Microsoft tipping

[Alma J Wetzker]

Collins wrote:
> [ snips ]
> 
> On Monday 29 December 2003 08:56, Alma J Wetzker wrote:
> 
>>Andrew L. Gould wrote:
>>
>>>On Monday 29 December 2003 10:15 am, Net Llama! wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Mon, 29 Dec 2003, Alan Jackson wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 23:11:46 -0600
>>>>>
>>>>>Alma J Wetzker <almaw at ieee.org> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>In my view, M$ puts ease of use above everything else; 
>>>>>
>>>>>Maybe I'm odd, but I don't find Windows easy to use. I find it obscure,
>>>>
>>>>You're not odd.  I've had similar experiences.  And don't even get me
>>>>started on the nightmare that is M$-Exchange.
>>>
> 
> Ease of use can only be used to describe M$ programs if you narrow the terms 
> to accomplishing only one specific task in the one specific way the program 
> wants you to do it.  
> 
> Ever try to find out where one of the "easy to use" photographic programs 
> supplied with a new digital camera is storing its files (you might want to 
> back them up or transfer to CD) or what type of files it's storing?  Ever try 
> to get an image that wasn't created by this particular program into the 
> program to edit it?  Ever get tired of remembering how many menu levels you 
> have to go through to be able to display the file types along with the dorky 
> icons on an explorer panel?  It goes on ad infinitum.
> 
> This is not what I'd call "easy to use."
> 
> OTOH, if you want a lesson in frustration, just try the label printing 
> functions in Open/Star/Office. Or even better, ever want to transfer mail 
> from one of the mutually incompatible open source mailers to another?  We 
> can't blame M$ for those POS!!!
> 
When I say "ease of use", I mean the hand holding that a new user needs that 
doesn't care about where files are stored, or even what a file system is.  I 
am thinking of the mentality that just doesn't care what is happening as long 
as it works.  (I don't think anyone on this list fits that description, so we 
all, rightly, complain that the label doesn't fit.)

I tend to think of computers as being like cars.  There are mechanics, that 
know how to make the fool things work.  There are enthusiasts, that understand 
how a car works and are willing to do some of their own repairs.  And there is 
the driver, who just wants it to get them where they are going and barely 
tolerate putting in gas.  The ones who take it to a mechanic if anything goes 
wrong.  I curse the day when they took out gages and put in "warning lights".

M$ caters to the last group, and caters to them well.  That is smart because 
that group is significantly larger than the other groups, combined.  M$ even 
has them believing that buggy, insecure software is the best they are ever 
going to get.  I find that situation very disturbing and try to change it one 
user at a time.  At some point, the good folks on this list need to remind 
themselves that they are not typical computer users.  (Who wants to be typical?)

     -- Alma