On Wed, Jan 30, 2002 at 10:22:34AM -0600, Robert P. Goldman wrote: > "DS" == Dave Sherohman <esper at sherohman.org> writes: > > DS> On Tue, Jan 29, 2002 at 01:03:35PM -0600, Rodd Ahrenstorff wrote: > >>> The Lycoris menu usually does not list the application name because so many >>> are simply not descriptive. Kooka for example is a scanner application. In >>> the menu its "use a scanner". Xine is "DVD/DiVX Player"...simple. > > DS> Simple for the user, sure. Sounds like a support nightmare, > DS> though... > > DS> "Hey, TCLUG list! I just installed my new Linux box and my scanner > DS> doesn't work." > > DS> "What app are you using?" > > DS> "I dunno. I just click on 'use a scanner' and it does X instead of > DS> Y." > > But most home users don't have any access to support. Making the > application usable to them at the expense of making it hard for > sysadmins they don't have, seems like a very reasonable tradeoff. Well, depending on how its implemented, it makes it harder for the users as well. If the user doesn't know what application they're using, then they can't find help in the _Learning Linux_ book they have or by searching online. Of course it shouldn't be that big of a deal since the application itself probably still knows its real name, so the menu bar, etc. should have the real name. > For that matter, I'm pretty convinced that coming up with a nearly > icon-free screen would be a big help. Icons are ambiguous and suck > ("oh, yeah, the tyrannosaurus head, that means a web browser"). Words > like "mozilla web browser" are a lot better. Yes, icons can be worthless for finding new applications. The advantage for icons is for finding known applications (or file types) quickly. It much easier and intermediate user to find their mozilla icon on the desktop than to wade through a menu to find Web Browser: Mozilla (though it faster still to type 'mozilla&' in an xterm ;)). Anyway menu systems seem more useful for newbies (or at least icons with balloon help describing name or function. -- Jim Crumley |Twin Cities Linux Users Group Mailing List (TCLUG) crumley at fields.space.umn.edu |Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota Ruthless Debian Zealot |http://www.mn-linux.org/ Never laugh at live dragons |Dmitry's free,Jon's next? http://faircopyright.org