--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They don't make poles long enough for me…" description: "\"They don't make poles long enough for me want to touch Microsoft products, and I don't want any mass-marketed game-playing device or Windows appliance ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/erik-naggum-8459_appliances_they-don-t-make-poles-long-enough-for-me_216242.jpg" --- # They don't make poles long enough for me want to touch… ![“They don't make poles long enough for me want to touch Microsoft products, and I don't want any mass-marketed game-playing device or Windows appliance near my desk or on my network. This is my workbench, dammit, it's not a pretty box to impress people with graphics and sounds. When I work at this…” quote by Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/erik-naggum-8459_appliances_they-don-t-make-poles-long-enough-for-me_216242.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/erik-naggum-8459_appliances_they-don-t-make-poles-long-enough-for-me_216242.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/erik-naggum-8459_appliances_they-don-t-make-poles-long-enough-for-me_216242.jpg) > “They don't make poles long enough for me want to touch Microsoft products, and I don't want any mass-marketed game-playing device or Windows appliance near my desk or on my network. This is my workbench, dammit, it's not a pretty box to impress people with graphics and sounds. When I work at this system up to 12 hours a day, I'm profoundly uninterested in what user interface a novice user would prefer.” [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author prefers a minimalist, non‑consumer‑grade workstation, rejecting mainstream UI designs and marketing. **In simple terms:** He wants a simple, functional workbench, not a flashy consumer device. Key Takeaway Choose tools that serve your workflow, not trends. Themes minimalism workplace design user experience Mood critical determined Type opinion personal When to use this quote - software development - personal computing - office setup Key Concepts productivity hardware customization software ergonomics Questions to Reflect On - What essential features are you sacrificing? - How do you handle software updates? A Different Perspective Such a setup may lack support and compatibility with mainstream software. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appliances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appliances/) [Boxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxes/) [Desks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desks/) [Devices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devices/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Impress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impress/) [Interface Novice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interface-novice-2220004/) [Interfaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interfaces/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Microsoft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microsoft/) [Novice User](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novice-user-2220003/) [Novices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novices/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/products/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Uninterested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uninterested/) [Uninterested User](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uninterested-user-2220002/) [User interface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/user-interface/) [Users](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/users/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Window](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/window/) [Workbench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workbench-2220005/) [Workbench Dammit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workbench-dammit-2220001/) ## Related quotes > [Unfortunately, nigh the whole world is now duped into thinking that silly fill-in forms on web pages is the way to do user interfaces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-naggum/unfortunately-nigh-the-whole-world-is-now-duped-into-thinking-that/) [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) > [What if the Big Three automakers made products that were simple and easy to use - imagine a car with a user interface made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/what-if-the-big-three-automakers-made-products-that-were-simple-and/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [“By the architecture of a system, I mean the complete and detailed specification of the user interface. 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Brooks Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-p-brooks-jr/) > [Steve Jobs' ability to focus in on a few things that count, get people who get user interface right, and market things as revolutionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/steve-jobs-ability-to-focus-in-on-a-few-things-that-count-get-people/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about is now five years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorsten-heins/the-user-interface-on-the-iphone-with-all-due-respect-for-what-this/) [Thorsten Heins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorsten-heins/) > [History repeats itself again I guess the rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don’t innovate at that speed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorsten-heins/history-repeats-itself-again-i-guess-the-rate-of-innovation-is-so/) [Thorsten Heins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorsten-heins/) > [The act of voting, to put it in computing terms, is a question of user interface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/the-act-of-voting-to-put-it-in-computing-terms-is-a-question-of-user/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Perhaps the most versatile and useful plug-in in the collection is Mass Copy. It is certainly the one I use the most. Due to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-patterson/perhaps-the-most-versatile-and-useful-plug-in-in-the-collection-is/) [Robert Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-patterson/) > [“The key utility measure is user happiness. Speed of response and the size of the index are factors in user happiness. It seems reasonable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-d-manning/the-key-utility-measure-is-user-happiness-speed-of-response-and-the/) [Christopher D. Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-d-manning/) > [A general principle for all user interface design is to go through all of your design elements and remove them one at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/a-general-principle-for-all-user-interface-design-is-to-go-through/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [“The diagnostics and modifications screens. Ugly and utilitarian, just like they have been since the very beginnings of visual user interface. They were beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-scalzi/the-diagnostics-and-modifications-screens-ugly-and-utilitarian-just/) [John Scalzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-scalzi/) > [AI works really well when you couple AI in a raisin bread model. AI is the raisins, but you wrap it in a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-etzioni/ai-works-really-well-when-you-couple-ai-in-a-raisin-bread-model-ai-is/) [Oren Etzioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-etzioni/) > [It was one of those sort of apocalyptic moments. I remember within ten minutes of seeing the graphical user interface stuff, just knowing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-was-one-of-those-sort-of-apocalyptic-moments-i-remember-within-ten/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“Apple’s graphical user interface. 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If you aren't smart enough to distinguish what's bad about some gotos from all gotos, goto hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-naggum/gotos-aren-t-damnable-to-begin-with-if-you-aren-t-smart-enough-to/) [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) > [I have come to believe that large print, thick and heavy paper, and wide margins and oversize leading is indicative of the expected intelligence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-naggum/i-have-come-to-believe-that-large-print-thick-and-heavy-paper-and/) [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) > [The fundamental deficiency in HTML is that it reduces hypertext and the intertwinedness of human communication to a question of how it is rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-naggum/the-fundamental-deficiency-in-html-is-that-it-reduces-hypertext-and/) [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) > [The currency in the developer community is enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-naggum/the-currency-in-the-developer-community-is-enthusiasm/) [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) > [A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I regret that this isn't fatal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-naggum/a-little-knowledge-is-a-dangerous-thing-i-regret-that-this-isn-t-fatal/) [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) [Explore all 80 Erik Naggum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) ## More Appliances quotes > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you want a reliable tip, drive into a town, go to the nearest appliance store and seek out the dishwasher repair man. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-q-miller/if-you-want-a-reliable-tip-drive-into-a-town-go-to-the-nearest/) [Bryan Q. 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