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Mechanical pencils
Here
are two mechanical pencils. The one above has
some pretty annoying features. The eraser
is under a cap (shown removed). If you make a lot
mistakes like I do, you will be constantly taking
the cap off the pencil, holding it with one hand,
erasing (notice the tiny little eraser), and pushing
the cap back on. When you push the cap back on it
will cause the pencil lead to advance one step out
of the pencil. You will have to
play with the pencil to get the lead back in.
Eventually, you will lose the cap.
Why does this pencil have a cap? Apparently, people thought it looked better with a cap; cleaner lines; no unsightly eraser to remind you of your errors.
The pencil below doesn't have these problems. It doesn't have a cap. It has a nice big eraser and the lead is not advanced by pressing on the eraser. Instead, there is a lead advance button just above where I hold the pencil when writing. (Although, this may be a problem for people who grip the pencil higher up the barrel than I do!)
Design suggestion
Don't add an extra step to a task for the sake of aesthetics. Don't have the same action (pushing on the cap) do two different things: attaching the cap, and advancing the lead.
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Copyright © Michael J. Darnell 1996-2010. All rights reserved.
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