Version 2.0 – Better or Not?

The technology business depends on selling version 2.0.

Both hardware and software companies are endlessly trying to improve their products. Depending on the company and product group, that desire for improvement may be driven by a genuine desire to build something innovative and better. Or, it could be that new “features” are added willy-nilly in order to keep the revenue generation machine clicking.

The reason I’m thinking about this is my recent experience with, of all things, a CPU cooler.

Before we get to the CPU cooler, though, let’s think on the whole idea of version 2.0 (or 3.0 version 7 or whatever.) We all like to believe that a new version is better. That doesn’t mean we necessarily want to rush out and buy a new version. When we see a company ship updated or new products, it gives us this warm fuzzy feeling that things are getting better. Your CPU isn’t fast enough? Intel ships a shiny new Core i7 or i5. Your word processor feels limited? Look, Word 2007 has that nifty new ribbon interface.

I’m certainly not immune to the endless cycle of improved versions, as I proved by pre-ordering a Nikon D300s. On the other hand, I don’t always rush out and buy the latest version.

There’s also a tendency among the majority of users to feel warmest and fuzziest with incremental improvements. When a new product that’s based on an older one ships with radical changes, it often generates serious controversy. The aforementioned Word 2007 ribbon bar is a good example. I find the ribbon bar useful, but quite a few Word users loathe it.

Similarly, Windows Vista engendered a lot of controversy. It was a substantial departure from Windows XP in many ways. The fact that the original version shipped with a number of performance sapping bugs didn’t help matters. By the same token, Windows 7 is getting rave reviews – it’s the version of Vista that should have shipped, goes the conventional thinking. My thoughts: it’s an iteration on an old version (Vista) – and despite the fact that Vista itself found little love, Windows 7’s massive numbers of small improvements seem to make people feel comfortable.

What’s that got to do with CPU coolers?

I’ve used the Scythe Ninja in a number of PCs I’ve built over the years. The original Ninja mounted using standard mounting hardware, which meant that you didn’t need special mounting plates attached to the motherboard. It was also fairly light, unlike some monster coolers. I also liked it because you could attach quiet fans and build a system that could run one speed grade higher, yet offer relatively low noise.

In the past few days, I’ve been building up a new reference test system. (I’ll go into more detail about that in a future post). One item I picked up to be a part of that system was the Scythe Ninja II.

Now, the Ninja II seems to offer improvements in the way the heat pipes are laid out. They’re spread out more, which helps dissipate heat more efficiently. In fixing that, though, they created a different problem: the user interface had to change.

Original Ninja on the left; Ninja II on the right.

Yes, a heat sink has a user interface. The original Ninja is on the left, the new one is on the right. See the notches on the original? Those notches are cut out of all the fins. This allowed you to use a screwdriver or other skinny tool to press the mounting latches into place, or rotate them to dismount the cooler. Because of the way the heatpipes are laid out in version 2, these notches had to go away. Instead, Scythe carved out a small area near the bottom to make it easier to insert a finger to press down the mounting latches.

This works fine if your motherboard is on a bench top. Once installed in a case, though, it’s almost impossible to get a finger into cutout near the corner of the motherboard. In effect, you have to remove the motherboard if you ever want to replace a CPU.

For many users, that’s not a big deal. For people like me, who are regularly trying out different CPUs, it’s a nuisance. If I have to remove a motherboard to install a new CPU, I might as well get a fancier cooler with a mounting plate.

In effect, Scythe just removed one of the major advantages of the Ninja, while making an incremental improvement in another area. Depending on what you perceive to be the more important aspect of the original Ninja, you may or may not want to use the new one in a future system.

And so it is with many “version 2.0” technologies. Seeming improvements added to a new product create other, unanticipated problems – the law of unintended consequences at work. Engineers can often benefit from the input of a good industrial engineer, a robust beta process or even talking to the occasional product reviewer. Real users will always find the flaws in your product, much more so than any internal testing will ever reveal.

So when a version 2.0 ships, and it’s not quite what you want, you may view any subsequent version 2.5 or 3.0 with some skepticism. But remember, technology companies stay in business because of their commitment to continuous improvement. Sometimes the improvement process can lead to mistakes. Companies that learn from their mistakes stay in business and grow. Companies that fail to learn don’t.