Re: Emacs - was Re: Mail/news software
Pat Mahoney wrote:
>
> > So I offered her to install GNU/Linux on her machine and set it up for
> > every tasks she wants to do.
>
> Can I ask why you want her to run GNU/Linux? (I mean, not that I don't want
> her running it...)
Well to quote you: I'd rather see everyone running free software. Plus,
I truly believe, that she wouldn't run into that many problems,
resulting in her calling me less often. Now, don't get me wrong, I
enjoy talking to my sister even if it's only over the phone. What I
don't like, is having to troubleshoot Windows again and again.
Especially if it's over the phone.
> I am always afraid to recommend linux to people who are not into computers,
> but still use their computers often. I think I'm afraid that, no matter what
> system they use, they will encounter many problems and frustrations. If they
> use linux, then, they will start to hate it and blame it just as much as
> they would have done to windows.
Wait a second: Are you saying, non-techies shouldn't use Linux, so Linux
won't get a bad reputation? That's hypocrisy. Instead, we (as in "the
developers of free software") should value the experiences of users that
are just that: users. That's the only way, we can find out how to
develop truly powerful UIs, since we can't afford those usability labs.
> Is she saying that she knows how Windows works and how to fix things and she
> wants the same in Linux? Or is she saying if she installed Linux she would
> all of a sudden have an interest in knowing these things? [don't take that
> the wrong way, I'm having trouble wording this.]
No, she doesn't know how Windows works. Nevertheless, she enjoys
launching "Tweak UI" from the control panel, selecting the "Paranoia"
tab, unselecting "Play audio/data CD automatically" and than she asks
me, why her favorite audio CD won't play automatically play when loaded
into the CD tray. The example is off the top of my head and exagerated,
but you do get the idea, don't you?
> Sigh... Sometimes I wish that no one had ever tried to make computers easy.
> I mean, a computer is a complex thing, why try to hide the complexity so
> that when it breaks (if only it would never break...) no one knows what to
> do. The book "In the Begining was the Command Line" (can't rember the
> author) uses an analogy to H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine" where in the
> future, the human race has split in two into "Morlocks" and "Eloi." I'm not
> very familiar with the book, but the Morlocks do all the work and make
> everything while the Eloi sit around and eat fruit. Hopefully, things will
> never come to this.
Why not? It's like this right now. A few month ago, a water pipe
leaked in my kitchen's wall? Now, did I tear down the wall and fixed
the leak myself? Hell, no! I called the block's maintenance office and
had them send a plumber. Same with computers. Of course, I don't
recommend calling tech support when the CDs don't play automatically,
but than again: Why does the average user, that only want's to surf the
web, edit text, and play games have to buy a machine as complex and
powerful as a PC.
When the industry came up with the idea of set-top boxes, that let you
surf the web on the TV, I didn't like it at first, because, it hided the
PCs complexity, thus watering down its strength. But, that's because I
like to play around with the computer and change the settings and see
what happens. If I hose my root partition while doing so? No problem,
I knew in the first place, that what I was doing is risky and I know how
to fix it. But the everage user doesn't. Why then, does he have the
power to screw up his entire system, and unnecessarily so? So the
set-top box for the TV is a perfect idea for the user, that just want's
to surf the web in his living room. Just like the gaming console is the
perfect idea for the 10-year-old, who only want's to play games and
doesn't care a bit about programming and stuff.
Wow, this thread has surely changed it's topic quite a few times. :)
MfG Viktor
--
Viktor Rosenfeld
E-Mail: mailto:rosenfel@informatik.hu-berlin.de
HertzSCHLAG: http://www.informatik.hu-berlin.de/~rosenfel/hs/
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