Re: looking at the survey (UI)

["Pete St. Onge" <pstong1@po-box.mcgill.ca>]

Hi all,
     Glad to see that we're starting to pare down and in some cases
reword questions. Means we're getting closer.

>    - Consistent graphical and/or textual user interfaces, and the
> ability to exploit both to the user's advantage
> 
> what's the difference between this question and the last?
     The way I see it, the ability to interact with programs either at
the command prompt level or through a GUI.

> And didn't we make "the ability to exploit both to the user's
> advantage" better worded, somewhere along the line?
     I don't remember, but I'll go back to the archives and check.

>    - Having a program which explains error messages
>    - Intuitive error messages from the OS and applications from the
> beginning? Rather than an interpreter...
> 
> I say we combine these two into
>    - Intuitive error messages from the OS and applications
> 
> in which case I would say 'very important'.

    ... sounds good. 

> How about 'being able to access or search an index of keywords or
> help documents, so experienced users can find information quickly'?
... sounds good.

>    - Multiple-languages (support for several languages)
> 
> unimportant
    Not from where I'm typing: it's critical, or at least Very
Important. Reason: a large part of the world's population has a first
language other than english. Some of the distros already have docs in
japanese, and quite a number folks in the *.fr domain (among others)
have had an important influence on the development of linux. Also, many
of my colleagues here in Quebec, although bilingual to varying degrees
(just as my french isn't perfect) are far more comfortable in french.
Why not? http://www.linux-quebec.org is a good example of how pumped
folks are on linux, even if it isn't in their first language - having a
french UI, for example, would likely result in a boost to usage here.

> 
>    - Multi-language (support for several languages simultaneously)
> 
> unimportant
     For the time being. I could see that this might be important in
some countries (particularly multi-lingual ones), but I would also have
to concede that unless the error messages are numbered (so that they can
be compared between languages) it could be difficult to diagnose some
user problems.


-- 
Pete St. Onge - McGill U.  Limnology - Fun with Ropes & Buckets
pete@seul.org                  http://wwp.mirabilis.com/4322052