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From: jtn@potomac.ads.com (John T. Nelson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: Intuitive...
Message-ID: <9178@potomac.ads.com>
Date: 20 Sep 90 13:55:21 GMT
References: <1990Sep18.171043@miguel.llnl.gov> <15029@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM>
Reply-To: jtn@potomac.UUCP (John T. Nelson)
Organization: Advanced Decision Systems -- Arlington, Va
Lines: 32

>I absolutely agree that the Mac is not "intuitive".
>
>I think there is a place for the word "intuitive" when discussing Mac
>interfaces.  However, it should be restricted to mean "obvious to a
>Mac user, or trivial for such a user to figure out."  I do not believe
>this word should be used to a non-Mac-user; to the non-Mac person, the
>interface is quite clearly NOT intuitive, and claiming that it is only
>poisons the well for any other claims one might make.

I don't agree.  I was a non-Mac user before I started using the Mac
and fe very intuitive and easy to learn.  I think the problem here is
that you were a user who was prepared for and perhaps expecting a
conventional command-line oriented interface, thus your confusion when
you couldn't find the "insert command" in MacWrite.  There is no
insert command when using pencil and paper... why should there be with
a mouse and bitmap screen.

THe Mac is and can be intuitive if you discard the baggage of old
computer interfaces and accept the new futuristic world of
mouse-oriented bitmap screens.  In other words, non-intrusive
intuitive interfaces oriented towards people, not computers.



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