[mythtv-users] Why Free Software has poor usability ?

[jedi]

On Fri, Aug 08, 2008 at 11:30:44AM -0400, Jerry Rubinow wrote:
> On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 10:49 AM, Jay R. Ashworth <jra at baylink.com> wrote:
> 
> > On Thu, Aug 07, 2008 at 06:44:09PM -0400, Jerry Rubinow wrote:
> > >    I've used Office 2K7 with the ribbon interface. (IMHO) MS has
> > >    clearly put a lot of thought into useability with this. It's one
> > >    of the most well-designed and intuitive interfaces I've ever used,
> > >    and I believe a lot of smart people spent a lot of time on it. Try
> > >    playing around with it with an objective eye, not as a comparison
> > >    to the previous version of Office.
> >
> > Alas, "that's all well and good", but it doesn't take into account the
> > probably tens of millions of manhours that have been spent learning and
> > teaching the old interface.
> 
> 
> There are two versions of Office.  Why would you upgrade if you like and

a) New installs
b) People insist on sending you files in the newest format.

> want to stick with the old interface?  2003 accounts for all of those
> people.  2007 accounts for all the people who find the old interface hard to
> use, and for anyone new to Office who will likely find it much easier to
> learn.
> 
> 
> And it completely violates the "Windows is a pretty neat idea because
> > you only have to learn how to run apps once" argument in favor of WIMP
> > interfaces in general.
> 
> 
> 1. The utility of that paradigm breaks down when you start getting to the
> point of hundreds of menu items.

...no argument there.

That's a reason to avoid unecessary feature creep. Most end users
would be well suited by $50 "office" applications from before the
MS hegemony in office suites. Microsoft's equivalent of Word Perfect
is plum overkill.

> 2. It's arguable whether it's even true in the first place, but regardless,
> it doesn't mean that one should never try to improve the UI.

For the given context, that's such an obvious false strawman.

> 
> 
> 
> > Efficiency: fixing the problem right.
> >
> > Effectiveness: fixing the right problem.
> >
> 
> The purpose of O2K7 was to fix its usability problems, from what I
> understand, and I think they made good strides in doing that.

WHAT "usability problems"?

The purpose of Office2007 is to continue the cash cow.
Any end user requirements or technical considerations
are entirely secondary (if not tertiary).

Why even change the tools at all since their 4.2 versions?

If not for proprietary "lock in your users" data formats it
wouldn't even matter. People really would be able to use 
last years program or something from 20 years ago and it 
wouldn't matter. Grizzled old WP users could just use that
and not be bothered.