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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!rlgvax!guy
From: guy@rlgvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: UNIX: INHUMAN FACTORS
Message-ID: <786@rlgvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Jul-83 21:06:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: rlgvax.786
Posted: Wed Jul  6 21:06:55 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Jul-83 21:24:20 EDT
References: <825@ittvax.UUCP>
Organization: CCI Office Systems Group, Reston, VA
Lines: 28

What software does the term "UNIX" refer to?  If one wants to be very strict
about it, the only software that's really "UNIX" is the stuff that comes on
a distribution tape from Bell Labs.  Even if you include what comes from a
Berkeley distribution tape or what comes from an OEM'ed version of UNIX, the
news software doesn't count.  Complaining about the user interface of UNIX
because of what the news software says is like complaining about the user
interface of VMS because of some program that came from DECUS.

The software that comes with UNIX, and the software that runs under UNIX,
comes from a lot of different sources, and there isn't any one "quality maven"
who watches over all of it and makes sure that it's consistent and
user-friendly.  It's somewhat pot luck; some programs are nice, and some
programs are cute, and some programs are cryptic - it all depends on who
wrote them.  On the other hand, I don't know whether there are as many programs
that perform as many useful functions as the ones on UNIX under other operating
systems.

Let's be fair about this; after all, "err on dev 1/1 bn=xxxxx..." isn't
any worse than "BDOS ERROR ON...", and "cp" may be cryptic, but at least it's
suggestive of copying a file, as opposed to "PIP".  When it comes to user-
(un)friendliness, the differences between UNIX and other systems 1) don't
always favor the other systems and 2) aren't as relevant as the differences
between all printing-terminal-oriented systems and a system that makes full
use of a display screen - or even better, that makes full use of a bit-mapped
screen.

	Guy Harris
	{seismo,mcnc,we13,brl-bmd,allegra}!rlgvax!guy