[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: list o' importants



 I've started hacking up the list but feel I've barely scratched the surface.
Will    keep at it.

 Rank the following in terms of importance (low, moderately low,
 moderately high, high):

 * local networking (connecting to other computers at my office, home,
   or other location)
 * being able to auto-setup local ethernet connection
 * wide area networking (connecting two or more locations)
 * being able to connect to the machine remotely 
 * being able to run graphics remotely 
 * running servers (mail, httpd, samba, telnetd, ftpd, etc) 

 * internet connection (direct)
 * internet connection (dialin)
 * internet connection (auto-dialin)
 * support, internet [could use rewording. I can't tell if this is
   'newsgroups' or 'ISP']

 * telephony

 * multimedia

 * being able to use (read/write/both) industry standard word/graphics file
formats
 * being able to convert from one word/graphics file format to another

 * being able to read the os/application source 
 * being able to modify/redistribute the os/application source

 * cost, hardware
 * cost, software
 * cost, upgrades

 * security C2
 * encryption
 * secure banking and commercial transactions
 * security (ability to prevent unauthorized people from using my
   system(s).
 * privacy (ability to keep other users from reading my files)
 * automatic virus protection (the system takes care of it for you)
 * manual virus protection (you run a program to scan or detect)
 * using a system which protects the user from making potentially dangerous 
   changes to system configuration 
 * being able to make a backup of your system
 * being able to make backup copies of large data files
 * being able to undelete files 
 * stability (computer and applications run without crashing or
   requiring restart)
 * prompt bugfixes (or hey, bugfixes at all) 

 * adding/removing software in an easy and familiar way
 * upgrades, ease of installation
 * upgrades, ease of finding/getting
 * having the installation stage for a program verify that all necessary
   components are present and functional

 * PnP support in hardware 
 * I2O support
 * multiterminal support
 * multiprocessor support

 * speed of overall machine
 * speed of graphics rendering

 * compatibility with existing systems [hardware]
 * compatibility with prior versions [software]

 * multitasking (being able to taskswitch between applications quickly) 
 * having many large applications open at once [easier than asking
   "supporting >64 megs ram"]

 * being able to run something like doublespace (dynamic disk compressor) 
 * automatic hard drive defragmenting (the system takes care of it for you)
 * manual hard drive defragmenting (you run a program to defrag)
 
 * administration questions [suggestions?]
 
 * multiple-users (several people can use machine at different times)
 * multi-user (several people can use machine simultaneously)
 
 * applications (I need to run specific applications on my computer)
 * uses (I need to use my computer for specific tasks.  Specific
   applications don't matter as long as they fill the need).
 * availability of a wide variety of apps (commercial, freeware?) 
 * support, applications [this needs more thought]
 
 * ease of use (this *MUST* be split up into "what constitutes EOU"
   elements). [no progress here yet :( ]
 * consistent user interface (things behave the same way even comparing 
   between two separate applications) 
 
 * having a graphical interface to applications and system
 * having a command-line interface to applications and system

 * multiple-languages (support for several languages)
 * multi-language (support for several languages simultaneously)
 * Unicode support

 * documentation, printed
 * documentation, electronic
   [might ask about "documentation, obtainable-from-internet" as well]

 * support, vendor [what is a 'vendor' for an end-user, anyway?] 
 * corporate reputation (vague -- good or bad reputation is
   important.)
   Note that responses here scale differently from most of above.  Maybe
   "importance of vendor satisfaction, ..." would fit better.
   I still don't know what a 'vendor' is for our audience. I don't like
   that word -- the computer might come from a different place than the
   support, and the OS from a still different place.