[no subject]

> I'm defining "best" as "what causes users to actually switch over to
> our software and subjectively report that they enjoy using it."
> Because that's the definition of "best" that will result in more users
> using free GUI software.
 
If the interface is good enough, and can be learned quickly enough,
people will want to use it even if it doesn't match their current
work habits and preconceptions. Think about how many C/Perl programmers
react at first to Python's lack of curly braces. :)

And don't forget all the potential users out there who have yet to 
lay hands on a computer. :) It would be a shame to unnecessarily
subject them to Windows annoyances.

> I don't claim to understand everything that goes in to my "best" - but
> I do think we have a certain amount of data available, if you listen
> to articles, posts, comments, bug reports, etc.
> 
> But anyway, I didn't say try to be a Windows emulator, I said make
> Windows users feel comfortable when we can, and make improvements when
> we really have substantive improvements.

What I'd like to see, I guess, is for GNOME to match or exceed MacOS
in all the little, subtle things that make it (up through version 9,
anyway) subconsciously more comfortable than Windows: lazy cascading
menu selection (I think GNOME has that already), aesthetically pleasing
button placement and widget proportions (if somebody has a theme they
really think matches the Mac in this area, please let me know about 
it!), that sort of thing.

Bruce Tognazinni has a short column from a couple of years ago, sort
of an open letter to Apple on changes they could make in the MacOS UI
to make it more palatable to the sort of user who has to switch back
and forth. Mostly, he says bite the bullet and do it the way Windows
does, even when Windows is wrong. But he also says:

  Apple needs to make the Macintosh more Windows-like. No, no
  they don't have to make it coarse and quirky. They only need
  to change the few things that are driving Mac people who must
  use Windows-like software -- or must use a Windows machine at
  work -- just plain nuts.

http://www.asktog.com/columns/002advicetoapple.html