🚀 go-pugleaf

On 23 Aug 1995, Henrik Wetterström wrote:

> In article <daveseid-160895130404@ip-pdx2-08.teleport.com>, daveseid@teleport.com (David Seidman) writes:
> :In article <40tepi$kpf@columbia.acc.brad.ac.uk>, D.A.Reader@bradford.ac.uk
> :(aP) wrote:
> :
snip
> :> 3. MSWin - find a window with 'Program Manager' on your screen - it 
may in
> :> fact be just a little picture.. if it is then click on it to make it a
> :> full size window, then, find a window which has something called 'File
> :> Manager' in it - again, this may already be there as a window or may be a
> :> little picture again. What it is called will depend on how your system
> :> was set up - in fact, it may not even be there... anyway, you need to
> :> click on that twice... then, move to the top left hand corner and find a
> :> picture of a disc drive... then click on that.. then you should have a
> :> window which shows you what is on your disc...
> :
> :4.  MacOS - look at screen
> 
> and then? I remeber a person who sat totally confused infront of the Mac
> until she said:
> "There's something wrong with this computer. There's no window with
> thing inside. Just an empty screen."
The problem is sitting. As any five year old can tell you "ya gotta do 
stuff", that's the point of a GUI. If you interact with it at all (and it 
follows decent human interface guidelines/is consisten) you will soon 
notice what actions precipitate what effects. Too bad so many of us have 
so completely squished the 5 year old inside : )

> You can't even expect people to know that they should double click on
> the hardrive icon. So, a completely novice need help to get started
> with any computer, even MacOS. Do you believe such person would know
> how to create a new folder, or rename it, move it, delete it?
I agree that anyone starting on a computer will need some help. Assuming 
they can find an on switch though, I gotta say I think the people who've 
been at it longest have done the best job (apple). If you can read the 
"open me first" sign you can find the automated "tour of your new mac". 
With someone to tell you how to put the disk in before power up that is 
_all_you_need_ to do the things you mention on a mac. Barring that, the 
curiousity of a five year old would suffice. Hmm I click once and the 
thingy goes black... Hmm, I click on the question mark thingie and it 
says (among other things) finder shortcuts...

> No! So when you spend your time learning a complete novice these 
> things do other learn some other novice 'dir', 'ls', 'mkdir' or
> other things, such as ejecting a floppy. Sorry, but a GUI is not
> perfect either, but it can help after after 30 minutes introduction.
You should really take a look at a new mac, fresh out of the wrapper. New 
users do not typically buy a computer to learn about the computer they 
buy it to perform a specific function. The man-decades of research into 
how people interact with "mind appliances" shouldnt be simply dismissed 
because it's harder to tell someone to drag "the little picture of a disk 
on the left there to the little picture of the trash can" then "type 
dir". (Though, again, I think new users are face to face with their 
machine and can easily get face to face help ie somebody who can _show_ 
them how to put the tour disk in if they're unwilling to experiment).

 > /Henrik
Boyd. These are my opinions alone and not the opinions of my employer who 
sells software to the Intel clad fortune 500.