Xref: utzoo comp.sys.amiga:45932 comp.sys.ibm.pc:40159 comp.sys.mac:44504
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!sunybcs!boulder!kuo
From: kuo@boulder.Colorado.EDU (KUO ANDY Y)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac
Subject: User interface(was Re: Xerox sues Apple!!!)
Message-ID: <14969@boulder.Colorado.EDU>
Date: 18 Dec 89 05:43:40 GMT
References: <6767@tank.uchicago.edu> <1989Dec17.112127.27333@me.toronto.edu> <14960@boulder.Colorado.EDU> <1989Dec17.223025.6618@me.toronto.edu>
Sender: news@boulder.Colorado.EDU
Reply-To: kuo@boulder.Colorado.EDU (KUO ANDY Y)
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Lines: 51

In article <1989Dec17.223025.6618@me.toronto.edu> yap@me.utoronto.ca (Davin Yap) writes:
>I wrote:
>>Why hasn't anyone sue the big blue for
>>- giving user the *ugly*, *unfriendly* text based interface from hell?
>>- shamelessly cheat the users for a actually not so good computer?
>>- rudely made many users' life miserable and waster users' time?

>[lines deleted]
>	Then again, my first summer job was writing assembly language 
>	programs for these things back in '85 (aside: I didn't even know
                                  ^^^^^^^^^^^
>	what assembly language was, when I got the job :-) and I can see
>	how people who can't intuit the innards of DOS/Unix might have 
>	a problem.

  I believe we are at the end of the 80's and almost into the 90's :-).

  Back in '85, people would "wow" at a application like MacPaint,
people would be happy if they can see a menu listing of commands.

  But today, you will probably want to use some high level language
and make some library/toolbox calls to draw windows, control the mouse,
make the interface "standard".
  Assembly language is fast and I have nothing against it, but it is 
not practical to program a sophiscated application using it on today's 
fast computers.

  My main points are : The computer for the general users should not be 
                       command driven.
                       The real use for computers when *everyone* can
                       use it as a source for information/communication,
                       just like a telephone.

  To reduce the learning curve and be intuitive, standalized pull
down menus, mouse, window, dialogs is superior than purely command
driven.

  I believe the netters will agree with me that the success of UNIX is
not because of its command driven interface.  The power is in its system,
after so many fixes.
  Here is the point again, why are people building XWindow, *View..etc on
it?  If the innard of UNIX is so intuitive, why bother with these 
windowing systems?

  After one spend enought time with a system, something that's not
so intuitive will become *nature* to him.  It is simply unfair
to say that system is "intuitive" to the *general users* when he
spend hours on it.
  I probably really have not "intuite the innards of DOS", I think
these GUIs have spoiled me -- and after I have seen what people
are going through with the DOS.