On 6 Feb 2008 at 12:20, jonathon wrote:
...
> The less computer savvy somebody is, the more comprehensive the answer
> needs to be, so that they can comprehend the effects of teh action.
> 

Maybe. Maybe not. The best place to hide a tree is probably in a 
forest. One way to hide the info a user needs is to tuck it in a lot 
of words he [thinks he] cannot comprehend and so won't read.

Believe it or not, there are users who /cannot/ understand anything 
beyond the most simple of concepts. And there are probably users who 
don't /need/ to either. And the distinction between 'gratis' and 
'libre' is probably too nice for many to bother with - all they want 
(and need, in many cases) to know is "do I have to pay to use it?".

Frustrating; yes.  I begin to think computer use should be like car 
driving - you don't do it till you've passed a basic competence test.

> To take a trivial example.   How would you like to explain to somebody
> why they can't use a specific feature of OOo, after telling them that
> OOo works on Windows Vista?  From their perspective the issue is that
> OOo doesn't work., not that their version of Vista is crippled.

What specific limitations had you in mind here?

-- 
http://www.scottsonline.org.uk lists incoming sites blocked because 
of spam
[EMAIL PROTECTED]    Mike Scott, Harlow, Essex, England




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