[mythtv-users] MythTV Installer Usability: An Analysis

[Michael T. Dean]

On 11/04/05 20:44, chris at cpr.homelinux.net wrote:

>Yes, there is a FAQ.  Yes, there are installation instructions.  Yes, 
>99% of all newbies will ignore both and expect MythTV to be intuitive 
>because every other application they've ever used (on Windows) was 
>fairly intuitive.
>
I have to disagree with this one (no, not the part about people not 
reading the instructions).

<rant>

People only /think/ Windows/Windows apps are intuitive.  Why do they 
think that?  Because for the last 10-15 years (I first used Microsoft 
Windows/386 version 2.11 in 1990--oh, and it was useless, BTW--enough so 
that Microsoft gave me a free upgrade to Windows 3.0 when I complained 
that 2.11 didn't work), they have been learning--through blood, sweat, 
and tears--the Microsoft way of doing things.  This may be what they're 
used to, but it is *anything but* intuitive.

How about some examples:

How do you format a page in MS Word?  File|Page Setup
How do you format a paragraph in MS Word?  Format|Paragraph

Where did the XXX menu option go?  Oh, well, Word realized that the last 
time you used that option was 6 months ago, so it hid the option from 
you.  Now you just have to click the arrow at the bottom of the menu to 
see the hidden options.

How do I start a program?  Well, you can /double/-click the icon on the 
desktop or /single/-click the icon in the menu or on the toolbar.  (Yes, 
I know this is the same on some desktop environments in *nix, but my 
point isn't that *nix is intuitive, it's that Windows isn't.  Oh, and 
how many people do you know who double-click icons in the Quick Launch 
toolbar and get two windows (possibly even processes) of an application?)

How do I close a program?  Well, you can choose File|Close or click the 
"X" icon in the title bar unless you have multiple windows of that 
program open in which case you choose File|Quit.  Oh, and if you close 
some programs--like Microsoft Messenger--they don't actually close, but 
they minimize, but not to the Start bar, where other programs minimize; 
instead, they minimize to the System Tray.

How do I turn off the computer?  By clicking the "Start" menu, of course.

And on and on...

(Above examples are from memory--I stopped using Windows in 1999, so 
some may be dated or wrong, but you get the idea.)

The problem is that most people believe--and, in part, rightly so--that 
they've invested enough time learning how computers work--especially 
considering they don't care how computers work, they just want to get 
the job done--and should be able to do what they need without having to 
learn anything more (not learning anything more is the part that's not 
right).  The solution isn't making a better UI, but completely changing 
the way we do computing.  As long as a computer is a computer, no amount 
of UI will make a system that requires no learning on the part of the 
user.  The only way the computer requires no learning is when the user 
doesn't even see/notice the computer.  However, this isn't an issue that 
Myth should try to tackle...

Note that this is not to say that well-conceived changes that improve 
usability of the Myth UI born out of constructive criticism are not 
worthwhile.  I'm simply trying to say that anyone who thinks Windows is 
intuitive needs to realize that his/her definition of intuitive has been 
seriously shifted over the years.  Whereas intuitive ( 
http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?sourceid=Mozilla-search&va=intuitive 
) used to mean, "quick and ready insight seemingly *independent of* 
previous experiences and empirical knowledge," ( 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intuitive ) most now believe that "what I'm 
used to" is intuitive.

</rant>

Mike