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Subject:Re: Linux users' expectations of online help From:Peter Harkins <ph-tw -at- malaprop -dot- org> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 24 Sep 2003 07:27:44 -0700
On Tue, Sep 23, 2003 at 03:25:54PM +0200, John Cornellier wrote:
> >Linux users <snip> are accustomed to
> >reading very technical materials. They generally get
> >help in email lists, IRC channels, Web Sites and Wiki.
> >There help needs are less than that of Windows users.
>
> That's not strictly true of those who spend a lot of time in the terminal.
> E.g. to sort a list in Windows File Explorer, you just click on the table
> header. Want to reverse the order? Click again. In *nix even experienced
> users can have a lapse of memory whether it's ~/ls -lrt or what. In the
> term, you're always typing man this and man that, whereas in the GUI you
> can find commands by semi-random clicking.
A better comparison would be Windows Explorer to Konqueror, which is a file
and web browser like Explorer. In Konqueror, it works just the same -- click
the column header you want to sort by, click again to reverse. If you're not
in that view mode, the View->Sort menu has the options for sorting, with a
checkbox for 'Descending' (probably be better if it were labeled 'Reverse').
There has been a lot of time spent in the last five years improving the
Linux GUI. Like the Windows UI it has some rough spots sometimes, but it's
friendly enough that for the average user. As Linux expands away from its
hardcore technical audience into general use, the general lack of technical
up-to-date documentation has only been survived by, I think, the chat rooms,
mailing lists, and Linux Users Groups that mostly do not have analagous
couterparts in the Windows world. Most newer Linux users I know have a
mentor or two they turn to first, and then a larger community group (both
after taking a pass at the available documention). It's a very different
model.
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