Re: Screen cont. (from the "Peanut Gallery")

["Jim Armstrong" <jim_a technologist com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin_Saenz dell com <Kevin_Saenz dell com>
"windows is a good example of "if you make it easy for idiots to use
someone will build a bigger and better idiot"."


I really beg to differ, Kevin, and it just so happens that phrase connotes,
almost exactly, the attitude that Corporate IS managers (and particularly
mainframe reports analysts, remember them?) displayed when the first
Apple ][ with VisiCalc appeared on departmental managers' desks.

I've found the end user is about as dumb, but not quite, as you expect him
to be..for instance he KNOWS when he's being patronized.

As far as the rest of it.. all a typical cubemonger really needs is a
diskless network appliance with built in browser.  Dont need Linux for
that.. tho might as well use it as limited windows (CE).  But just try to
put one of those on the Manager's desk!

And the user should only have to be trained on the app.. not the machine
itself.

Too many unix proponents confuse versatility and processing power with ease
of use... I used to get into endless debates with developers who absolutely
could not understand the business user interface and would proudly point to
7 or 8 open command line windows as proof of superiority of Unix... guess
they figgered the sec'y would like to work on seven docs at once.. in "vi".
And dont even get me started on the available commercially supported X
interfaces.. they should just pack it in and go straight to XML.


Jim Armstrong
- been around the block-  twice.