Slashdot Mirror
Groklaw Tries Their Own Linux Usability Study
inode_buddha writes "There's a new project taking shape at Groklaw. Calling it Grok-docs, it aims to do what many of us have long whined about - a large-scale linux usability study. Evidently, PJ had some frustrations with linux, and is asking for suggestions. So far, it seems to be following a Wiki-style setup. Everybody is welcome, especially those with little or no linux experience. I hope the distros and vendors are watching this one!"
See, this is exactly the type of thinking that's STOPPING Linux from becoming a popular desktop OS. The old elitist "you're not smart enough to understand it" is absolutely ridiculous.
Wake up Ziviyr, most people aren't computer geniuses.
That CSS file that blocks ads
Face it - computers are fast becoming commodities. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a computer to be as easy to use as a toaster or Microwave. Yes, us geeks will whine about it but why should mum and dad give a toss about where some dumb configuration file is or what some arcane command line parameters are. They just want to write an e-mail, a spreadsheet or visit a few websites...
I couldn't agree more. Treat people like they know what they are doing, and they start living up to your expectations.
Lindows Steals Copyrighted Art and Promotes Porn
The first key to understanding users of Windows and the Mac is that they want the O/S to fade into the background. The needs and obsessions of the O/S hobbyist, the developer, the system administrator, fundamentally do not interest them.
But it is a dangerous mistake to call them noobs or lazy because their focus lies elsewhere. They can spend an extraordinary amount of time and money in the mastery of applications which interest them, Photoshop and Office are the obvious examples and they can be quick and ruthless in weeding out the second-rate.
Let RealNetworks stand as the example here,
Ok I blew all my moderation in this thread just to speak my mind. Most of the replies to this parent are so retarded I don't know if I should be embarrassed that i'm at the same website as them or pity that theyre such arrogant, elitist, pretentious dorksnobs who somehow think their dorksnobdom puts them on a pedestal so that all of the unknowing can praise them 5 times a day at set intervals.
Just because you don't get it doesn't mean someone else won't. Especially when that someone else is a child.
Ok let's focus on the child thing here, I guess a good thing to know would be do you have a child? And if so does your child know how to run linux? And if so does your child know the intricacies of linux and OSS in general? And if so, in all honesty, how normal is your child? Really?
His comment had nothing to do with elitism. He simply stated that some children don't need hand holding to use their computers. I know this is true - I was writing BASIC programs on my dad's C64 when I was 7 or 8.
Come on now, writing ANY type of program at 7 or 8 is AB-FUCKING-NORMAL, I don't care how smart you are, when you're 7 or 8 you're flying kites and playing little league, so I call bullshit. I call bullshit cause you think the dweebs and nerds here will give you credence and props cause you were one of the maybe 5, 10, 100? kids globally 'programming at 7 or 8'. Sorry Doogie Howser, you were learning to read and write at 7 or 8, and if you weren't, in all honesty, how normal of a child were you? Really?
once you start telling people how to do things, especially if they usually do it differently from you, they start to rely on being told how to do it. the solution? RTFM!
Oh you go girl! RTFM!!!!! Yeah, you told em there!!! But did you happen to notice that the WHOLE FUCKING POINT OF THIS ARTICLE/DISCUSSION IS THAT THE MANUAL IS INSUFFICIENT!? Of course not, because you're a moron.
Lots of adults don't either. I know any number of adults who got to grips with DOS commands back in the '80s (whether by choice or because they had to).
So of people YOU knew in the '80s, likely extremely hip people, you knew "any number of them" who got to grips with DOS commands. Who the fuck cares? You could've, and likely knew other nerds, and even if you didn't, it wasn't a random sampling of people because the fact is, as much as you want to deny it, the average person is not a fucking computer geek, they don't "get it", and I don't understand why you don't "get that".
Anyone who can do that has the basic skills to get started with a *nix box of any flavour. Unless, of course, evolution works in reverse, and we're all getting dumber.
No, anyone who can do that has the basic skills to copy and delete files. Come on, are you really trying to say 1980's MSDOS is on par with doing much of anything from a linux command shell today? Knowing ALL of MSDOS TODAY still isn't much on par with doing much of anything from a linux command shell today. It's not even relevant.
As opposed to the "You're stupid enough to use this OS"? Yeah that's an improvement. Quite frankly as an average user, your characterization of average users isn't an improvement. So stop helping us.
Oh god shut up "average user". Are you also offended that your tv remote came with instructions to install the batteries? I mean, an average user who was as above average as you could figure out how to install the batteries, no? What the fuck are you whining about anyway? I really don't know.
I'll sum this up for the egotistically blind, so that they may fail to absorb any of it. If you write computer programs, or if you write about computer programs, or if you document computer programs, err, well i'll just cut this short, if you use, or know how to use, or have heard of anything but Microsoft Windows, then you're NOT a typical user. It's pretty simple, right? Yet so many who are supposedly the "elite" fail to grasp it.
I think the point is the freakin manual sucks. Yes after a while it makes sense once you get used to certain terminology etc. but at first glance it makes absolutely no sense. Tell somebody with little computer experience to open up a root console and they will rightfully look at you like you just spoke to them in Chinese.
The other problem is that a lot of documentation is very distro and even distro version specific. The breakneck speed of development and the fractured nature of all the distros make it hard to find the right documentation. Enter a serch term in google and you might find something that works in RH but wll not work on Mandrake. heck something that worked one way in the 9.0 version of your curent distro works differently in the 9.2 release.
It's not as easy as yelling RTFM every tie there is a problem.
I just spent the weekend getting sound and 3D acceleration working on my MEPIS system. The documentation was full of: it works this way but there might be 15 different options depending on X, Y and Z. I almost had to draw a diagram to cover all the possibilities.