Windows XP Starter Edition Review 430
Digitalommm writes "Paul Thurrott has a story on the latest developments on Windows XP Starter Edition. There are some very good points that the Linux community could adopt. An example is end-user training videos such as how to use a mouse." This is an optimistic, even glowing look at the Starter Edition, which even for Thurrot was not available for unsupervised use, only demonstrated by Microsoft for him. (For using-a-mouse videos, I would suggest also Roblimo's book Point and Click Linux .)
training video?? (Score:5, Interesting)
for the price/time involved with making/watching such a video, why not provide a fool-proof "play/experiment area" mode of the OS where you can do any mouse movement/clicking and it won't permanently affect the computer system at all? of course, it will still let you drag, click, open, etc. but it won't permanently alter the files, system, etc.
afterall, the best way to learn to use the mouse is to actually use it, not watch a video. this way, a novice user can play with the mouse to heart's content without fearing "oops, the system is no good because i moved something" kind of a situation.
do food processor companies deserve the credit for providing a video on how to plug in the power plug?
The real XP Starter Edition... (Score:3, Interesting)
Put a copy of Puppy [goosee.com] on a USB flash drive and have it put up the Blue Screen of Death on bootup. Share the key with your friends.
EricHow to detect Internet Explorer [ericgiguere.com]
P.S.: Interesting experiment: put a Linux system on a key like this with a Windows-like desktop scheme, boot someone's PC with it when they're not looking, and see if they can tell if there's any difference.
mouse usage (Score:5, Interesting)
1) play "hunt the cursor" because of poor eyesight and lack of experience with visual on-screen clues
2) hold a mouse with two or less fingers
3) move the mouse around tepidly and definitely not straight such that the cursor movement bears little relation to on-screen movement
4) moving the mouse around in order to locate the cursor itself.
5) let go of the mouse and watch the mouse itself not the screen in order to press a button on it - result: mouse moves...
the use of a mouse is something that is taken for granted. try using your mouse with your OTHER hand for a few weeks to see what i mean (if you are not ambidextrous of course).
try also upping the cursor accelerator and click-speed to absolute max in order to simulate lack of coordination.
and then: don't you bloody dare write another application with many-leveled drop-down and drop-sideways menus ever again!
Re:Mouse Usage 101 (Score:3, Interesting)
Wrong market (Score:4, Interesting)
THis is why I could not stand the arguments like "Consumers chose MS with their wallets..." when the anti trust trial was going on.
Lusers do not know what Linux is or care. ALl they know is they bought a computer and want to plug it in and use it. Do they even know what an OS is?
I looked at the WindowsXP crippled errr starter edition in the link of the story. It is crippled regardless of what MS may tell you otherwise so they can get you to fork over $200 (alot of money in third world countries) if you want features like resolutions above 800 x 600. The users in these countries never owned a pc so they have no concept of features nor care.
My point is training video's will help users of course learn the os but they will only use what comes with their computer and nothing else. Installing software or requiring them to learn is too much of an effort. Many I bet wont even click the video's because that would be too much of an effort.
The exception would be a dos oriented computer which many OEM's like HP include in the countries that install the starter edition. Since dos requires the users to actually learn commands, most will find a friend to install WindowsXP for them so they can use a mouse with the nice pretty icons.
Re:training video?? (Score:2, Interesting)
Moral of the story: Don't assume that people can just play with something and get it correct. People have an enormous capacity to compensate for their own ignorance.
Yikes. (Score:3, Interesting)
2. "First, the company wants to make sure that first time PC users in new markets have the right product at the right price, on the right hardware, and with the right features. " So resell Mini Macs. ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H OK - that does not mean ANOTHER OS for newbies - it means you should have thought of this Day 1 and implemented it in all consumer editions. This is simpler?
3. 3? How did they decide this? He later states that most people want to do 4 things (including 'help with homework' - which isn't 1 thing...) Ya think maybe giving the same standing in the task bar for any open window as an open app is the real problem here? What happens when rogue apps eat up your three slots - you get a three step modal error message! Do they mean real apps or processes? Does systray count?
4. Great. They'll spoon-feed this to tech minstries in developing contries, where the anti-trust laws are weaker than US. All so people who spend 20 hours a week getting food and decent water so they can repel real virii can now spend untold hours fighting the electronic kind too.
5. The fact that your market penetration is 2% does not mean this is a pressing need in that population. How about The Gates Foundation puts a worldband radio in each home? That will do more to educate and connect people than a PC will ever do in places with lousy land lines. Suppose the Indian Ocean countries do get thast tsunami warning system they should have - what would you bet on - needing to check your email to see if a wall of death is coming later today, or a worldband radio with weather alert? Or see NPR's story yesterday on how clueless the Iraqis are about the more than 100 names and/or parties on their national ballot.
6. Choices, choices, choices. UI is supposed to be permissive & forgiving. Go back and read that sentence again. Now - "in Thailand, users complained that they didn't like the female voice in the help videos, because it sounded too much like a cranky, older teacher. They asked for a younger, friendlier-sounding voice that was less intimidating. So Microsoft changed the voice." Apple, with 1/10 the R&D of MS can somehow provide a dozen voices for use in narration - MS supplies one, then has to go back to the lab to rip one out and jam in another one?
7. Is there a Great Wall of Redmond? "One of the things our research has found is that some people like to learn by reading, while others like to be shown what to do," Any certified teacher - hell - any first year education major could have told you this for free. You hired researchers to figure this out?
8. "Thurrot" is apparently French for "Dvorak". "It's just too bad that the ivory tower critics can't see beyond their own insular worlds" - welcome to the Mac users' problem with this guy - condescending, throws out insulting lines like that often, and assumes that {{insert favorite MS product here}} product is superior and sees nothing but sunny days ahead, the rest of the world be damned. Let's see what happens in the trenches, and let's not forget Microsoft BOB, Windows ME, and Microsoft Works - all attempts at making things easier that were all things that hobbled good ideas instead of simplifying needed tasks and are now in the dustbin.
Command line (Score:3, Interesting)