From: "Steve Ewing" 

On Mon, 31 May 2004 19:53:27 -0500, Gene McAloon
 wrote:

> A grossly undemocratic concept. And you miss the point entirely. What
> you really want is machines sufficiently complex to accomplish the goal
> for which they are designed, but sufficiently simple to operate so that
> anyone willing to learn can operate it.
>
> Different interfaces for different people for machines intended for use
> by all is an example of elitism at its worst.

I recall an article or story (sometime, somewhere) in which it was pointed
out how anyone familiar with an early telephone, or a television, for
instance, could be time-shifted today and learn to operate the modern
counterpart in a minute or so.  Except maybe for my father, baffled by the
concept of a multi-function cable/VCR/TV remote, and that was mainly
stubborness.

Or a car, for that matter-- especially now that most controls have pretty
much gelled into standard configurations (although it takes me a bit of
concentration-- eyes off the road-- to adjust the temp or radio in my FIL's
GMC pickup: Delco!  Arrgh!).  And that BMW multi-modal I-thingie that Click
and Clack (and Car&Driver) hate so much.

Re-reading the above, I'm not sure what point I'm trying to make: I keep
finding counter-arguments for myself.



--
Steve 
http://www.qmss.com/sewing

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