Re: Comment on article - Switching Back.
On Wed, Jul 17, 2002 at 07:59:34AM -0500, Derrick 'dman' Hudson wrote:
> What is "the average home user"? What can a software vendor assume
> that person is capable of? Incapable of?
I've seen this argument over and over. "Oh, even a secretary in a
distant country knows the look-and-feel of Windows".
Sure. But it wouldn't take too much for her to get used to Linux. I've
tried it. Called a woman with no experience with Linux, but who managed
tolearn how to use Windows. She said "It's the same thing: you click on
things, then windows appeag on the screen, and you do stuff".
The people who have problems switching to Linux are the same who have
problems with Windows. One relative of mine once had a hard time learning
how to use Excel to do some sort of calculation. She's not dumb. She's
actually quite a good teacher, but she's just not into computers and
math.
> Can he install and maintain a "working" windows system? How would
> windows actually be easier for him to use?
It wouldn't. I've seen lawyers, for example, who have problems to
access a website. Yes, with Internet Explorer.
The problem is that the "personal computer" itself is still to complex
for most people who don't think like techs.
Not that they're dumb... They are just not good in dealing wth
computers. Have you ever seen people who just can't (or are teribly
afraid of) drive? The same for swimming, appreciating music, and
everything else.
It's not realistic to think PCs are things that "anyone can use".
> The car analogy is great here.
*Great* analogy! :-)
> You could easily install debian on your father's computer, set it up
> with X and a decent desktop/window manager. Create some launchers so
> he can just click a button and run the programs he needs.
Yes. But the concept that the industry has been seling all this time is
that of a "personal" computer. One that is "easy-to-use". They have
unfortunately extended this to something like
'easy-to-install-and-admin-yourself".
You see, people don't fix their own hardware. The ordinary user won't
open the box and check which part of it is broken... They don't put
together their own PCs, from scratch. Why would they do that with software?
But that's what the software industry has been forcing for a long
time...
Quite a mistake, isn't it? :-/
J.
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