Favorite OS?

[HairdewX]

Re: Favorite OS?

Like I've said before. Familiarity != User friendly.

Familiarity is not everything there is to be user friendly, but it is a big part of being user-friendly.

For example, if cars suddenly come with another type of steering method other than a steering wheel it is not going to be user-friendly at all because people simply are not familiar with it.

Ease of use/memorization = User friendly.

True. However, in the majority of cases the easiest to use/memorize are the most familiar, or rather, which is why they become the most familiar.

A more accurate test is to take two people who have never used a computer before (and now you see why this test is nearly impossible) and give them each a book on how to do basic tasks within the OS you're testing. Give them 30 minutes to read the book, then give them the computer, and a list of tasks to do.

Such as:
1- Start the computer and login
2- Open a word document and write something with bold, italic, large, and strike fonts.
3- Save the document.
4- Find a web browser and open the wikipedia page on Operating system

etc... Taking two people off the street to test user friendliness is like stopping taking two people off the street and putting one of them in a car and the other on a motorcycle. Chances are, the motorcycle rider is going to get himself f'd-up, whereas the car driver will have no problems with it. Motorcycles aren't really harder to use, they just have different ways of using them that the average person won't know

A test like this isn't necessary.

When it comes to many things, such as procedures, etc., humans are visual learners. There is no denying it, it's just our nature. It's nature that a visual representation is easier for a human to grasp rather than an abstract idea.

For example, navigating through a file system using the command line only provides a user with text, which leaves the representation of the file system as an abstract idea. Not everyone will be able to process tha idea and understand it right away. Using a graphical representation, such as a folder, gives the user a visual representation and lets them "see" better how navigation works and where things are stored, etc.

[Shadowneko]

Re: Favorite OS?

So you hate windows... but you haven't even tried Mac or Linux...

You'd better be on FreeBSD.

heh...well I've had a verion of Linux at school but I did not use it enough to really get to know it(umm it was ok...) and the only mac I've seen was back in the 1980s to early 1990s(Black and white anyone?).

I see Windows as something I'm stuck with(I hate it...Windows has been defective since day #1) and if I could find a good alternitave OS that would run most of the available programs(including games) I would use that since Windows is basicly a disaster area....(ESPC. Vista)

[Feba]

Re: Favorite OS?

For example, if cars suddenly come with another type of steering method other than a steering wheel it is not going to be user-friendly at all because people simply are not familiar with it.

Like I said, a motorcycle and a car. The motorcycle isn't really any harder to drive, it just has a DIFFERENT METHOD of being driven. It's not a matter of user friendly, it's a matter of user familiarity.

Compare the old washboard and a tub of water method of cleaning clothes. No doubt a modern washing machine isn't FAMILIAR, but that doesn't mean it isn't FAR more user friendly.

True. However, in the majority of cases the easiest to use/memorize are the most familiar, or rather, which is why they become the most familiar.

Perhaps in consumer items, but not in computers. Microsoft has had their monopoly very strong for so long that the majority of people have never even used a computer without Windows on it, let alone owned one. It's not a matter of the OS being good enough to sell itself like a product in a truly competitive market, like it might be between, say, two types of cell phones.

I think most people would agree that Mac OSX is easier to use than Windows, but it's not as popular, mainly because it doesn't have as many games, and because of Apple's hardware premium.

A test like this isn't necessary.

Yes, it is. Comparing something people have experience with to something people don't have experience with is like asking someone to make a traditional family thanksgiving dinner, compared to a buffet from another country. I don't know about you, but my Grandma can make a damn good turkey, but I've never once seen her make fried rice. If she ever tried, I'm sure it would be much more difficult for her than making said turkey. That doesn't mean fried rice is harder to make, it just means that something people have experience with is always easier for them to do. That doesn't mean that it is easier for people with no experience, however, and that is user friendliness.

EDIT:

I could find a good alternative OS that would run most of the available programs(including games)

Well you'd have to be more specific about what games, but linux gaming is better than stereotypes make it out to be. Games really are the problem for most people switching from windows though, and it's a vicious circle. Personally, I don't mind linux gaming nearly as much, since I tend to stick to a few games anyway and try to better myself at them, but someone who likes to buy the latest games off the shelf and play them to stay up to date, or someone who demands to play any game they see will almost always come out disappointed.

[HairdewX]

Re: Favorite OS?

...Yes, it is. Comparing something people have experience with to something people don't have experience with is like asking someone to make a traditional family thanksgiving dinner, compared to a buffet from another country. I don't know about you, but my Grandma can make a damn good turkey, but I've never once seen her make fried rice. If she ever tried, I'm sure it would be much more difficult for her than making said turkey. That doesn't mean fried rice is harder to make, it just means that something people have experience with is always easier for them to do. That doesn't mean that it is easier for people with no experience, however, and that is user friendliness.

That's not a good example. The difference for a person between visual learning and abstract learning is like making turkey and making fried rice? It's not really related to what I was talking about.

A good example is a person trying to encode movies. He can use various programs and enter numerous file and encoding options in a command line. It would take time for him to learn the different types of options and what they do.

Or

He could just use a GUI and click on the check boxes next to the options he wants and then clicks on the start button. He wouldn't need to have any knowledge of what is going on under the GUI.

He could encode a movie either way, but the visual representation will confuse him less and possibly let him know about other options he may not even know about.

[Gentoo]

Re: Favorite OS?

A test like this isn't necessary.

When it comes to many things, such as procedures, etc., humans are visual learners. There is no denying it, it's just our nature. It's nature that a visual representation is easier for a human to grasp rather than an abstract idea.

I can't tell if just pull these things out of your ass, or you're intentionally trying to be a troll?

Go search on academic papers about visual and analytical learning. Not everyone is predisposed to learning in a visual manner.

And wtf does visual representation of the file system have to do with test Feba presented? You can't seriously be suggesting that non-windows operating systems are command line only.
(heh, I think I just answered my first quest question)

[HairdewX]

Re: Favorite OS?

I can't tell if just pull these things out of your ass, or you're intentionally trying to be a troll?

ok...

Go search on academic papers about visual and analytical learning. Not everyone is predisposed to learning in a visual manner.

Of course not everyone, but the majority are are.

And wtf does visual representation of the file system have to do with test Feba presented? You can't seriously be suggesting that non-windows operating systems are command line only.

I told Feba that the test was not even necessary (or realistic, for that matter) and I went on to talk about something else.

[Feba]

Re: Favorite OS?

It is needed, though, if you want to get an idea of how user friendly something really is.

Basically, right now, you're just saying "oh, well this is easier than that. I don't have any proof or anything, i'm just assuming it because I know I would have an easier time with this"

[HairdewX]

Re: Favorite OS?

It is needed, though, if you want to get an idea of how user friendly something really is. Basically, right now, you're just saying "oh, well this is easier than that. I don't have any proof or anything, i'm just assuming it because I know I would have an easier time with this"

I'm referring to a more real-world approach. How we approach things during the design stage.

If you are looking for hard evidence you'll be disappointed. However, "the proof is in the pudding". The only way is to have real people test it out in a test market and analyze the results. After a while, the results start to follow the same trends. Afterall, a company doesn't become a monopoly overnight.

[Feba]

Re: Favorite OS?

Afterall, a company doesn't become a monopoly overnight.

Does the term "IBM PC" mean nothing to you?

that's not the point though. like I stated, your point about the market deciding what is easy to use is moot because almost nobody who doesn't already have technical knowledge has ever even been shown a linux computer, let alone be able to interact with or even consider buying one

When a person wants a computer, they walk into a store, and they go to the area that has the PCs. Every single one of those computers is running windows. The user never even CONSIDERS that other OS exist, let alone the pros and cons of using it.

Consider when a person looks at a cell phone. They aren't just looking at the physical phone, they're also looking at the software on it, and what it can do. Now imagine that each of those phones had all the same features and functions, with the only things the user can tell a difference between being the way the phone actually looks, the sound quality, and how reliable/powerful it's antenna is. That's the way this is.

Microsoft could make a version of windows that had to be operated by foot pedal, and it would still be the majority OS, just because it's what is in stores.

[nazlfrag]

Re: Favorite OS?

Well Feba, Dell's selling Ubuntu loaded PCs now so it shouldn't be too long before users can walk into a store and have an alternative.

Everyone goes on about the Linux command line, somehow forgetting Windows is worse in this regard. I much prefer having a Linux style human readable text file for changing config settings than digging around in the registry, or relying on whatever they decide to include in the GUI config tool.

Regardless, Ubuntu is ready for the average, even the clueless Windows user. It presents a simple and clean interface that finally dispenses with the need for the user to ever use a CLI. I think it has taken this long because the traditional linux users find a CLI faster and more powerful than a GUI, and so had no real need for a complete GUI toolset. Thankfully some broke away from this tradition and finally made Linux ready for mainstream use.

Aside, my favourite OS of all time is Workbench 2.0, or Intuition for the Amiga. As it is, I put Linux, as I'm dual booting Debian and XP. If it wasn't for FFXI & Photoshop I would be 100% Linux, but I don't think I can give up these two gems just yet.

[Feba]

Re: Favorite OS?

nazlfrag: Wrong. Dell had to be a bunch of idiots and say it's for "advanced users" or "tech enthusiasts", which means no normal person will buy it now.

you can't do everything in Ubuntu in a GUI, I think everyone who uses ubuntu knows sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg, but everything you'd be doing in daily life, yeah.

If I set up my grandma's computer with Ubuntu, I have no doubt that she could easily do everything she has ever used her computer for (Read internet reciepes, send emails, play solitare) with no instruction at all.

[Feba]

Re: Favorite OS?

Turns out that he was just powering the monitor on/off only, not the system itself.

I remember hearing a story like this once. Someone complained that their copy of windows was running slowly, even though they turned it off and on every day. Tech guy figured out that they had left their computer on for like 800 days or something insane like that. And this was someone in a school who was apparently teaching kids how to use computers.

StarvingArtist, have you ever heard of PCLinuxOS or ReactOS? They might be right up your alley if/when you do decide to dabble.

[Akashimo]

Re: Favorite OS?

And this was someone in a school who was apparently teaching kids how to use computers.

Wow, another scarey case of teachers being not up to par for their teachings........................*recalls having to baby computer graphics teacher in using image save/conversion and how to use filters.....*

[Mhurron]

Re: Favorite OS?

Aside, my favourite OS of all time is Workbench 2.0, or Intuition for the Amiga.

http://os4.hyperion-entertainment.biz/

[Feba]

Re: Favorite OS?

StarvingArtist: Actually, ReactOS isn't Nix at all, it's an open source, reverse engineered version of Windows. PClinuxOS is, obviously, Linux, but it's meant to make the transition very easy for Windows users.

You might also be interested in some of Linux's programs like blender, GIMP, open source art stuff. If nothing else, if you have an afternoon to kill, consider downloading something like Ubuntu Studio and fooling around with a dualboot.