Re: Emacs learning curve

[Walter Alejandro Iglesias <eloi@roquesor.com>]

Lennart Borgman <lennart.borgman@gmail.com> writes:

> On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 7:39 PM, Barry Fishman <barry_fishman@acm.org> wrote:
>>
>> Since I started using Emacs I have seen many window systems come and
>> go.  What people call "Modern" window interfaces are just that, the
>> currently popular window system behavior soon to be replaced by
>> something else.
>
> Is not this rather one of the problems with free software? I think
> most users would like a stable window system standard interface in
> this regard.


The term "freedom" is a double-edged knife.  Young developers could
think "Why might I pay attention to what was done along the years?
Why might I pay attention to what others have done?".

Popular gnu/linux desktops and its applications are a good example.
Most of them seem trying to "replace" (and hide) the base system
instead of "complement" it.  Then final users think even the terminal
is halfway obsolescence.

They may think it is the better way to attract new users.  But, in the
long term, pathetically looking like a windows-macosx fake just get
the opposite.  Mostly if the graphical application returns a crash
popup window.

A clever new user takes in care the compatibility-universality of a
new interface (new for him) at time to decide if suffering or not its
"learning curve".

So gnu (not just desktop environments) are in a dilemma.  To keep
coherent with unix (gnu itself) base system tradition or with fashion
(what people understand for "modern system").


With the famous big graphical applications to edit images, videos, 3d
animations. etc (what people understand for "professional tools") the
user must learn hundred of submenus with crazy named obscure functions
(I know because my wife is a graphical designer).  The user "eats" all
this shit thinking to do a good investment.  But, more or late he/she
are fired of his/her job and in the new job he/she find he/herself in
front of other famous application that do the same, or the same app in
other system, or an update of the same app, but the stuff of functions
that take he/she month to learn, have a different name or are in other
place in the menu (i.e. take a look to the "exclusive windoze" 3DMax).