Re: [PLUG] Usability Issues.

[Adam Turoff <ziggy@panix.com>]

Dave wrote:
> Hmm. I've been lurking in the Hotmail Thread and came across a comment
> where they said :

[this was my comment below]

> "*NIX has always focused on the engineer, while Win* has always focused 
> on end-user usability.  Calling *NIX worse on a scale of usability is a
> fair cop.  Figuring out how to make Linux more usable to the average man
> on the street is a useful discussion"
> 
> Now, it seems to me that one of the problems with NT is it's attempt at
> brain-dead configuration (GUI's etc).  [...]

I agree with you here, so allow me to explain my comment; both sides
have merit.

If you want to change the resolution of your [previously configured] monitor, 
would you rather right click on the desktop and change the setting from 
"1024x768" to "1280x1024", or would you rather muck around in 
/etc/X11/XF86Config?

On the other hand, when you want to change your nameserver, would you rather
go into the control panel and click-click-click-click-click-click to hunt
down the nameserver, or would you rather edit resolv.conf?

Microsoft has expented tremendous effort in making certain well-used
areas of the OS useable.  The effort isn't universal.  In the areas
that have benefitted from their awesome focus, *NIX can learn a thing
or two.

> It also seems to me - after listening to many competent Unix sys. admins
> that one of the joys of Unix is the ability to configure Unix via plain
> ol' text files.

I don't think anyone (except possibly Apple?  SGI?  NeXT? IBM?) have
expended the effort in studying every arcane little configuration
change to a system in order to make a useable GUI that meets or exceeds
the power and ease of maintaining a unix system with your editor of choice.

OTOH, look at the effort Microsoft put into testing the Win95 shell
Look at the interface being adopted by both KDE and Gnome.  

What does that tell you?

> I personally believe that if you create an Win/NT style interface for
> Linux, then you'll end up with win/NT style problems.

What if you had both at your disposal simultaneously?

Z.


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