Randy Kramer wrote: > On Monday 25 July 2005 05:04 am, james@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: > >>On Mon, 25 Jul, 2005 at 10:46AM +0200, Mario Lang spake thus: >> >>>That is the point, I absolutely dont feel reading up on something >>>is necessarily a bad thing. My hair stand up if I watch >>>a typical no-clue windows user more or less randomly hitting >>>buttons in the interface until "something" works. > > >>>I do feel this >>>"it has to work out of the box without me having to know anything about >>>it" attitude is childish. >> >>Seconded. > > > I'd like to respectfully disagree, or at least put forth a different opinion. > > I believe that, eventually, the level of computer and domain knowledge (for > various domains) and the simplicity of computer human interfaces should > converge such that a typical person with "non-computer" knowledge of a > specific domain, will be able to operate many computer programs without > reading a manual. In fact, I'd even suggest that as a goal or a criteria to > rate the human interface of programs. (Thus, in this case, a musician with > general computer knowledge and non-computer musical knowledge (or knowledge > of "tape recording"). it's not possible, not in computers, not in other domains. How long does it take to learn to walk? To talk? To play piano? Can you give me a better editor than vi? newbie-friendliness is not the same as user-friendliness and if I use something day to day I probably have different preferences than somebody who just started to use it - and that's same for computers and anything else. > Or, in a slightly different example, if a computer user understands how to use > one (mainstream) word processor, he should be able to quickly understand and > use at least the main features of other mainstream word processors (if there > are more than one). (And further, a goal or criteria of a word processor > human interface would include how many of the more subtle features of a > different word processor a newbie user can pick up without the manual.) yeah, sit a newbie in front of vi:-) Yet there's a LOT of people who wouldn't use other editor... repeat: user friendliness and newbie friendliness are not the same. erik
