Bob Programs (Continued)

BOB also includes two financial tools: Checkbook and Financial Guide.  If Letter Writer is the stripped-down Word then Checkbook is the stripped-down Excel.  Checkbook is a reference on various financial topics:

Financial Guide 

I really can’t imagine anyone actually using this guide.  It has been dumbed-down so far that it is very hard to imagine any self-respecting adult actually using it to make real financial decisions.  Just look at the icons.

You can start to see that probably the fundamental problem with BOB is the overall design assumption.  BOB’s designers seems to believe that computer-challenged people are just not bright and not only need a simplified interface, they need characters that look like they should be in a kindergarten textbook telling them what to do and how to do it.  Consider BOB Checkbook:

BOB Checkbook 

Notice BOB Checkbook, the special mascot designated to help you balance your checkbook.  It’s condescending.  To make it worse, BOB Checkbook talks as part of his animations.

Let’s move on.  There is also Address Book and E-mail – the BOB version of Outlook Express.  Address Book does about what you would expect it to:

Address Book 

E-mail also offers a simplified interface for managing your E-mail:

BOB E-mail 

Again, it looks like they went overboard with the ease of use.  A simplified interface does not require this much sugar coating.