From: ccw@prefect.cc.bellcore.com (wood,christopher)
Subject: Re: My "Create a system that a fool can use" posting
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 21:33:02 GMT

In article <6583.2b34e787@hayes.com> bcoleman@hayes.com (Bill Coleman) writes:
>In article <1g398qINN8mj@almaak.usc.edu>, ajayshah@almaak.usc.edu (Ajay Shah) writes:
...
>> Between Windows and the Mac, I think the Mac has a edge on simplicity,
>> and of course Microsoft is Evil and worth avoiding in it's own right.

>Amen

>> An analogy I mentioned in email to someone was a point and shoot
>> camera vs. a SLR.  "The masses" love point and shoot cameras (the
>> masses love GUIs too).  You pick them up, snap away, and you get
>> "pictures".

>> I, for one, would much prefer paying the pains of learning how to use
>> a SLR, and then getting incredibly superior pictures.  (Where I stand,
>> I'd do a better job with a P&S than the "masses" too, but thats a moot
>> point).  

I have owned a camera for the last four years; it's a 35mm SLR with
auto-everything and manual overrides.  If I want it to act like a
point-and-shoot, it does.  When I want to be in control, I am.  That's
what happens when advanced technology is properly applied; things that
were hard are made easy (setting exposure and focus on an SLR camera,
for this example).  When it's done right, the technology doesn't get in
the way of the "creative" aspects (setting the shutter speed to get a
blur from the motion or just the right effect with the lighting; or
setting f-stops to get the intended f-stop.)

...

>First of all, giving someone an SLR doesn't make him a good photographer.
>But a good photographer can take good pictures even with an instant camera.

Yes, but s/he won't have the control to take really _great_ pictures...
...
>> It boils down to investing in superior skills over a long
>> horizon, and not settling for a quick fix.  GUIs are a quick fix,
>> which barely scratch the power of computers.  I crave for more.

Technology is developed to do more for less; those developing technology
are actively looking for ways to replace the high-cost skills (to the
employer; they're high-value skills to the worker!) Before auto-focus
cameras became available/popular, having sharp eyes and being able to
quickly focus a camera were necessary skills to being a photographer
(amateur or professional).  Well-designed cameras automate that task
(within limits).  

The user interface to a computer is designed to let people interact with
the information stored on the machine.  The best-designed GUIs
(macintosh has been the leader here) are a lot like auto-focus on a
camera; not a "quick fix", but a better way of doing things.  The
Macintosh has abolished the CLI; developers havve spent a lot of effort
to do _everything_ the GUI way.  Let's not get into the CLI vs. GUI
debate...

Oh, yes; superior skills for the long haul. The most important skill is
still the ability to learn and adapt to new situation, and new tools.

>Perhaps you've just used the wrong interfaces then. The Mac has more
>capabilities than I have hope of ever mastering completely.

>> IMHO the real contendor to reckon with when we talk about Power, or
>> work done per unit keystroke, is Unix.  I mean the real Unix -- shell
>> prompt and /bin tools -- without any pretty clothes.  That is the
>> most awesome system I can find on this planet :-)   

>Yucko.

I agree.  Whoever decided that work/keystroke was important?  Even so,
your logic is faulty.  In a Graphical User Interface, you do very little
typing, so work/keystroke is very high!

>> Now if some people
>> take more than a few weeks to learn Unix, that is their problem.  

>Wrong. It is Unix's problem.

I agree.  If people won't take a few years and learn how to ride a
horse, they shouldn't expect to be able to get around quickly and
easily...

>> And
>> if others are unwilling to spend a few weeks learning a new system, too
>> bad for them.  After all, we do live in a world where "the masses" prefer
>> point and shoot cameras.

>Indeed, SLR cameras have become much more popular since they evolved to
>the "point and shoot" level of technology.

My point exactly...

>-- 
>Bill Coleman, AA4LR                ! CIS: 76067,2327    AppleLink: D1958
>Principal Software Engineer        ! Packet Radio: AA4LR @ W4QO
>Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. ! UUCP: uunet!hayes!bcoleman
>POB 105203 Atlanta, GA 30348 USA   ! Internet: bcoleman%hayes@uunet.uu.net
>Disclaimer: "My employer doesn't pay me to have opinions."
>Quote: "The same light shines on vineyards that makes deserts." -Steve Hackett.
>


-- 
Chris Wood     Bellcore     ...!bellcore!prefect!ccw
                         or ccw@prefect.cc.bellcore.com

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.hp