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If you listen to the newspapers, we are in the midst of the second Great Depression. Reality is more like we're in a 70s style recession

So far you're right. Unemployment in the Great Depression was around 30% and was still 20% when WWII started. By next year we could very well be in a depression, though. You're right about the newspapers, too. And I think the current recession has the same root cause as the 70s recession - high gasoline prices. When I went to Thailand in the USAF in 1973 gasoline was $.30 a gallon, when I got back in 1974 it had more than doubled. The price of gasoline quadrupled from when Bush took office to last summer. The fact that it's now less than double what it was in 2000 gives me hope.

At least, I've not seen breadlines everywhere, are you?

Actually, yes. I know employed people who eat at the St. John's breadline. And there's a charity food bank on South Grand that has lines going down the street on Saturday mornings.

AND they didn't have food stamps back in the '30s. And Springfield hasn't really been hit that hard by the recession, as its main "industry" is state government.

Actually the 70s were worse than now (so far); higher unemployment, stagnant wages, and high inflation. Economically it was a very bad time to be a young man. However, in other respects I miss the 70s. Pot was going to be lagal "any day now", and as there was cheap and effective birth control and there were no STDs that weren't easily curable, women would come up and ask "wanna fuck?" The only ones that do that these days are prostitutes.

The US bicentennial was one hell of a nationwide stoned drunken orgy. It was a great time to be a young man, despite the recession and inflation and gas lines.

As attributed to the "Web and Design Specialist, Government" at http://www.userinstinct.com/viewpost.php?postid=kd e33review&page=10:

"So this is UNIX? I like it. I'd totally use it. As long as I could use Photoshop"

Should we clap or cry? Dunno, but it's progress.

1) Improve Task-Orientation
One task that consistently stumped users, causing them to go into exploration, was the initial discovery of where the web browser resided. The seemingly obvious answer eluded users for seconds.

Task #1 - Email

* Clicked Applications right away
* Discovered "Internet"
* Discovered "Web Browser"

(The above happened in less than 10 seconds)

* Ignored "Start Here"
* User admitted to not being used to clicking on Start Here and decided to go looking after the desktop did not have an internet icon
* Clicked URL bar
* Typed in URL
* Logged in
* "Fuck no I don't want to do that" referring to saving passwords, never saves passwords at home
* Read mail

Guess GNOME really IS a terrible user interface, haha. (Before you mod me as a troll, RTFA, they actually say this.)