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by Jeff Key.
Original Post: What is an advanced user?
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Scoble opens a can of worms with a post called 10 Things Advanced Users Need in Longhorn. I consider myself an advanced user and disagree with almost every point, as does almost every person in the comments. The problem: What is an advanced user?
Although I literally get headaches reading religious debates about anything related to computers (lighten up!), I do occasionally just to keep up with what other folks are thinking. I've been tabulating unscientific results somewhere in my head and I've come up with this result: More times than not, people like what they know. Unix users hate Windows' command line. Mac users hate Windows because of the UI and behavioral inconsistencies compared to what they use. Even though their UIs are almost identical to Windows', Linux users hate it because it's a Microsoft product, they can't recompile the kernel and it runs everything that they can't on their OS. v.Last users don't like v.Now because things have changed. v.Now users are afraid of v.Next because it's scary and different. And so on.
This brings me back to "advanced users". Like me, Scoble is an advanced user. Chances are you are, too. I bet if you compared my OS setup to yours and Scoble's, they would all be radically different. Back in the day, you could have any color Model T as long as it was black. That was easy for Ford and easy for the consumers. One of the nice things about Windows is that it's pretty configurable and people that know what they're doing can more-or-less flip a few switches and twist a few knobs to get things situated in a way that makes them more productive. Windows does come in one color, but you can paint it whatever color you please, change the stereo, put on some crazy wheels and even one of those gigantic spoilers the kids are putting on their Hondas. The problem, metaphorically speaking, is what color should Microsoft paint Windows?
When designing software, where do we draw the line? Should Microsoft add more knobs and switches to make it more *nix and Mac like? Do you, the software craftsman, create alternative interfaces like Franklin has recently demonstrated? Do you cater to the lowest common denominator, or do the opposite and ensure EVERY conceivable option is available although beginning users may not understand the product?
Really, all I'm asking is for Microsoft to make Windows the way I like it. Forget Scoble, he's insane.
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