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From: stanger@otago.ac.nz (Nigel Stanger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: removing balloon help....
Message-ID: <1991Jun15.002948.542@otago.ac.nz>
Date: 15 Jun 91 23:28:50 GMT
References: <1CE00001.h1mowr@avalon.caladan.wa.com>
Organization: University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Lines: 40

In article <1CE00001.h1mowr@avalon.caladan.wa.com>, stui@avalon.caladan.wa.com (Stuart Burden) writes:
> In article <14058@goofy.Apple.COM>, lsr@Apple.COM (Larry Rosenstein) writes:
> | Developers are encouraged to put their own help items there (rather than in
> | the Apple menu, or in a hierarchical menu, or in the about box, or ...).
> | The Finder does this already.  You would lose access to these items without
> | the help menu.
>
[ etc etc ]
> 
> Now in practice a user will use an applications menu's constantly, that's
> why developers place the important options on the menubar.  How often
> do users use help?  Most companies of any repute have dedicated a
> great deal of research to this, and I think you will find that interactive
> Computer Based Training aids are more highly regarded than something
> that pops up cartoon balloons.. really.

You seem to have missed the intent of the original comment - that
the items in the Help menu will *not* necessarily be for Balloon
Help. They could very well be for something like the help in
Word, which is quite good and very useful to have if you've
forgotten how to do something.

OK, so users generally don't use help very much once they've got
the hang of things, but I still think Apple have the right idea
with providing a standard place for *all* help (balloon or
otherwise).

DISCLAIMER: This is not a flame.

-- 
See ya
                                Nigel.
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Nigel Stanger,                  Internet: stanger@otago.ac.nz
c/o University of Otago,
P.O. Box 56,                    Phone: +64 3 479-8179
Dunedin, NEW ZEALAND.           Fax:   +64 3 479-8311
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         "If I had a quote, I'd be wearing it." -- Bob Dylan
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