[mythtv-users] Why Free Software has poor usability ?
Dean Harding
dean.harding at dload.com.au
Thu Aug 7 23:12:05 UTC 2008
Jerry Rubinow wrote:
> I meant no way to get the old menu system back that everyone knows and
> understands with the new product.
>
>
> I understand that, but why do users need the new product? I would bet
> that what the users know and understand is a small fraction of the
> capabilities of the program and that there is no functionality that was
> added in 2007 that they need or use. So there would be no reason to
> upgrade unless they wanted a more useable (and granted unfamiliar)
> interface.
That's my understanding as well. The whole *point* of O2007 was the new
UI (and the new file formats, but they're available as a plugin to O2003
anyway).
Personally, I quite like the ribbon interface. I'm hardly a power user
(I tend to use Word in bursts -- I'll use it solidly for a week, and
then not touch it for a couple of months). I think the new interface is
great for people like me, because the features are much more
"discoverable" and I don't have to go hunting in the menus when I come
back to it after 3 months...
The great thing about Microsoft is they've actually got *lots* of data
on how people actually use Office. When you installed O2003, there was
an option for you to send "anonymous usage statistics" back to
Microsoft. That basically translates into a database in Microsoft which
says things like "the superscript button is clicked in x% of sessions"
or whatever. It's data like that which got the superscript button put on
the first ribbon in O2007 -- people were using it so much even though in
O2003, it was hidden in the Format->Font menu item; there was no toolbar
button for it!
Dean.
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