When I switched from Windows to Mac, I had to change from Outlook to Entourage. One feature I really miss is the ability to drag an email onto the Calendar, making an instant appointment with the details in the message. Entourage makes me remember the date of the meeting in the email, go to the Calendar, open a new appointment and then change the settings - a big load on my poor old short term memory (and completely unnecessary). This made me think of all of the other times I have to rely on my short term memory when doing things on the computer, when right in front of me I have a fantastic device for storing and presenting information and reducing this cognitive burden. It is almost perverse.
For example, take the clipboard that stores data when you copy and paste. Why isn't this system-wide facility more user friendly for multiple items? I.e. why is it not more easy to see what is on the clipboard and make use of it. A simple universal keyboard shortcut could bring up a visual representation of the clipboard showing all available items. Indeed, Microsoft recognised this with the more recent versions of the Office suite, but why not make this a key part of the overall operating system - a nice, universal and visual relief from the burden on short term memory. I'm obviously not the first to recognise this need, given the number of third party apps that now offer this functionality - but something so key should surely be built in by now.
