You would hate to see it if commercially supported websites disappeared. I don't know what percentage of Slashdot's revenue comes from ads versus paying subscribers, but you'd better believe that all this bandwidth we burn up all day long has to be paid for by somebody.
Ads are like taxes.. they support the things that people want to use but don't want to pay for.
My experience has been that I must figure out for each machine what it takes to turn down the volume or mute the sound.
Ok... so you have trouble with Vol and Mute. And although it's a drastic oversimplification, let us momentarily say that is the crux of Mr Sowell's problem too. And my response is: How is that the fault of the software designer? Blame Dell or IBM or whoever built the laptop. Or blame Microsoft or Linux for not making Volume easier to change. Or blame the user for a keyboard without seperate controls. Don't blame the software for trying to improve the user experience.
Really, this is going astray from the original article. My poke at Sowell's age notwithstanding, there is a difference between making a user interface simple and making it so absurdly dumbed down that it is equally unusable. I think it is fair to expect a minimum amount of competence from one's users.
You mention your musical parent; do you blame the inventor of the violin for making an absurd interface that requires years to master? Or do you accept the fact that playing it requires a certain minimum level of competence?
"This software is toooo complicated! It's too noisy! There are too many colors!" Geez... what is he, 90 years old? If he is smart enough to write a column online, he shouldn't need his own "computer guru" to install Encyclopedia Britannica.
For that matter, if it took his guru that long to install, maybe he needs a replacement guru.
Now I'm for simplified interfaces as much as... say 80% of the other respondents here, but there's nothing wrong with juicing up the user experience at the same time with some eye and ear candy.
It sounds to me like what Thomas Sowell really needs to do is learn how to use the VOL and MUTE buttons on his laptop. If he's unlucky, it requires some FN-key combination. If not, he's too dumb to keep on living.
-B
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Ads are like taxes.. they support the things that people want to use but don't want to pay for.
-B
-B
Ok... so you have trouble with Vol and Mute. And although it's a drastic oversimplification, let us momentarily say that is the crux of Mr Sowell's problem too. And my response is: How is that the fault of the software designer? Blame Dell or IBM or whoever built the laptop. Or blame Microsoft or Linux for not making Volume easier to change. Or blame the user for a keyboard without seperate controls. Don't blame the software for trying to improve the user experience.
Really, this is going astray from the original article. My poke at Sowell's age notwithstanding, there is a difference between making a user interface simple and making it so absurdly dumbed down that it is equally unusable. I think it is fair to expect a minimum amount of competence from one's users.
You mention your musical parent; do you blame the inventor of the violin for making an absurd interface that requires years to master? Or do you accept the fact that playing it requires a certain minimum level of competence?
-B
For that matter, if it took his guru that long to install, maybe he needs a replacement guru.
Now I'm for simplified interfaces as much as... say 80% of the other respondents here, but there's nothing wrong with juicing up the user experience at the same time with some eye and ear candy.
It sounds to me like what Thomas Sowell really needs to do is learn how to use the VOL and MUTE buttons on his laptop. If he's unlucky, it requires some FN-key combination. If not, he's too dumb to keep on living. -B
Yes, because what we really need is alpha-transparent flashing adverts!