"Most of the software that truly moves the world doesn't demand our attention: It quietly removes friction and gets out of the way. You only notice it when it's broken. That's not a bug in the business model; it's a feature. In fact, "unnoticed but indispensable" is the highest customer-satisfaction score you can get. Consider these categories that already figured this out."
"Password managers, once you build the habit, fade into the background. They fill the box before you even remember there was a box. Single sign-on (SSO) systems go a step further and make logging in to everything feel like one action instead of 17 small, annoying ones. And passkeys get rid of passwords entirely. The pattern is consistent: Tools that turn a chore into a non-event ultimately win."
"You notice good plumbing by its absence. Otherwise, you just enjoy the hot shower. Invisible infrastructure already won the internet Some technologies graduate from "choice" to "ambient." Transport layer security (TLS) and HTTPS used to be optional. Now they're table stakes, largely thanks to Let's Encrypt making it approachable. Your browser nudges everyone toward secure defaults and the ecosystem complies. We don't "do" TLS; we benefit from it."
Software that succeeds often removes friction and remains unnoticed until it breaks. Authentication is becoming background plumbing through password managers, single sign-on, and passkeys that make logging in a non-event. Treating login as plumbing yields better user experience than treating it as a ritual. Infrastructure like TLS and HTTPS has shifted from optional to ambient thanks to initiatives like Let's Encrypt and browser nudges. Networking stacks that once required manual installation are now present by default. Progress in software often means moving components from explicit choices into invisible, dependable systems. Early chatbots are first drafts; future AI value will be ambient assistance.
Read at Fast Company
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