Re: Revisiting App Menu

[sun <as387 yfn ysu edu>]

Preben Randhol wrote:
> 
> * Soren Harward
> [snip]
> | In short: I don't think "program configuration" and "quit" belong in a
> | "file" menu, but rather a separate "program" menu.  You think anyone is
> | going to panic, FDISK linux, and return scared to Win/Mac just because
> | they couldn't find the "quit" option the first place they looked.
> 
> I agree, but one cannot make it too different either. And I am not
> scared about the Windows users, but Linux users which use other apps
> that aren't Gnome. It is a sword to balance on I think.

to be perfectly honest, i'm not worried about these people being able to
adapt at all. try running moonlight creator, xfontsel, vi, bash, pine,
and yes, and after chasing the damn "quit" feature all over creation
(how intuitive is ctrl-c or esc-ZZ, anyway?) i'm sure a good many linux
users will be happy to have their "quit" choice firmly in one place,
regardless of whether the menu is called "file," "application," or just
an icon of a gnome footprint. :)

> | Another idea: how about a short "tutorial" for gnome--approachable from a
> | few levels like "newbie," "familiar with computers," and "power user"--to
> | acclimate people quickly to the switch?  I know MS and Apple do these
> | things for their UIs.  I'd be willing to help design it.
> 
> Of course... An ideal manual should come in three versions, Newbie,
> Advanced, Expert, but I'd rather have one good than none :).

agreed, and i think this is a good idea. comprehensive man pages are the
best reference for users like myself who occasionally need a complete
list of program options and their exact behaviors; for new users who
need help with the basics, i suggest apple's method of _showing_ users
how to do stuff by drawing big red marker-lines on the screen showing
what to click where, rather than windows's wizards that hide the hard
stuff and do it all for you without showing you what's going on under
the hood.

--
"Whoever saves one life saves the whole world in time." --Talmud