Randall R Schulz wrote:
On Thursday 25 December 2008 17:06, Per Inge Oestmoen wrote:
...
Yes, it is a loser's game, because Microsoft and Apple specialize in dumbness and limited functionality and have no impulse to give users maximum functions and choice.
This is a grotesque misunderstanding of what these firms do. It is akin to saying that the introduction of the electrical starter for the internal combustion engine catered only to those too weak to manually crank their car's engines into operation.
The very sad truth is that today's computers are abysmally arcane and hostile to those they purport to serve. Sure, if you're sufficiently versed in information technology, you can make sense of their behavior (let's say, at least 2/3 of the time) and mostly adequately control their operation and bend it to your will.
But seriously, this is an absurd state of affairs. Implements should not demand of their users a complete understanding of everything that goes into their operation. It's as if you couldn't be expected to work a can opener unless you understood metallurgy!
If specialized training in computers is required to use them, then their creators (among which I must count myself) have _failed_! (Thus far...)
I think we should concentrate on the facts here. I am a photographer - I need to see EXIF data, and to my consternation I saw that when I could easily extract these data in the KDE 3.x version of Konqueror this is impossible in both the 4.x version and Dolphin which is said to be the new KDE File Manager. The above is but one example. Less configurability in the Configure Desktop than in Control Center is another - and it is very hard to see that the former is easier than the latter. In particular when tailoring to personal needs and tastes cannot be done in the same way as in Control Center. Since when did loss of functionality equate with greater usability? Both I and several others have fully agreed with user-friendliness as a goal, but this is not accomplished by removing useful functions. As for the statement that Microsoft and Apple specialize in dumbness and limited functionality, I cannot see anything mistaken about that assessment. Still less can I see the relevance of an analogy about elecrical starters and mechanical ones - if anything it is best to have both. In Norway where I live car engines often stop because of cold, so it would in fact have been beneficial to have manual cranks - but in addition to the faster electrical option. But the analogy really fails - because we are now talking about loss of functionality. How does the removal of the possibility to right-click and get EXIF data straight away in Konqueror without having to open a new window or even a new program, make the computer easier to use? I find it easier when I have the possibility to access the functions I need, and the possibility to tailor the interface to add those I might need later on. I take it for granted that most other also are of this opinion, and therefore we need to convey this message to those who work with the KDE programs. Per Inge Oestmoen -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org