[mythtv-users] Is there still a global padding option?

[Michael Watson]

On 29/09/2012 3:02 AM, Craig Treleaven wrote:
> At 5:20 PM +0100 9/28/12, Mike Perkins wrote:
>> On 28/09/12 13:25, Michael T. Dean wrote:
>>> On 09/27/2012 09:22 PM, Michael Watson wrote:
>>>> On 27/09/2012 10:40 PM, Michael T. Dean wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> But thanks for the additional proof that we have too many settings 
>>>>> to be
>>>>> useful and that it's too hard to find the settings, even when you 
>>>>> know they
>>>>> exist, and that "just add a setting" isn't a good choice for 
>>>>> solving future
>>>>> problems.  :)
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Frontend > Setup > Video > Recording Priorities >
>>>> Set Recording Priorities > Page  1 is Scheduler Options,
>>>> followed by Pages 2 and 3.
>>>>
>>>> Or more intuitive locations for existing/future options. Seems (to 
>>>> me) odd,
>>>> to look in Video for options to do with recording/scheduling.
>>>
>>> Well, ignoring the fact that a lot of settings have been 
>>> moved/renamed to try to
>>> make them more "intuitive" and easier to find (and, yet, they still 
>>> aren't),
>>> that still doesn't help the other problem--that we have too many 
>>> settings for
>>> users to know what settings are available (not to mention the 
>>> effects of the
>>> interaction of different settings).
>>>
>>> I'm still a big believer that a setting is just a shortcut for when the
>>> developer doesn't know (or doesn't feel like writing code for 
>>> figuring out) The
>>> Right Thing to do.  (And Apple seems to be proving that people are 
>>> happier with
>>> limited settings and "It Just Works".)
Maybe "it just works", but very frustrating to use.
>>>
>> That works for Apple because they only have a fixed, limited variety 
>> of hardware to program for and the hardware is all under Apple's 
>> control.
>
> No, Apple focused on simplicity because it was a key mantra of Steve 
> Jobs:
>
> http://www.socialnomics.net/2011/10/05/steve-jobs---10-lessons-in-life-leadership/ 
>
> Steve Jobs demanded that the iPod not have any buttons on it; 
> including an on/off switch. This seemed implausible for the engineers 
> working on the project, but Jobs wouldn't bend. The engineers were 
> pushed to their limits and as a result the scroll wheel was inspired. 
> Jobs indicates "that's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. 
> Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your 
> thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because 
> once you get there, you can move mountains."
>
> Myth, currently, is very much the opposite.  The pages and pages of 
> settings in Myth verge on incomprehensible.  Even stuff that I need 
> and use, I sometimes forget if the knob is in mythfrontend Settings or 
> in mythtv-setup--and I've been using Myth for over 6 years.  If we 
> took a sample of 1,000 active Myth installations, what percentage of 
> Myth's settings on each system are still at the delivered default? I'd 
> guess on each individual install, less than 15% of the available 
> settings are changed.  Of course, each individual knob is somebody's 
> sacred cow that can't possibly be eliminated.
>
> Fewer settings is a good thing--both for Myth and other consumer 
> gadgets.  Even if some resist.

Just because you never change the radio station on you car radio, should 
that option be removed?
Just because you dont know where the toe-in adjustment on your car is 
(or what it does), should that be removed?
Should the Temperature setting be removed from your 
heater/airconditioner? (and just set to what the manufacturer wants it 
to be?)

If you took a sample of 1000 Windows Users, or KDE Users, or Gnome 
Users, MythTV Users, the results would be fairly similar.  This is not a 
good argument to rip out the "least popular" options.   Most of 
options/settings are there for a reason, some may be obscure (or 
forgotten), no reason to remove them, unless they are no longer 
required.  Remove all the options, and you have a system that works only 
the way the developers want (akin to an Apple Device), which is fine if 
that works for you, but frustrating if you want to change the behavior 
slightly to work with your hardware/timezone/channel 
listing/media/etc/etc/etc.

>
> Craig
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