Oh, probably about as well as a Unix or Linux user from 5 years back would know what a usable and/or attractive GUI is. We all have to be late to the table for something.
Zarf vs. Steve--This Time, It's Personal!
on
Zarf in Mac OS X Land
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· Score: 5, Interesting
I honestly can't say that I've encountered anywhere near the level of frustration that Zarf seems to have met with in his foray into the world of OS X. Maybe I've just been lucky; or, maybe I've spent more time actually trying to use my Mac than trying to beat the bejesus out of the UI until it perfectly matches my own personal internal representation of the perfect interface.
Don't get me wrong: I think it's perfectly valid to point out OS X's present shortcomings, or to mention areas of the UI that you wish were different. But for Christ's sake, please stop construing the fact that Apple didn't personally ask you how to implement each aspect of the UI as a failure on their part.
In the end, the diary gave me a vicarious headache as I envisioned the author's bitter moment-to-moment struggle with Steve's hegemony over his desktop. At points, particularly during the Administrator Password Crisis, it started to sound like the Al Gore sketch that Darrell Hammond did on SNL during the Florida mess.
So
how do you vote? Do you circle a candidate's name? Do you underline it? Or do you write it on the arrow? Or underneath? Or maybe it's the dots. Do you write the candidate's name on the dots? They seem sort of small. Maybe just his initials. Or do you color in the dots? If so, in what color? Maybe you scratch the dots with the edge of a penny. Or lick the dots. Again, this ballot does not spell it out.
Many Apple users are of the "Oooh, shiny!" variety, and some even go so far as to deride command line interfaces and less-than-perfect GUIs.
Similarly, many non-OS X Linux and Unix users deride polished, well-done GUIs as being frivolous or as being appropriate for inexperienced users only. Just as some Macintosh users have felt defensive enough of their OS to make fun of CLIs, so have Linux and Unix users felt defensive enough to make fun of good-looking GUIs. Either situation seems to me to be foolishy closed-minded and to restrict one from fully enjoying computing.
With regard to form vs. function: obviously, it's a topic not to be plunged into in depth here, but I think it suffices to say that the presence of one should not be taken as evidence of the absence of the other (i.e., don't assume that Apple users who appreciate good design in their hardware or software don't care about how well both work, or that Linux users don't understand or don't care about aesthetics).
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Oh, probably about as well as a Unix or Linux user from 5 years back would know what a usable and/or attractive GUI is. We all have to be late to the table for something.
I honestly can't say that I've encountered anywhere near the level of frustration that Zarf seems to have met with in his foray into the world of OS X. Maybe I've just been lucky; or, maybe I've spent more time actually trying to use my Mac than trying to beat the bejesus out of the UI until it perfectly matches my own personal internal representation of the perfect interface.
Don't get me wrong: I think it's perfectly valid to point out OS X's present shortcomings, or to mention areas of the UI that you wish were different. But for Christ's sake, please stop construing the fact that Apple didn't personally ask you how to implement each aspect of the UI as a failure on their part.
In the end, the diary gave me a vicarious headache as I envisioned the author's bitter moment-to-moment struggle with Steve's hegemony over his desktop. At points, particularly during the Administrator Password Crisis, it started to sound like the Al Gore sketch that Darrell Hammond did on SNL during the Florida mess.
Many Apple users are of the "Oooh, shiny!" variety, and some even go so far as to deride command line interfaces and less-than-perfect GUIs.
Similarly, many non-OS X Linux and Unix users deride polished, well-done GUIs as being frivolous or as being appropriate for inexperienced users only. Just as some Macintosh users have felt defensive enough of their OS to make fun of CLIs, so have Linux and Unix users felt defensive enough to make fun of good-looking GUIs. Either situation seems to me to be foolishy closed-minded and to restrict one from fully enjoying computing.
With regard to form vs. function: obviously, it's a topic not to be plunged into in depth here, but I think it suffices to say that the presence of one should not be taken as evidence of the absence of the other (i.e., don't assume that Apple users who appreciate good design in their hardware or software don't care about how well both work, or that Linux users don't understand or don't care about aesthetics).