Re: gEDA-user: german article in the linux magazin online now

[Ben Jackson <ben@xxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 10:11:52PM -0800, Dave N6NZ wrote:
> Ben Jackson wrote:
> > They're both pretty bad.  There must be something about CAD programs that
> > leads to wacky user interfaces.  
> 
> Interesting comment, in that on another list I was just in a discussion 
> about 2D drawing tools.  I am a fan of QCad.  Many people complain about 
> the "strange" UI on QCad.  But after you climb the considerable learning 
> curve, you can absolutely fly with it...

Thanks for a thoughtful reply to my casual dismissal of gschem's and PCB's
UIs.  I think you get to the heart of the matter right there:  The only
way to make new users comfortable and provide a smooth ramp from "novice"
to "master" is to let the novices start with familiar paradigms, even if
we know those will break down when they become more advanced.  The experts
resist the attempts to conform because they've paid the startup cost
already.

I would compare it to vi.  Modern versions of vi make cursor keys work in
insert mode, and allow you to delete at the start of a line back up to the
previous line.  Power users never notice those features because they never
even try to edit in such primitive ways with such a powerful editor.  But
it provides training wheels to new users.

-- 
Ben Jackson AD7GD
<ben@xxxxxxx>
http://www.ben.com/


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