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From: hartzell@boulder.Colorado.EDU (George Hartzell)
Newsgroups: bionet.software
Subject: Re: RE:X servers
Message-ID: <1991Feb21.164450.20838@csn.org>
Date: 21 Feb 91 16:44:50 GMT
References: <9102201516.AA24037@genbank.bio.net>
Sender: news@csn.org (news)
Organization: MCD Biology, U. of CO, Boulder, CO
Lines: 42
In-Reply-To: gunnell@FCRFV1.NCIFCRF.GOV's message of 20 Feb 91 15:18:00 GMT
Nntp-Posting-Host: beagle.colorado.edu

In article <9102201516.AA24037@genbank.bio.net>
   gunnell@FCRFV1.NCIFCRF.GOV ("Gunnell, Mark") writes: 

   Peter Markiewicz writes:

   > ...Most users don't
   > think in the way that unix wants you to think. It makes good sense AFTER
   > you have spent SEVERAL MONTHS working with it. The point is that doing
   > the basics in unix is just as hard as doing the advanced things.

   [...]

	Because of this it seems necessary (IMHO), that the unix interface
   must be hidden from view.  X Windows applications seem to be one way to
   accomplish this.

I hope that the people who design such applications don't make the
power of a UNIX platform inaccessible to those of us who have invested
the time to learn to use it.  How would most "wet" biologists react to
only being able to do bench work using little "black boxes" that
various companies sold them, rather than being able to design their
own protocols/approaches.

My job is to provide computational support to a department full of
molecular biologists, and I PRAY [and work] for better interfaces to
tools so that my users can use my tools without getting degrees in
computer hacking.  On the other hand, I don't think that someone who
sits down, picks up a tool, and starts trying to use it can expect to
be as successful with it as someone who takes the time to learn about
how the tool works, and how it fits into a bigger framework.  I think
that this is true of hammers and nails, enzymes and substrates, and
computers.

Flame away...

g.


--
George Hartzell			                  (303) 492-4535
 MCD Biology, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309
hartzell@Boulder.Colorado.EDU           ..!ncar!boulder!hartzell


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