Solving the enigmas of everyday design

P Photo/The Daily Sentinel, Andrew D. Brosig
A simple example is the over-complicated VCR. Why do manufacturers load them up with so many functions that recording a television program is infuriatingly difficult? The answer is because it costs so little to add each function to a VCR that is cheaper to install them on every machine - just in case anyone wants them - than to "edit" models for different customers.

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