On 11/17/05, JM Ibanez <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On 11/17/05, Unvollendeter Tag <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > That "little bit" shouldn't matter in the long run, if the slave > > really has no choice. I think stability is more important. Users will > > be satisfied when software is predictable in the right way (e.g. it > > doesn't crash too often or at least has the good grace to autosave > > your work). >
_In the long run_ But the momentary considerations are still there and sometimes it could be quite difficult for a period of time. > > > 1. What is the perception of the user to the change > > > 2. How effective is it to the user? > > > 3. How fast is the user adoption? > > > 4. What can make the user adopt faster? > > > 5. Did the change affect productivity? > > > 6. What's the typical learning curve? These are important things to study and take note of but as individuals who have very varied learning styles and varied needs and usage, doing this on a massive scale could be quite difficult. I guess one other thing that might be difficult to answer is number 2: How effective is it to the user? > > Just show the user the not-too-sublte differences. Start button = K > > button = Apple icon = Foot icon. After that, it's just a matter of > > clicking. Sometimes. Not all the time. It still depends on certain things. Some users have been very dependent on certain apps and keyboard shortcuts or the placement of the menu. > I'd like to argue that a lot of users do use keyboard shortcuts. For > example, most Windows apps use Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V for copy and paste, > respectively. What are the Mac equivalents? Will Joe User know? What > about browser shortcuts? What about certain features (either in Office > or OpenOffice.org)? Also, the Start button has a link to the Control > Panel and the Printers folder. Apple has a different place for setting > up printers (or for tweaking). What about Joe User, who was given > admin privileges on his WinXP machine? What will a switch to OS X be > like? Will he know how to add applications? > > For heavy mouse users, even the Mac OS tradition of a single unified > menu bar can get confusing. Joe User may ask, why is the menu bar > there? How do I switch tasks? Where's my task bar? > > Pretty soon, such (relatively) minor differences do add up to major > grievances. > > Remember: human beings, in general, are resistant to change. We are > creatures of habit, and office workers become creatures of habit > pretty quickly. ;) > Tell me about it... *sighs* > > But if your goal is to win persons in authority to the cause, much > > more effective than showing off case study after case study is to do a > > live demonstration on how little difference your free desktop is from > > desktop X. Just be sure to "rig" your demonstration in your favor. > > Make sure beforhand that the system boots smoothly and would stay up > > long enough for you to conclude your presentation. > > Which is not a good idea, IMHO. One should *always* show both sides of > the equation and give a balanced presentation. Show both the good > points *and* the bad points. What will it cost management to adopt > this for their employees? How will it benefit? Not showing the risks > (i.e. the bad points) is even more harmful to the FOSS desktop, and > does not help management make an enlightened decision. You become no > worse than those who make biased ROI studies. The good and bad points definitely must be shown. Okay, maybe some of them are not really bad points but certain things that would make them not want to use FOSS because of certain quirks and such. Everything has pros and cons, depending on perceptions. Everything must be seen: the things that might be easy to do and work with and the things that might take a long time for people to adjust to or certain features that might be lacking. It helps in deciding what to do, how to do things, and so on. -- Clair Ching http://clair.free.net.ph - blog about linux, emacs planner, tech and culture http://clair.pinoyweb.net - daily journal, stories, miscellany http://pinoytechblog.com - the Philippines' premier technology blog http://freelance-pro.info - all about freelancing We know that free access to information preserves democratic ideas, that information resources must be managed with care, and that the human spirit depends upon remembering the past, sharing the present in community, and dreaming about the future. -Martha Smith (Information ethics: freedom, democracy, responsibility.) _________________________________________________ Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List [email protected] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Read the Guidelines: http://linux.org.ph/lists Searchable Archives: http://archives.free.net.ph
