In praise of the off switch

There was a time when every machine had a switch, and the switch had two positions, and one of them was off. The modern device has a button that puts it to sleep, a menu that restarts it, and a setting, several screens deep, that reduces how often it wakes you up. None of these is off.

The off switch was removed because an off device cannot be updated, reminded, measured or sold to. Every one of those is a reason that benefits someone other than the owner. The owner wanted the thing to stop, and 'stop' has become a negotiation.

The devices people describe as loving tend to be the ones with a real switch: the radio, the kettle, the lamp. There is a design lesson in that affection. A thing that can be turned off is a thing that can be trusted on.