Skeuomorph

‘Kitsch’ is a German word born in the middle of the sentimental nineteenth century, and from German it entered all Western languages. Repeated use, however, has obliterated its original metaphysical meaning: kitsch is the absolute denial of shit, in both the literal and the figurative senses of the word; kitsch excludes everything from its purview

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Wildenhaus’s description has stayed with me because it reflects how the best software products aren’t just assemblages of functionality ,exposed by particular formal elements (links, buttons, icons, menus). Rather, they organize and shape how you think, and they create or sustain a particular lifestyle:

BEFORE EXAMINING GOOGLE Docs’ features, it’s worth acknowledging that all software features are the product of kleptomania, which in this field is rampantly practiced and knowingly forgiven. Google Docs’ edit history feature comes from, of course, Microsoft Word’s “Track Changes” feature, which can find its elementary form in WordPerfect. And

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