Working in technology I see a lot of companies changing user interfaces simply to differentiate them from older versions. Apple is famous for eliminating features available in previous versions of their software much to the disappointment of their users. More often than not though companies will change colors (Microsoft Windows serves as a great example of this) or where certain features are located with no additional benefits and I have to question why they do it.
Technology is not the only area where this happens. Today I got bit by a fashion change that had the potential to really embarrass me. Every year I look at early ski season sales for discounts on gear. I ski enough that my gear often wears out and needs replacing. This year I found too good deal on some ski pants and now know why. When I first bought the pants, I tried them on and noticed that the front zipper is operated using the left hand instead of the right. While I am fairly ambidextrous, I have been trained to zip and unzip pants with my right hand throughout my entire life. I didn't think it would be too much of a change until I skied up to the lodge this afternoon in a semi-panicked state as I headed to the restroom. When I bought my ski pants, my wife told me they were European. What she meant was You-re-a-pee-in as in You-re-a-pee-in-in-your-pants-in-an-emergency. That almost came true today. This is one of those cases where changing something just to be different can actually be a bad thing.
Should you happen to be working in software and think it would help to differentiate your product by changing a feature's location just to differentiate it from a previous version, remember that it could be confusing to some of your long-time users. They may not appreciate your stylistic updates. Now I need to go practice zipping and unzipping my pants with my left hand so I don't have an accident in the future.
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