From owner-freebsd-chat Tue Sep 22 08:19:02 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) id IAA21251 for freebsd-chat-outgoing; Tue, 22 Sep 1998 08:19:02 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from owner-freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG) Received: from phoenix.welearn.com.au (suebla.lnk.telstra.net [139.130.44.81]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id IAA21240 for ; Tue, 22 Sep 1998 08:18:58 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from sue@phoenix.welearn.com.au) Received: (from sue@localhost) by phoenix.welearn.com.au (8.9.1/8.9.0) id BAA18479; Wed, 23 Sep 1998 01:18:15 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19980923011811.37850@welearn.com.au> Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 01:18:11 +1000 From: Sue Blake To: Chris Dillon Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Network Computers References: <19980922140459.61177@welearn.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Mailer: Mutt 0.88e In-Reply-To: ; from Chris Dillon on Tue, Sep 22, 1998 at 12:24:08AM -0500 Sender: owner-freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.org On Tue, Sep 22, 1998 at 12:24:08AM -0500, Chris Dillon wrote: > On Tue, 22 Sep 1998, Sue Blake wrote: > > > They wouldn't give two hoots what OS is under it, or even what word > > processor it is, so long as it's the same look and feel. That's all > > they know, the whole sum total of what computers are to them. They have > > never been granted access to anything else, much less control. > > We switched from Office 95 to Office 97 about a year or so ago. That > was actually quite a change in user interface (I hate Office 97... I > managed to stand using Office 95. It did less behind your back or > without your permission). I had to munge around and find menu items > that moved from one menu to an entirely different one, or even > disappeared entirely and moved to a dialog box that popped up when you > accessed something else. If our users managed to swallow that change, > learning StarOffice or Applixware should be a breeze. :-) Interesting. How did they react to the change? What did they say about it? What did they find most difficult to get used to? What did they like? This is all stuff you can draw on to win them over. > StarOffice actually looks very much like Office 95 (the wp and > spreadsheet parts of it), or at least I think so, so that wouldn't be a > problem for most people to use. I've never seen ApplixWare, but I > imagine it wouldn't be too hard to grasp either. Some time ago I was forced to do some fairly advanced word processing to a Word document under sin95. Eventually I stole the document and tried to finish it off with Applixware. It looked similar enough, but there were real problems when I tried to use keys instead of the mouse for speed. They just didn't work right. For example there's ways to select a couple of lines and move them up or down the page, apply styles, flip in and out of outline view, do battle with tables and numbered lists, and so on. To do all that stuff with the mouse would be way to slow. Unless the editing keys are identical it'll be far from an easy change, no matter how it looks on screen. I suspect Star Office would differ too. If all its key commands are the same, you've got exactly what it is that they've decided they want. Who cares what OS is under it. > Fortunately, training is just what we're in the business of. :-) Uh-oh. So the scairdy-staff are examples of your mob's training? :-) > > They would love it if they judged it by our criteria. They certainly > > won't, and they certainly won't. > > I'm not wanting them to judge it by our criteria. I want to see if I > can create something that the average user wouldn't have much trouble > learning how to use. It should be easy to whip up stuff that looks > identical up to a certain point (use fvwm95, maybe an explorer lookalike > file browser, etc.). Give them enough free time to play, with a playful attitude, and they'll get used to it. In most businesses that time isn't available and the playful attitude is too guilt-ridden. I've had a hell of a job getting staff to play solitaire during work time to improve their mouse skills, even though they liked the game a lot and had been ordered to play it. Maybe you could find a familiar (no-learning) game that would get them in. Don't bother with solitaire or anything that could look like a cheap imitation of what they've seen. I dunno what game though. Also, there might be some handy work toys that aren't available on the other system. I don't know what they're missing out on now, but you could think of a few things they'd appreciate. Cut and paste will be a winner once it's explained. If they're teachers, consider setting up xmbase-grok for student info and grades (I've used it for that and it worked well). Select a field delimiter that makes the files compatible with their old system. Find some toys they'll be miserable without :-) -- Regards, -*Sue*- To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message