Re: [desktop] why kde and gnome's menu situation sucks
On 10/23/2002 11:13 PM, marco trevisani at marco@centrotemporeale.it wrote:
> The point, the concept and the idea are good, i'm afraid the results
> will be bad. Forget Windows, in any case i think Mac is better in that
> sense, but this is not the point. The problem is, i verified this with
> my experience and experiments too, that if you use the same
> names/structures as in Wodnows/Mac to make life easier you will run into
> another problem: people then expect the same behaviour, the same way of
> configuring, the same way things happen, which is not the case, and they
> do not understand the difference they just jump to the conclusion that
> "this does not work..etc..". It is better making up names that are
> clear, easy to understand by a non unix professional user, avoinding to
> copy the feel&look *like* either from Windows or Mac.
>
I believe I understand your point. Is the idea to use a label like "Web
Browser", instead of a label like "Explorer", or a proper name like,
"Galeon"?
If so, I agree - "Web Browser" and similar such labels is the better way to
go. And make the default GUI look and feel just different enough that they
know that things aren't quite the same, and that they need to learn some new
behaviors and ways of doing things.
However, even labeling that is this simple is going to confuse some folks
coming over from Windows. There are Windows users who do NOT know what a
web browser is - I kid you not. They know what "IE" is, what "Explorer" is,
but they don't make the connection that IE and Explorer are *types* of web
browser! I kid you not. (Heh, but then, we all have read Dilbert and UFie
cartoons here - we know how bad it can get ;-)
Well, when push comes to shove, Debian Desktop can work very hard to produce
something as simple and newbie friendly as possible. But we won't be able to
overcome the handicaps of the utterly clueless computer user. We'll just
have to take our lumps with those types of user, and devote our efforts for
those who are a bit more clueful.
Linux on the Desktop for the Minimally Clueful Masses!
Cheers,
Luke Seubert
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