了坏技术，但是如果她希望用衣服来增加身材的效果，同样的穿衣方法则是好的技术。

Conclusion
结论

It is important to remember that no technology is perfect. No technology will satisfy all nine rules. However, some technologies will satisfy more rules than others, and some technologies will even break a rule or two and still be very good technologies (if only because no better alternative is available). That said, purchasers should insist on—and vendors should be pressed for—good technology as defined above. We spend too much time and money on new technology to be satisfied with anything less.

记住，不是任何技术都完美无缺。没有一种技术能够满足上述所有规则。然而，好技术能够比不好的技术满足更多的上述规则。某项技术违背了其中一两项规则的还可以算是好技术。也就是说，买者和卖者都应该向着上述好的技术方向努力。我们花了太多的时间和金钱做了太多没有结果的事情。

顶一下,真的是好文章啊.