PuTTY alt-keys (was Re: 16-User Network)

[Bob Rasmussen]

Having read everything that came after, up to 8:00 PM PDT, I have only 
this to say: for every geek who wants a product that's hard enough to 
configure that it makes them look smart, there are five hundred end users 
who just want to do their job productively, and their job has nothing to 
do with configuring SSH.

On Tue, 30 Aug 2011, Fairlight wrote:

> This public service announcement was brought to you by Bob Rasmussen:
> > 
> > For a "known" connection, there is no setup necessary. For a "new" 
> > connection, Anzio asks first for your terminal type (which PuTTY doesn't 
> > even offer), then how you want to connect (SSH vs. telnet, etc., and host 
> > name or address). By contrast, PuTTY presents one treeview where you have 
> > to hunt around for settings. How is Anzio "whacky"?
> 
> For my money?  Because it is a step backwards compared to pre-1989
> software.  Look at Procomm+ back then.  You knew what you were doing, you
> configured it, it worked, and it was sleek.  (Pre-GUI, mind...)
> 
> Anzio is feature-rich, but in ways the interface is just...it's like
> terminal emulation for dummies.  Anyone that should actually be -using- a
> terminal emulator should know enough to know what the hell they're
> doing--not be guided through wizards and all sorts of stuff.
> 
> Honestly, I prefer PuTTY's configuration methodology.
> 
> And how many people actually need more than vtxxx, linux, scoansi, or
> xterm.  And oh, by the way, vtxxx, linux, and xterm all largely share a
> vtxxx base.  So you're really catering to one area that Anzio does better
> than any other emulator--scoansi.  Congratulations, you support a near-dead
> platform better than any other company!  :)  I'm just not seeing the need
> to blast PuTTY for not offering "choices".  It's known to be xterm more
> than anything else, and even SCO has xterm.  People clinging to their
> scoansi emulation are, IMNSHO, people that need to get with modern
> operating systems and come to an understanding on just how screwy SCO
> was--er, barely still is.
> 
> You serve a totally different segment of the market, really.  You provide
> some really great features, and your product is robust.  But you don't
> serve the geek sector, who are all about OSS and tuning things at a highly
> granular level, on the whole.  You serve (going by your own past public
> commentary) a lot of under-educated end-users, most of whom you didn't
> trust with ssh support for something like a year before finally relenting
> and putting ssh into Anzio Lite--which you'd previously refused to do on
> the grounds that the product price wasn't enough to justify potential
> support costs for ssh configuration by under-educated end-users.
> 
> It's "goofy" to anyone that's even remotely technically-minded and wants
> all their settings in one central location, rather than scattered about
> menu check items, a few panes in one window, a few panes in another, the
> odd dialogue here or there...  Seriously, who spreads their configuration
> out that much if they have any sort of technical background?  Who -wants-
> it spread out that much?
> 
> I'm betting your highest costing support issue isn't actually anything to
> do with the functionality, but rather the, "Where the bloody hell -IS- the
> feature I know should be here but can't frakkin' find?!!" factor.
> 
> Seriously, ProTerm ][ for the Apple ][e had more centralised confguration,
> and that was mature (and all but obsolete, as the ][e platform was dying
> off) 20-25yrs ago.
> 
> So yeah, quirky, goofy, spread out all over the place...  Call it what you
> will.  I call it distinctly end-user skewed, as opposed to a technician's
> or power user's package.  Essentially, especially considering you have the
> scoansi market cornered, you are -still- catering largely to the mindset of
> that crowd--canned, "I'm too stupid to be bothered to learn the technical
> details without being walked through it step-by-step," type mentalities.
> That's where SCO held onto their customers.  They didn't have much else to
> offer, considering the devkit and everything else came unbundled.  It was a
> platform to install, run canned software, and have zero maintenance.  Even
> though one -should- patch, many didn't bother--they saw it as rock
> solid--until they got holed.  But I see it as the same mentality at work.
> 
> Let's face it...anyone using passthru printing in the age of IP-ready
> printers is a bit behind the curve, or is dealing in kiosks--which you also
> cornered quite well.  But it shows in the design of the entire product.
> This was never designed for power/technical users, IMNSHO.  It was designed
> for end-users.
> 
> End-users can be quirky and goofy, and do some stupid things.  If the shoe
> fits...  Yeah, goofy.
> 
> mark->
> -- 
> Audio panton, cogito singularis.
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Regards,
....Bob Rasmussen,   President,   Rasmussen Software, Inc.

personal e-mail: ras at anzio.com
 company e-mail: rsi at anzio.com
          voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time)
            fax: (US) 503-624-0760
            web: http://www.anzio.com
 street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc.
                 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9
                 Portland, OR  97223  USA