[openbeos] Re: Data or App Centric?



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In Windows, it's fairly easy for a computer newbie to start looking at
pictures, listen to music, record CDs or whatever task you want to do.
Generally, the trend is to have a application-centric view of the world,
which makes it (arguably) easy to get at the task at hand.


I've been training people at the dummiest imaginable level how to use a computer for several years, and my experience says it is not as easy as you point. Actually, Micro$oft Active Desktop is far from friendly, and although Windows XP has so many wizards to "Capture a digital image from a camera or scanner", "Add a printer", "Record a CD", etc., most people find it disturbing because those wizards usually have no hints to the unexperienced. And if they choose the system to "always perform that action when this event happens", almost always they want to switch that option, but they do not find where to. E. g., if you insert a blank CD in the RW device, a dialog window comes out, even though you have opened your favorite CD burner app.

In BeOS, you have to learn a bit about the system in order to use all
functions. For example, you have to learn what attributes are in order to
find an e-mail you've received, using Tracker's Find tool -> E-mail ->
From/Subject/... Hence, a data-centric view where it can sometimes be a
bit of a hassle to know which operations you can apply to certain data,
and where those operations are to be found.


If you want to master whatever area you want, you have to document yourself a bit to make processes quicker or better. Please, don't say me M$ Outlook Express is easy to configure! If I were given $10 for every guy that have asked me how to manage accounts in Outlook Express, I'd have a brand new car in my garage! Again, if you have a special app to do it, if you're unexperienced you'll have to find yourself which button is used to "send and receive mails". BTW: have you lost track of your mails on Outlook Express? Sometimes it's not as easy as overwrite /%BOOTVOLUME%/Documents and Settings/%CURRENTUSER%/Programs data/Identities/%BIGNUMBERLIKE"{65C1E384-7894-4E7A-9FBF-5BCC19BAC4AA}%/Outlook Express/SoManyFiles.dbx

Now, after one has learned how it's done in BeOS, I believe it is a faster
way of working, which doesn't get in the way. This is sadly mostly for
"professional" users that perhaps need to manipulate their data in a more
advanced way (think Terminal and pipes) than what a single application can
provide.


That is true at the beginning. Pro users that I know tend to be lazy, because of that they write scripts to do the most common tasks they use. For them, the console (Terminal) is the real thing. Advanced users and "common" users would like a single app better. An alternative would be great, but even in Linux distros the real operations are done at Terminals.

This leads to two situations, based on the user:
The advanced user will get hit the roof in Windows because of the inherent
limitations of the system (think: hacks like EasyMove or
ticWorkspaceGadget), whereas in BeOS, they're relatively easy to do
because of the bundled developer environment and the structure of the
operating system (file system and such).


You cannot compare such a different situations. If you are a user that uses very specific programs (a designer using Autodesk discreet 3ds max for example), you won't find in Linux, BeOS, FreeBSD, MacOS or any other you'll find a program that does those tasks, has so many plug-ins or add-ons and so many tricks to use them, because there are few users doing "3d". That is true for every single aspect in system management. I know many system administrators which cannot stand the M$ default control panels in NT, so they install third party ones. There are several alternatives to every configurable module, because in the default panels you cannot do advanced operations, and because there are so many students and programmers studying how to improve (themselves, mostly), so they "dig into" the system.

Talking about security, NO ONE is safe. After SP6a came out for M$ Windows NT 4, there were thousands of programs to hack WinNT systems. The same happened after the release of SP2 in M$ Windows 2000, and with the SP2 in M$ Windows XP, no matter how many Firewalls, Security Centers and Internet Protectors it had, the "hotfixes" began to appear because of the hackers. The systems were as vulnerable as they were before, but the average user had so many troubles with those "new settings" just to surf in the Internet. Don't believe me, ask unexperienced users! I've heard many times people say that the worst thing that happened to their systems was to install SP2. I won't even mention NTFS. You'll be thinking right now more issues about it.

For the casual user, however, there'll be a certain threshold that might
(or might not, but most probably will) put the user off from using BeOS,
and instead choose Windows where everything is served (i.e., kitchen sink
included) -- might not be a very good way of working for us who know how
things -can- be done, but it is a way, and it's mostly obvious what to do
(e.g., the activity pane on the left-hand side in folders in Windows).


Of course, I totally agree. If you expect, like I once did, to find the same thing, you'll be discouraged to use BeOS/Zeta/Cosmo/Blue Eye because you won't find those M$ Windows apps. The absolute real obstacle for me to use OSBOS in my everyday life is the lack of apps. The only word processor I have is Abiword 1 in the BeOS, and I have to print them in Linux or M$ Windows, because my printer is not supported, and less in a M$ network. I'm from Mexico, so I cannot buy as easy any BeProductive or related.

Now, I'm -not- saying we should duplicate Windows.  But we really need to
lower the threshold in BeOS, if we want to be successful!

Comments?

-- Mikael


Well, we all have seen at some point those "conflicts" you're saying. A year ago I was asking in every forum to change everything, and the Big Guys over here won't let me lie. I was translating the BeBook. Have it in Spanish was my goal. When the Doc leader vanished in the air for the first time I totally shocked! And I could not hold my tears when they told me the BeBook was "kind of canceled" because of Copyright problems. Now, as the OS is being built, also are the docs being made. In some cases, the documentation guys not even have wondered how they are going to begin from scratch certain areas. But now I've understood that the main goal of Haiku-OS is to have R1 with those characteristics that BeOS R5 had, those things that made us love BeOS regarding some details (like having to buy another Video/Audio/LAN card).

For me, it means today it is 6 months I haven't heard about the Documentation team status, R1 won't be in Spanish, it won't have those things those Dev guys dreamt, and it will still miss many things. But, d'you know? This project is too big for us all to thing in another thing than finish it. In my case, this "break" has given the opportunity to develop in another areas in my life and I've been studying C++ programming. Surely I won't make a CAD or a GIMP app, but I'm thinking in porting apps in some future. And over here, there is enough support from experienced people to make from scratch every single app, but they are making the OS, so others can write the apps. When it is time to put all my effort in the Haiku documentation, you bet I'll be there! What am I trying to say? DON'T THINK ABOUT THE THINGS THE SYSTEM WON'T HAVE, BUT IN THE THINGS YOU CAN DO ABOUT THEM!

If you explain in a comprehensive way how to manage every app, everybody who want to, will learn to use them and they will use them. In my opinion, a documentation center like the one that the Documentation Team had planed when I lost track is a good alternative, but the best one will be the one this Experienced Developer people do.

There are in the Web some M$ Windows clones, but like Haiku, only Haiku.

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