Jeff:
> Why do we want Linux preinstalled again? That's right... Newbies.
>
> I don't really see preinstallation as a necessity for user-friendly
> computer purchases... Think about it this way:
I see it quite differently.
>From time to time people tell me that using Linux for naive users
is a real barrier.
I actually agree, but I go on with the opinion that most computer
use is difficult for naive users, certainly for computers used as
'desktops'.
Most computer users have completely forgotten the amount of training
they went through in order to use a computer.
For example, I have had to coach people on how to physically use a mouse.
I mean, how much pressure to use holding it, clicking the button doesn't
mean holding it down for five seconds.
For more ubiquitous `direct interface' use of computers I see two
directions, probably both happening at the same time:
* devices becoming simpler, more stable, cheaper, taking less space,
more mobile. This is what web tv tries to be, and is where the web pad
type of device wants to head.
* people becoming more trained. This is somewhat analogous to learning
to drive a car. A lot of pain and effort for a lot of people, but great
rewards when the technique is mastered.
There is a nice book review in the current Linux Journal,
http://www2.linuxjournal.com/lj-issues/issue74/3959.html
with this quote from James Paul Holloway (apologies for it's length but
it is what I've always thought):
"But mainstream GUIs are not based on analogies
(let alone metaphors); they are based on visual codes. I work with
several hundred new and experienced computers users every year and I
see no evidence that any of them consider the things on their computer
screens as analogies for anything. They must be taught the visual code
of the GUI, and until they have learned it, those little symbols on
the screen do not suggest any function. Once they learn the code, the
icons acquire meaning. These interfaces are simply learned, and the
significant revolution in their design was not by analogy, but through
the standardization of the visual code."
Just so! The GUI desktop is NOT intuitive it is learnt!
The key to productive use of computers is training, whether formal
or self-motivated.
For training to be effective and satisfying, understanding the
underlying principles is important. One reason that Linux / Unix is
so satisfying is that there is largely a set of underlying principles.
At a certain point, you are sharing the mind of the creator. From that
point there is no going back.
(Corrollary: how does it feel sharing Bill Gates' mind?)
Jamie
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