Julian,
My cynicism is showing here, but I do believe that many people want all
the 'bells and whistles' even if they will never use them. The result
is that we end up with a radio or software that many complain about
'because it is too hard to use'. It is difficult to impossible for all
but a certain few to learn and fully use all the functions of the K3 (or
a complex software application), and only a very select few will ever
have need of *all* the available functions.
Fortunately, there are defaults that will work fine for the many many
users who are only willing to put forth the effort required to utilize
10 or 20% of the total function - as has been stated about the MS Office
users. It is to the credit of the developers that they have provided
basic functions that many people can use to advantage. Using that other
80% of the total function requires in-depth study, and not all are
willing to do that. - I know I don't, I have enough 'irons in the fire'
that I am not willing to do that advanced study (and practice) until I
really have a defined need for it.
DOS and early Windows were quite straightforward and rigid in what could
be done if one was using the command line and one had to have a good
understanding of the internal workings to be able to fully use what
those systems provided. In the meantime, specific applications made it
easier for many users to interface with the computer - the operating
system can be quite complex and difficult to learn, but the average user
does not have to know its internal workings - they only need to know how
to interface with the applications to do whatever work they need to have
done.
73,
Don W3FPR
G4ILO wrote:
Having read the recent QST review of the Flex 5000 I can see that a lot of
people agree with you. I, personally, don't. I prefer a piece of equipment
or a software program that does its job extremely well but is simple to
operate without a lot of configuration options. I, as the user, am willing
to adapt to the program or equipment if necessary.
This "ultimate configurability" has been the curse of Windows software
development, and has resulted in bloatware like Microsoft Office that has so
many options that I have often seen it cited that most users only know 20%
of them. Some of the best software I ever used was DOS or early Windows
software, and I could probably still do most of what I want to with it, if
it was still possible to run it. In the same way, about the only thing wrong
with the radios of 20 years ago was their performance, not their ergonomics.
I do not want to see radios going the same way as computer software. Already
we see on this reflector people asking if it is possible to do things the K3
can already do. Most people can't remember everything they read in the
manual (even if they read it in the first place) and this is probably more
true of radio hams than computer users in general since most of us are
getting to the age when it isn't so easy to remember stuff.
Now what was the point I was making...? :)
-----
Julian, G4ILO K3 s/n: 222 K2 s/n: 392
G4ILO's Shack: www.g4ilo.com
KComm for K2/K3: www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html
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