Linked by Richard Wareham on Mon 8th Mar 2004 20:49 UTC
This essay describes the surprising results of a brief trial with a group of new computer users about the relative ease of the command line interface versus the GUIs now omnipresent in computer interfaces. It comes from practical experience I have of teaching computing to complete beginners or newbies as computer power-users often term them.
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"I once worked on a software helpdesk. Many people would phone simply asking how to use an application or perform a particular task (rather than report problems). People would often exclaim in surprise when you explained basic operations like how to move files or copy and paste! I can still remember how one caller gushed with excitement when she discovered she could paste a picture from one application to another!"
One reason is that computers no longer come with an instruction book. Back in the 80s, machines like the Mac and the Amiga came with full instructions on how to use the GUI, with screen grabs, and also an on-screen tutorial.
I'm not convinced that the Dummys Guides are a good substitute, and they cost extra.