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

[Richard Kreiss]

Top post:

As you all know, I live in a Windows world but my comment applies to both Windows and *nix. 

Most users don't give a hoot how it works all the want to know is that it works. 

We are the ones who care. The last thing I want is a client "looking under the hood". Too much chance of their screwing things up. This can be profitable but a big pain. 

Richard
Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 30, 2011, at 9:23 PM, Fairlight <fairlite at fairlite.com> 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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