Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!lll-winken!uunet!mcvax!ukc!tcdcs!tcdmath!ch
From: ch@maths.tcd.ie (Charles Bryant)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: iconitis
Message-ID: <745@maths.tcd.ie>
Date: 11 Apr 89 18:00:23 GMT
References: <2587@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Reply-To: ch@maths.tcd.ie (Charles Bryant)
Organization: Maths Dept., Trinity College, Dublin
Lines: 25

In article <2587@ssc-vax.UUCP> dmg@ssc-vax.UUCP (David Geary) writes:
>
>keep up with the cursor.  I was astounded.  Now I use VI exclusively. 
>People see me using
>VI nowadays, and say "WOW!  What kind of editor is that - it's so fast." 
>"Vi", I reply.
>"Oh, yuck", is usually their reply.  I just kind of smile.
>
>  BTW, when I was learning VI, I cursed it time and time again, ...

This illustrates the _real_ difference between MAC and UNIX style programs. MAC
programs are far easier to learn, but UNIX programs are more powerful. For many
users it is not worth while spending a lot of time learning about a powerful
program. For full-time programmers it is always worth while. This tends to make
them see power as very important, whereas ease-of-learning is what sells
machines.

Another obstacle to developing a good user-interface is that a good
user-interface is one that no-one notices while they are using it. If your
testers say they were really impressed with your user-interface there is a good
chance that its sub-optimal.
-- 

		Charles Bryant.
Working at Datacode Electronics Ltd. (Modem manufacturers)