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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Linux for the Masses and the Experts  (was: Worth reading...)
From:       "Markus Holzem" <markus () holzem ! de>
Date:       1999-07-15 18:36:55
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Todd Burgess is mostly right but partially wrong.
For reference:
	http://www.osOpinion.com/Opinions/ToddBurgess/ToddBurgess1.html

We need KDE to be suitible for beginners. There is no question
of that. But a desktop environment that is only suitible for
beginners does not have the capabilities to become a desktop
suitible for the future.

Less and less people are new computer users. Computers are
everywhere in our environment and most people up 40/50 years
old have at least a little experience with computers. Usually
they use a MS Windows system at work, some comparatively few 
have experience with UNIX systems.

Currently HCI has settled on WIMP-Interfaces (WIMP=windows,
icons,menus,pointer), but we should not forget, that there is
something to find behind the horizon. Currently we work with
a "user in control"-model, but soon the user will trust (with
more stable OSs than MS Windows ;-) the computer and give
away some of his work to computers.

The conclusion is that a modern desktop environment has not
only to care for beginners but also for the expert users.
The main goal of HCI is that the user can get his work done
with the least effort and the best result. We have to find
the narrow line to get in front of MS Windows or Apple
Macintosh.

And not to forget: money makes the world go round. We need
to make Linux/KDE attractive for the companies so that
software is being developed FIRST for KDE/Linux. Years ago
graphics software was being developed first for the Mac and
then for MS Windows. Now it is the other way around. Let's
go a step further...

Linux/KDE needs to become THE SYSTEM to write software for.
We need application frameworks for office software, games,
management software, networking software, etc.

 * It shall be easy to write software for Linux/KDE.
 * It shall be easy to write stable software.
 * It shall be easy to create consistent user interfaces.

and not to forget

 * It shall be easy and efficient to use.

Linux/KDE shall take as much as possible of the user's workload.
Linux can run weeks and months without interruption (unlike most
MS Windows systems). Let's take away returning tasks from the
user.

Make the objects of the user interface more powerful. Store
information about documents (program files, webpages, source
code, etc.) so that a user can search for documents of a
special topic or written/changed by someone. Make version
management part of the KDE libs so that the developer does
not have to care for it himself. Then users don't have to
live with ONE backup file and can revert to all previous
versions. Make it easy to work at the same time on the same
file by different users.

And as a last point: keep open for speech recognition. It
is not that long to go that the user can ask the computer
to do something. This will bring along a far more powerful
interface, because the user will be able to give sloppy
commands and the user interface has to figure out what the
user means. Nice for the user and headaches for the
developers ;-)

There is an article from August 96 available on the internet
with some visions of an "Anti-Mac Interface":
	http://www.acm.org/cacm/AUG96/antimac.htm
I think we should go for a mixture of that and MS Windows.

Just 2 cents against simply copying MS Windows. Do more,
not only different.

Markus

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