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[Rodolfo J. Paiz]

At 00:09 1/2/2004, you wrote:
>I find this conversation very interesting. I, personally, just changed the 
>runlevel at system start to level 3. And i don't really see how hiding 
>what's REALLY going on is going to help the computer illiterate people more.

Hiding something does not help them in a /practical/ way by doing something 
for them. It helps them in a /psychological/ way by not intimidating them 
and making the operating system look friendlier. People feel like the 
computer is holding their hand more, and that makes them feel safer and 
more at ease.

>I'd say the more a computer does things on it's own and hides what it's 
>doing the more problems you run into. Example: Windows.

Wrong on two counts: having a computer display nothing is in no way a cause 
for greater errors. You assume a cause->effect relationship where none 
exists... even in the case of Windows. And as regards the original point, 
people feel that Windows is easier because all they can see is what they 
can push, poke, or prod and all complexity is hidden from them.

>Computer illiterate people who want to use linux should learn how. 
>Computer illiterate people who want to use Windows should also learn how. 
>Just because Windows is "easier" to use doesn't make them less computer 
>illiterate.

But it does keep them using Windows. Bottom line: what you think, and what 
I think, are bloody well irrelevant. It's what the computer-illiterate 
population thinks that matters. And from where I sit, it looks like most of 
them prefer not to see what they don't understand... it scares them.

>I don't see too many people saying "I want to use a car, but i don't want 
>to learn how, i just want to get in and I want the car to know where i 
>want to go and how to get me there without me doing anything but sitting 
>and watching all the pretty colors."

Wrong again. Most people (in this case, myself included) flat-out do not 
give a damn how their car works, and they don't want to know.

         1. They know that they push the button on the alarm keyfob and the 
doors unlock, but they don't know how and they don't care.

         2. They know that only their key will activate their door lock or 
ignition and that others won't, but they don't know why and they don't care.

         3. They know that turning the key makes the engine start, but they 
don't know how and they don't care.

         4. They know that turning the steering wheel turns the front 
wheels, but they don't know how and they don't care.

         5. They know that moving a lever from P to R or D makes the car go 
forward or backward, but they don't know how and they don't care.

Have I proven my point yet?

And the reason your comparison doesn't work is that Windows does not take 
dictation or know your thoughts either. Just like the car, it takes basic 
user interaction to know what the user wants and it fulfills the user's 
desires with some degree of reliability or lack thereof. And just like the 
car, when it breaks most users don't have the foggiest clue of what broke 
or how to fix it.

Think like others in order to understand them. Don't expect them to think 
like you do, or like how you think they should.


-- 
Rodolfo J. Paiz
rpaiz at simpaticus.com
http://www.simpaticus.com