Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on July 10, 2004 03:51 AM
Think of usability in terms of an iceberg: for the computer novice/newbie, there is a simple, stream-lined interface with relatively few options on the surface. These users are less likely to get confused and (hopefully) will be happy.
However, for the power users, there is another, greater, deeper layer of options lying underneath the surface of the GUI. Here is the expert's playground, the place to tweak to one's heart's content. Even better, the expert can find and understand this layer because he or she is, after all, an expert/power user.
This is the way GNOME is trying to approach this debate. GNOME certainly does not have everything right in this regard, but I think it's a promising direction. (Hopefully, with searching enabled for gconf-editor in GNOME 2.8, things will be easier to find under the surface.)
KDE has the flexibility and power (in spades). It just needs to provide the simplied interface on top, and let the power users play beneath the surface.
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Re:Usability for the lowest I.Q.?
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on July 10, 2004 03:51 AMHowever, for the power users, there is another, greater, deeper layer of options lying underneath the surface of the GUI. Here is the expert's playground, the place to tweak to one's heart's content. Even better, the expert can find and understand this layer because he or she is, after all, an expert/power user.
This is the way GNOME is trying to approach this debate. GNOME certainly does not have everything right in this regard, but I think it's a promising direction. (Hopefully, with searching enabled for gconf-editor in GNOME 2.8, things will be easier to find under the surface.)
KDE has the flexibility and power (in spades). It just needs to provide the simplied interface on top, and let the power users play beneath the surface.
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