On Fri, 11 Jun 1999 23:25:14 -0400, "Kristopher Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>My reaction was to >the people who are glad that Linux isn't too easy, because they enjoy the >challenge. Adversity builds character, I guess. Well said. In addition, the reverse also seems to apply; point-and-click interfaces suck, because they are too easy. Windows could learn a lot from Linux in terms of performance, power and stability, but Linux doesn't even come close to the ease of installation and use you'll find with Windows. This is not something to be proud of, or something to blame on (new) users. It would be nice if the people you mention above realize that the vast majority of computer users in general are absolutely not interested in learning about operating systems, file systems, the files in /etc, and so on - they just want to get a job done, as quickly and easily as possible. There is absolutley nothing wrong with that. >If you like to do things the hard way, then fine. But it doesn't really >mean that you're more intelligent or more knowledgeable than people who >click a few buttons in a GUI to accomplish the same thing. Even if it did mean that, so what? Alan Cooper has written an interesting book about user interface design (he prefers to call it interaction design). It addresses a lot of the issues that users have to deal with when operating high-tech equipment like computers; these issues are universal, and apply to interacting with Linux as well. A sample chapter is available online at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/book-excerpt/0672316498/vbtechniques/002-1455712-0642063 It is a really interesting read; it wouldn't hurt if the die-hards read it ;-) Gertjan. -- Gertjan Klein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Boot Control home page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gklein/bcpage.html
