On 8/10/07, Patrick Finch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I think we all see the same issues, but I am not sure I agree on the > proposed approach. Wouldn't an intuitive or discoverable GUI meet the > same requirements, and won't a substantial knowledge-base available on > the internet help this too? >
Yes, agreed. Nothing can beat a well designed interface, be it command-line or GUI. These are obvious, prio1 and are happening right now in various projects on opensolaris.org as for of *usability issues* > > If, for example, there was a button in the top right or bottom left > that, when clicked, offered you the ability to shut the machine down > (even as non-root), I don't think you would need a help page. > Yes. (I gave an incorrect example while making the case :-( ) > I accept that it may not be obvious that changing the host name is a > function of network administration etc., but I think the first priority > should be to have the user environment as discoverable as possible, and > that the best place to go for detailed information on using the system > should be OpenSolaris.org. > Here I disagree on the latter part :-) (I am not saying do not have it on OpenSolaris.org) But I believe a *good* help system helps, hence I said, "Indiana over a period of time should consider to have a good help framework". Need not be high prio at all. > Help menus have their place too, of course, but addressing the things > you list above can happen in a number of ways. > As long as the problem is addressed it is fine. The characteristics should be support by the mechanism - Intuitive interface - Incase of problems, it supports self-help The help system need not be everything I mentioned ! Current help documentation is *on the system* is dysfunctional. I am yet to see any wiki, CMS, beat the "chm on windows" from the point of view of getting help for a individual user. IRCs and mailing lists come close, but it needs people to respond and the same issues keeping cropping up even decades from now regards Shiv _______________________________________________ indiana-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/indiana-discuss
