Examination of a Linux Gui, w/color commentary

[brian]

On Thu, 2004-02-26 at 21:34, Jeff Kinz wrote:
> ESR's point is that the folsk designing the GUI's need ot think at the
> problem from a perspective much closer the user's point of view.

Yes, programmers should all cater to the fact that for some reason
people think that they can be blissfully ignorant about their PC
hardware.  The expectation that the software/hardware vendor, kid down
the street, or IT department should just make everything work FOR them
is very prevalent.

The computer is a tool.  Just like any other.  You can learn to use it,
or you can learn to use a different tool to do the same job (although
doing so may prove more costly, less efficient, more cumbersome, or any
combination thereof.)

I am not saying that the whole printer config thing doesn't leave
something to be desired... However his "idea" that the whole thing
should just discover your network and list for you only the available
options is tad bit off as well.  How would it know that you had
permissions to actually print to each printer?  What if it "recommends"
the wrong or sub-optimal printer?  What if it finds 2 identical printers
in two distant areas of the building and confuses the user about which
one should be used?  This all sounds (to me) too much like the mindset
of "the software should think for me and make all my decisions as well"
that (I thought) so many linux users despised?

Anyway... I use linux for a number of reasons.  One of which is that it
is much cheaper than some of the alternatives, yet still does everything
I want it to.  The offsetting factor is that I have to actually *know* a
little more about my environment than I might have to if I were using,
say, Windows.  This is fine for me, although maybe not for Aunt Millie. 
If Aunt Millie don't want to learn, she can pay the Windows ignorance
tax I suppose.

Maybe linux on the desktop *isn't* for everyone.  Maybe that isn't a Bad
Thing?