FreeBSD and SSD drives

[Polytropon]

On Sun, 13 Feb 2011 08:58:05 -0500, Jerry <freebsd.user at seibercom.net> wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:10:51 +0000
> Bruce Cran <bruce at cran.org.uk> articulated:
> 
> > On Sun, 13 Feb 2011 07:38:01 -0500
> > Jerry <freebsd.user at seibercom.net> wrote:
> > 
> > > Despite all of the rubbish the FOSS community
> > > has spewed for over 10 years, OpenOffice is nothing more than a poor
> > > clone of Office 97. The newly released "libreoffice" might be usable
> > > someday; however, it is now only in its infancy. There is no way it
> > > can be compared to a full blown MS Office 10 suite.
> > 
> > For some, Office is unusable due to the new Ribbon interface and
> > libreoffice is the usable office suite due to its familiar menus.
> 
> New, as in four years old? That is one of the worst straw man arguments
> I have heard in a while.

You're refering to when the UI has been issued as being "new".
I'm refering to how users recept it TODAY. In many business
settings, you won't see any of the "new" stuff MICROS~1 has
to offer. This "Windows XP" is still VERY present, and a
common office application is the predecessor with the traditional
menues. Many user complain about the Ribbon and refuse to use
it, as they had a hard time learning menues (and the changes
within them from program version to program version). And
now something "new"... that's too complicated. That's why
I was using "new" as this kind of nonfamiliar interface is
considered new TO THEM.



> In any case, In 2008 OpenOffice.org started
> the project Renaissance to improve the user interface of OpenOffice. So
> far the prototypes of the project are frequently seen as similar to the
> ribbon interface.

Providing the TRY of "the same" is often inferior to providing
"better". But users do not want "better", they want "the same"
as they prefer consistency in usage, implying that nothing new
has to be learned.



> Obviously, the use and customization of any software is a personal
> experience. However, if the use of the "ribbon" is beyond your
> abilities, [...]

Preferences. Abilities have nothing to do with it, except
we are talking about niche users (who are out of scope anyway),
such as blind users who could read menu text through a Braille
readout, but can't identify images (without any text) by that
means, which implies that a pictural interface which is
contextually changing is absolutely unusable for them.



> [...] and I am assuming that you are aware that the "ribbon" can
> be hidden, modified and that there are many "add-ons" available that
> can be used to manage it, then so be it.

I'm not using any MICROS~1 stuff at all, so my experience can
be seen as limited.



> I would rather work with an
> application with a minor annoyance, and I do not find the "ribbon" to be
> one, then to use a less robust application.

I don't think robustness is important for end users in the
home sector, as "bleeding edge" is preferred. Robustness is
very important for corporate users.



> Again, it is up to the end
> user to ascertain their requirements and find the tool that is best
> fitted to that job.

No. End users do not try or find anything, or make judged
considerations. They use whatever comes preinstalled, or they
use what they know from their work place (traditionally by
obtaining a pirated copy of whatever it is).



> In any case, I am quite confident that your condemnation of the
> "ribbon" is totally based on your reading of Slashdot and other similar
> documents and not from any personal experience.

I have never read anything on Slashdot, sorry. Should I? :-)

My personal experience is limited in helping users who come
from a "menu background" and feel that the constant re-learning
a contextually changing interface that is based upon pictural
elements instead of WORDS is limiting their productivity. This
was the chance for me to try to use the Ribbon interface, and
I didn't feel it is THAT BAD. There are, however, applications
where this kind of interface, if consistently used, would be
a benefit for the user.

I suggest you have a look at this:

	http://toastytech.com/guis/win72.html

It's part of the "Windows 7" article of the "GUI Gallery" and
contains a very nice summary of user perception of the Ribbon,
NOT in relation to MICROS~1's office programs in this case.


-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...