Comments on: Linux and usability http://www.thetlog.net/2005/09/07/linux-and-usability/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:04:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Dr. Fil http://www.thetlog.net/2005/09/07/linux-and-usability/#comment-77 Dr. Fil Thu, 08 Sep 2005 08:57:51 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=45#comment-77 I use linux on mine too. Ubuntu, for that matter. I dual boot to Windows 2003 though, because I can't get bluetooth to work on Ubuntu. Dr. Fil http://dr.fil.ph I use linux on mine too. Ubuntu, for that matter. I dual boot to Windows 2003 though, because I can’t get bluetooth to work on Ubuntu.

Dr. Fil
http://dr.fil.ph

]]> By: Kanzentai http://www.thetlog.net/2005/09/07/linux-and-usability/#comment-76 Kanzentai Thu, 08 Sep 2005 04:48:01 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=45#comment-76 Better than me at least ;) I admit I've never used Linux/Unix/OpenBSD/FreeBSD/OS X (but I used OS/2 a long time ago), and I'll also admit I'd like to try it one day. Maybe at the start of a long vacation, so I have all the time I need to learn whatever I might need to learn or go through any readjusting period required to get used to the "odd" new interface. Don't know if I'm a Windows power-user, but I'd like to give Linux a shot someday. :) Better than me at least ;)

I admit I’ve never used Linux/Unix/OpenBSD/FreeBSD/OS X (but I used OS/2 a long time ago), and I’ll also admit I’d like to try it one day. Maybe at the start of a long vacation, so I have all the time I need to learn whatever I might need to learn or go through any readjusting period required to get used to the “odd” new interface.

Don’t know if I’m a Windows power-user, but I’d like to give Linux a shot someday. :)

]]> By: Dave http://www.thetlog.net/2005/09/07/linux-and-usability/#comment-75 Dave Wed, 07 Sep 2005 19:43:58 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=45#comment-75 I agree with your assessment. It's the Windows power users who can't use Linux. They're used to the way Windows works and can customize it enough that they're happy. Maybe they run DesktopX and a desktop pager. They probably tweak a few performance settings and have enough time invested in little Windows utilities that switching to a new OS (Mac or Linux) would be very difficult. In fact, I can't begin to tell you how many Windows users I know absolutely despise Macs because they can't use OS X. Yet I use Linux without trouble. Actually, using Windows is painful because I miss all the great stuff I have on Linux such as the flexible Konqueror file manager. No problem, I'm a programmer and am the target for desktop Linux. My mother is recently retired and had *never* used a computer in her life until two weeks ago. I bought her one for her birthday and installed Ubuntu Linux. I removed desktop icons she didn't need, created a gmail account for her and setup a gmail notifier system tray icon. She's as good with that setup as anybody I've ever seen on Macs or Windows. It does exactly what she wants: click the gmail icon to read or write email, click the Firefox icon to browse the web and plug the USB cable into her camera to get photos, which automatically open in gphoto. I'll admit that she'll have problems if she wants to get into advanced configuration, but the same holds true for any other OS. At least with Ubuntu she can install new software in a few clicks using Synaptic without worrying about the source (eg. some unknown web site) or spending a lot of money. She can play some games such as solitaire and tetris. With some help I can setup Gaim so she can chat online with friends. Heck, with Gnome's session management it will save state between reboots, so she can power off her computer and next time she uses it the same apps open as were open before. Seems intuitive to her. More intuitive, in fact, than clicking the 'x' to close a window. Even more intuitive than knowing the wallpaper ins't a window that needs closing. Laugh if you will, but she's better at Linux that many people reading this comment. I agree with your assessment. It’s the Windows power users who can’t use Linux. They’re used to the way Windows works and can customize it enough that they’re happy. Maybe they run DesktopX and a desktop pager. They probably tweak a few performance settings and have enough time invested in little Windows utilities that switching to a new OS (Mac or Linux) would be very difficult. In fact, I can’t begin to tell you how many Windows users I know absolutely despise Macs because they can’t use OS X.

Yet I use Linux without trouble. Actually, using Windows is painful because I miss all the great stuff I have on Linux such as the flexible Konqueror file manager. No problem, I’m a programmer and am the target for desktop Linux.

My mother is recently retired and had *never* used a computer in her life until two weeks ago. I bought her one for her birthday and installed Ubuntu Linux. I removed desktop icons she didn’t need, created a gmail account for her and setup a gmail notifier system tray icon. She’s as good with that setup as anybody I’ve ever seen on Macs or Windows. It does exactly what she wants: click the gmail icon to read or write email, click the Firefox icon to browse the web and plug the USB cable into her camera to get photos, which automatically open in gphoto.

I’ll admit that she’ll have problems if she wants to get into advanced configuration, but the same holds true for any other OS. At least with Ubuntu she can install new software in a few clicks using Synaptic without worrying about the source (eg. some unknown web site) or spending a lot of money. She can play some games such as solitaire and tetris. With some help I can setup Gaim so she can chat online with friends. Heck, with Gnome’s session management it will save state between reboots, so she can power off her computer and next time she uses it the same apps open as were open before. Seems intuitive to her. More intuitive, in fact, than clicking the ‘x’ to close a window. Even more intuitive than knowing the wallpaper ins’t a window that needs closing. Laugh if you will, but she’s better at Linux that many people reading this comment.

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