[rescue] Re: nuking from orbit

[Jeremy Nielson]

> Yes, it works, for now.  I don't know how many winderz machines that
> have just randomly stopped working one morning.  You go into work, and
> it just doesn't work (tm).  There's a reason that the novell market
> moved into the NT market, it's the people looking for the easy way out.
> How long have unicies been around??

Actually, i do believe Netware was around long before NT   ;)  Who's moving
into who's market?

> Um, when did wordperfect 5.1 come out?  Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't
> think it is in direct competition with Word 2000.  Besides, "power
> users" LOVE shortcut keys, they let you get things done faster.  A good
> word processor will have both easy menus for newbies, and the shortcut
> keys for those who learn them, and make good use of them.

More point of the matter... Why don't we see more products as "simple" as
WP5.1?  I love my shortcut keys dammit (grin), but I know the people I end
up doing their work for them haven't a clue what shortcut keys do what.  In
fact, I'm pretty impressed when they figured out that the computer wasn't
working because it wasn't on... (without my help, this time).

> > But People will fundamentally go to what works.  What works isn't always
> > what's the most reliable.  Give *NIX/*BSD/Whatever the same intelligent
"it
> > works" Apple/MS design, and I'm sure you'd see an insurgance of people
using
> > them at home.
>
> It does work, and it will work tomorrow, and next week, and next
> year........

Sure, but it doesn't "work".  You apparently miss the point of the word
"works".  hehe.  Not too uncommon for people who actually have intelligence
and like things with a little flair of eccentricity, but most "common folk",
of the uninitiated kind like what gets their job done, not yours.  How much
work does it take for you to get a program to do nice word processing or
spreadsheet work just going on a *NIX/*BSD machine?  I remember Star
Office... what a pain in the butt.  Hey, how about those free spreadsheet
programs that resembles Lotus 1-2-3 in the early days?   Certainly vi isn't
a word processor, nor is it meant to, but emacs and a couple other tools
(TeX/LaTeX?) is meant for that, right?  Still the same concept... lack of
ease of use, and just "doesn't work".

When something works, it takes less effort to use the program, than to do
the task that's needed to get done.  If it takes you longer to actually get
something, get it going, and figure out how to use it, than it does to even
do the job, then there tends to be a whole psychological issue among normal
people who aren't particularly amused at trying to figure out Computer
Theory just to write a letter to Gramma.

Certainly, we've all ran into situation where all we want to do is X, and it
takes so long how to figure out how to do it, that we give up, muttering
"why doesn't it just WORK".  I think this might explain the advent of Fast
Food Restaurants/Oil Change places/Plumbers/Appliance Repairmen, etc... is
because we just want whatever it is to just WORK, without too much fooling
around with it.  [Certainly, I expect most of the people who argue with my
above statements to mostly change their own oil, fix their own appliances
and vcr's, and do their own plumbing, carpentry, etc... it seems more in
your nature]  hehe.

> I don't believe i took a single word out of context.  I don't think
> you're a flamer (unless you sent this message just to get an inflamitory
> response, which i don't think this is), just horribly mistaken.  I've
> sit back for many a moment, and I use what I believe to be the best tool
> for the job at all times.  This usually includes as little MS products
> as possible.  Why?  because they don't work.

Nah, I was just afraid someone would cut n'paste a section of my statements
and go "you flaming microsoft lubbing luser!!!  burn in hell with the rest
of your unintelligent young ass psychobabbling fm-radio whatever blah blah
blah".  Certainly we agree that MS products are not nearly as "reliable", or
"secure", or just about anything else server junkies really crave, but Uncle
Joe and Stacey in Purchasing don't really need ultra reliable 99.99999% (3
seconds of downtime over 1000 years) uptime.  Again, it's a matter of, as
you said, the best tool for the job.

That's enough of a rant for a Friday, though... don't ya think?  What are
you people doing for Labor Day Weekend?

Jeremy Nielson