APPLEVISION Monitor, Anything !Windows = Cryptic ?

From: Richard Erlacher <edick_at_idcomm.com>
Date: Mon May 6 18:28:27 2002

I'm not sure what/which you mean here, Roger.

more below...

Dick

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Merchberger" <zmerch_at_30below.com>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, May 06, 2002 4:56 PM
Subject: Re: APPLEVISION Monitor, Anything !Windows = Cryptic ?


> Rumor has it that Richard Erlacher may have mentioned these words:
> >I just consider "user-friendly" as being such that you can take an
unitiated
> >but interested party, set them down at the console, and expect them to be
> able
> >to do what they want to do without first attending extensive training. I
> know
> >Martin Marietta send folks off to Unix school for a couple of weeks,
> >half-days, but I ducked out of that by going to an HP CAE class in Andover,
> >MA.
> >
> >Windows does that, however, and so, apparently does the Mac, though I find
it
> >confusing because it's not what I've grown to know, if not love.
>
> [snip]
>
> Then I guess DEC [Comhaq] Tru64 Unix Version 5 would also fall under that
> heading... I sat my rather technophobe wife behind that OS on a DEC 3000
> Model 300 Alpha, and she was using it faster & easier than Win95... I went
> from 2-3 support calls per day (from her, while I was at work) to maybe 1-2
> per month. The DEC finally got a little slow for her tastes, and she needed
> office apps (read: staroffice) so I put her behind the wheel of a Compaq
> Dual P2-350Mhz running RedSplat 7.2 -- still easier to set up with my
> networked color laser (windows still can't find it... :-( ) and it was
> still easier for her to cross over to KDE from Tru64 than it was to teach
> her the maintenance necessary for Win9x.
>
Maintenance? What do you mean? There are some feeble manintenance tools, but
they're not power tools.
>
My neighbor bought two dual Alpha server boxes sans-OS under the apparent
illusion that there was a Tru64 Unix for it. After trying to get that to come
to pass, and failing in that, after trying to sell the things, he finally
discarded them, lock, stock, and barrel. I wish he'd let me have a crack at
the PSU's.

Now, he's been formally trained (whatever that means) in Compaq lore and DEC
lore before that, not to mention that he's an MSCE, methinks. He's clearly
not an idiot, but he was unable to get that Tru64 thing to happen. Clearly,
not all things are as simple as some might like to believe.
>
> Then again, tho; it could just be the teacher... ;-)
>
Received on Mon May 06 2002 - 18:28:27 BST