🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <9111141430.AA00491@pop-tarts> tower@prep.ai.mit.edu writes:
>The GNU OS will be a system made *by* programmers who understand what
>users want and need (usually by asking them), *for* programmers and
>users (and thus follows the sometimes differing priorities of both
>programmers and users!).

>C'mon, it's not that hard to have a system that is easy to use and
>powerful to use for a variety of different people.

Allow me to politely say that you're dreaming.  I know a few of these
non-programmer users (married to one, actually), and they're not too
keen on anything that bears any resemblance to an operating system.
The typical way that these users have of dealing with a computer is to
learn how to use the small number of applications that solve that
problems that they have, and that is all.  To the extent that the OS
is visible, it is an impediment.

They don't like TOPS; they don't like VMS; they don't like Unix; they
don't like MVS; they don't like VM/CMS; they don't like MS/DOS.  They
don't like emacs, Gosling or Gnu.

They like their Macintoshes very much, and only wish that they had
bigger screens.  Second-best is MS/DOS, because it runs on cheap
machines, boots quickly, and can be dealt with using a VERY small set
of cookbook keystrokes.  After that, they all suck, except that the
DEC OSes get small brownie points for doing SOMETHING when you type
"help", and having commands that look like real words instead of
hieroglyhpics.

Anyhow, that's my experience.  Ordinary people want to use the OSes
that we use about as much as they want to start their car with a
crank.  A chauffeured limo would be best of all, of course.

David