Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!pyrdc!netsys!ames!think!barmar From: barmar@think.COM (Barry Margolin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: Apple Gets Greedier (Read it and Weep!) Message-ID: <28502@think.UUCP> Date: 24 Sep 88 10:20:04 GMT References: <1018@lakesys.UUCP> <870239@hpcilzb.HP.COM> Sender: news@think.UUCP Reply-To: barmar@kulla.think.com.UUCP (Barry Margolin) Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge, MA Lines: 41 In article <870239@hpcilzb.HP.COM> tedj@hpcilzb.HP.COM (Ted Johnson) writes: >I agree. Most (non-secretarial) people who don't deal with computers >regularly aren't touch typists. So if they have to type a lot (like >on an IBM PC) vs. using a mouse, they will probably not be very pleased. I always find statements like this surprising. Didn't most people who have to use computers on a regular basis go to high school, and probably also college? Didn't they have to turn in term papers and reports? Am I the only one whose high school teachers required the papers to be typed? I would have been lost in high school with my jr.high typing class. I'm no speed demon (althought I've gotten much faster since I started using computer text editors, since I don't worry so much about accuracy), and I don't think I use all the right fingers for all the keys, but I know where home row is, and I can type with my eyes shut and feel whether I've made a mistake. And even if you use an icon-based interface, you still have to do quite a bit of typing, don't you? If you're filling in a spreadsheet or database you have to enter all the data. If you're using a word processor you have to type the words to be processed. I admit that there are plenty of non-textual applications (CAD/CAM, draw/paint, page layout), but it seems to me that most applications do require some typing. Of course, if you're an executive you might have a secretary or clerk do all the data entry, and you just do simple queries, which require a minimal amount of input. That all said, I do agree that mouse/icon/menu-based interfaces are easier to learn than keyboard-based interfaces. But once you become proficient with a system, I think keyboard interfaces are more efficient for anyone with at least minimal typing ability. I can type "rm foobar" much faster than I can reach for the mouse, find the icon, drag it to the trash, and then get my hand back to home row. Both have their place, and one of the things I like about the Symbolics system I use at work is that it provides both styles simultaneously. Barry Margolin Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar