Hi,
"Richard Erlacher" <edick_at_idcomm.com> said:
> On topic ... I'm interested in how the Mac is more prone to promote
> productivity than the Windows environment. I have limited long-term exposure
> to the Mac, and never liked a minute of it, admittedly because it was
> different from what I was accustomed to using. Nevertheless, my recent
> exposure is causing me to take another look. It doesn't demand I learn lots
> of cryptic codes that have to be entered at the console, and it doesn't even
> require I learn the path names to the objects on which I want to operate.
>
Indeed, in a GUI there should *never* be any need to be aware of paths.
If you can see it you can use it. All you need to know is the folder
heirarchy - which is the same thing as a path really...but easier to
visualize for a naive user.
> If I could convince myself that it allows for more ease of use, I'd be a lot
> more interested.
>
Much of Apples goal in the OS design was to make the computer easier to
use for someone who'd never used a computer before. I think it is
difficult for anyone here, including me, to see it from that point of
view - we're all conditioned by our experiences, and _we_ know what's
going on under the hood. I think Apple (and Xerox...) got it about
right. My twin nieces learned to use my Macs enough to play their games
and write and do drawings etc. when they were 5 years old. Macs do seem
to be easier to learn if you've never used a computer before, Apple put a
lot of effort into that aspect. Read the Mac Human Interface Guidelines
and the Style Guide, both available from their website. Unfortunately
most people now learn to use Windows first, and Macs seem _different_ ;-)
I use an old Mac for the everyday stuff - letter writing etc. simply
because it _is_ easier, and requires no maintenance. I use this Linux box
for most everything else and I have a Windows machine just for ham radio
software (and the odd game....). Horses for courses etc...
--
Cheers,
Stan Barr stanb_at_dial.pipex.com
The future was never like this!
Received on Tue May 07 2002 - 03:33:37 BST