[OT] linux desktop usability (was Re: [linux-audio-user] Opening up the discussion)

[robin]

Lee Revell wrote:
> On Tue, 2005-07-26 at 08:38 +1000, Shayne O'Connor wrote:
> 
>>there is nothing wrong with this, indeed it is the
>>sort of expectation that is currently being pushed in the wider
>>community.
> 
> 
> And, just as important, it's not incompatible with keeping the system
> "power user friendly".  Currently the people who have the most trouble
> with the Linux desktop are not the novices, it's the power users coming
> from OSX and Windows, the type of people who can browse the web and
> answer email for hours on a Windows machine without ever touching the
> mouse, because what frustrates these users more than anything is an
> inconsistent UI which the Linux desktop has in spades.
> 
> Right now we do a very good job catering to both the novice and the UNIX
> guru, who can switch between the GUI and command line effortlessly.  But
> for many of those in between it's still a usability nightmare, because
> it's still not possible for a power user to make full use the Linux
> desktop without occasionally resorting to the command line.
> 
> For example try to use tab and the arrow keys to move the focus between
> widgets in a GTK app.  You will find the behavior is completely baffling
> and inconsistent, for example a different series of tab/shift-tab/arrows
> to cycle forward 5 widgets vs. going backward.  This type of thing will
> cause a Windows user to laugh out loud and tell you to get a real OS.
> 
> Lee
> 
> 
> 

This may not be a usual scenario, and may not be the type of power-user 
to which you refer, but is one I have come across. The MS certified 
network/sysadmins at a firm I previously worked for, with a network of 
approx 650 windowsNT4/XP PCs did the bulk of running/configuring that 
network via the command line. Mainly because it was quicker and more 
efficient. Things may have changed in the last couple of years

robin