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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!shadooby!samsung!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!LadyHawke
From: LadyHawke@cup.portal.com (Classic - Concepts)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Xerox sues Apple!!!
Message-ID: <25261@cup.portal.com>
Date: 22 Dec 89 03:38:14 GMT
References: <6767@tank.uchicago.edu>
  <1989Dec17.112127.27333@me.toronto.edu> <14960@boulder.Colorado.EDU>
  <1989Dec17.223025.6618@me.toronto.edu>
  <1989Dec18.040441.30118@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu> <33269@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
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Organization: The Portal System (TM)
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> Please give a single example of what you can do faster on a mac than on a
> pc.  Do you call if faster clicking on the 'disk eject' icon and waiting
> forever for the machine to eject your floppy.  Do you call if faster
> clicking the mouse ten times just to get from one directory to another. 
> There ISN'T a single command that you can perform faster with a
> mac than pc.          gary

In 1986 I had to teach word-processing on a short-term 'crisis' basis to
a group of highly educated professionals with minimal acquaintance with
computers.  This group of professionals had to each submit a specialized
resume for an important grant application.  The deadline was VERY
tight.  The office had 1 Macintosh and 5 or 6 IBM-compatibles.  MacWrite
was available on the Macintosh and Word Perfect and Wordstar and a
couple of text editors were available on the IBM-compats.  I asked them
which computers they wanted to use.  One chose the Mac.  The rest chose
the IBM-compats because they had a little experience with them.  None of
them had done any word processing prior to this, but they were familiar
with the concepts of word-processing and they were fast learners.
   I started the first person on the Mac (10 minutes instruction-max) and
then, in turn worked with each of the people on the IBM-compats.  After
about 2 hours I returned to help the person on the Mac.  She needed a
little help with naming the file and operating the printer, but
otherwise had managed to figure out most of the menu commands, including
cutting and pasting.  I spent the rest of the day trying to get the
others going on the other machines.  The function keys, keyboard
commands and cut and paste methods were difficult for all of them to
master under time pressure.  They weren't getting very far except when I
was standing over their shoulders giving individual help and pointing
out where to find things in the manuals.  When they found out the first
person was done, they started, on their own initiative, to line up to
use the Mac.  Only one person completed a resume on an IBM-compatible.
(For your information, I was very fluent in both WordStar and Word
Perfect at the time, so I don't think my instruction was at fault.)

  In other words, I think your criteria for identifying 'speed' and ease
of use make about as much sense as identifying birds by counting their
legs.
                                                        \_                
                                                         )\_            _/
                                                         `/)\_     __  // 
        __ _____________________________________________  `\\)\_  / '~//  
       ///  Julie Petersen  (LadyHawke@cup.portal.com      `\\//\\/|'//'  
      ///           Classic_-_Concepts@cup.portal.com)      (\/Yyyy/'     
__   ///    (Now if they'd had an Amiga, they could        /Yyyy/'        
\\\ ///  have used graphic OR text OR both interfaces.)   //\\  LadyHawke 
 \\///   ______________________________________________  ///\\\