On Wed, 26 Jun 2002, David A. Desrosiers wrote:
> > And python on the computer the parser runs on. That's not common on
> > Windows platforms. (They are minor things to install, and Plucker still
> > come out ahead with a smaller PDA footprint.)
>
> Windows is exactly the same in this regard. When you use something
> written in VisualBasic, don't you also need to install the VBRUN300.DLL (or
> newer) VB Runtime environment? "Scripting" languages aren't native on
> Windows platforms, but that doesn't mean the requirements differ.
I didn't mean Windows was different because it needed Python. I
meant a Windows installation of Plucker involves installing Python and
then the Plucker parser, while a Windows installation of AvantGo is just
one setup program. For Linux and OS X computers, python is preinstalled,
so Plucker does not appear, to the end user, to require any prerequisites.
> > 18. Plucker does not force ads for cars or new channels upon you.
>
> 20. Plucker does not send you content you didn't ask for, AvantGo
> does.
>
> This one requires an explanation. I was just pulling some
> content into AvantGo over the network in POSE, and asked for one
> particular site, and when it arrived in AvantGo, there were two
> sites, one was the site I wanted, the other was a "Channel
> Preview" of something I didn't even ask for.
That's what I meant by an ad for a new channel. Those are pretty
common, but less annoying than the occasional full-screen ad the appears
when you start up AvantGo.
21. AvantGo has a conduit, meaning the synchronization is started
by the same hotsync process Palm users are accustomed too. The plucker
parser must be run before a hotsync is started. (Again, there are
advantages and disadvantages to each.)
> > But I wouldn't recommend it for most users yet. It's still a little rough
> > around the edges.
>
> Most users have found ways to use it, despite those "rough edges".
> One of the added benefits of using Plucker on Windows (the only "rough"
> platform for using it, IMO) is that they learn more about their computer,
> how scripts, configuration files, etc. actually work..
Most plucker users have found ways to use it. The majority of
people who don't care how their computer works, and just want it to, don't
want to have to deal with scripts, configuration files, etc. I ask myself
the question, which is, am I going to be able to tell my sisters or my
parents about Plucker, and can they easily install and use it to satisfy
their needs without having to call me up cross-country to talk them
through it?
Plucker is relatively simple to use, if you already know a little
about computers, or are willing to learn.
> > But I think plucker-desktop is part of the next package, right? If so, I
> > think normal computer users will find it much simplier to use.
>
> Not "part of", but an additional package, yes. People who don't want
> to use that tool (I still have never used it, though I've tried) don't want
> to download the entire tarball/zipfile just to get the newer viewer and
> parser.
>
> > You still get most of the functionality, and the interface is much better.
>
> Most of the functionality of.. what? Plucker? The interface is much
> better than what?
Most of the functionality of Plucker, and the interface for
Plucker-desktop is much better than the default Plucker parser interface.
Just think if you're a new user and you don't know or care about how HTML
works. You setup a database and open the "edit" icon, which opens
home.html, and then what? Guess at the correct format? Most people don't
want to go have to think to use a program.
Plucker-desktop gives a simpler, nicer interface to most, if not
all, of the configuration options for Plucker databases.
"No one has ever gone broke underestimate the intelligence of the
American public."
--Anthony
PS: A minor Windows/Plucker question. Where does Plucker store
the location of it's icons in the start menu? I moved the Plucker start
menu folder into a subfolder, and now when I create a new database, I
don't automatically get a new subfolder of the Plucker start menu folder
for it.
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The secret of being miserable is to have the leisure to bother about
whether you are happy or not.
-- George Bernard Shaw
