Re: new pc finally arrived and have to make decisions-help

[russurquhart1@xxxxxxxx]

Hi Robert,

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Robert Holmgren" 
> ** Reply to message from russurquhart1@xxxxxxxx on Mon, 19 Dec 2005 16:57:36
> +0000
>
> Very nice, Russ. Good retort. Your Dad sounds like a great guy.

He really was. He and my mom both. They are in Heaven now. (They got a free pass i'm sure for
raising me!) They are taking care of our daughter. Miss them all a
bunch!

>
> In the broadest terms, my dispute with your viewpoint is this: If things "just
> worked", there'd be no reason for this maillist, and certainly no need to ever
> ask a question.
>
> "Just works" only applies with one-dimensional programs, which do one thing one
> way. As soon as there are choices, there are questions.

I know what you are saying and agree that, in the broadest terms of this statement, there would
indeed be no questions. I think we both know that, in all things, however, whether it be OS or
events in our lives, sometimes things "just don't work!" Even on Apple machines.

The "It Just Works" catch phrase is more for those mac users, unlike yourself or myself,
or even other mac users, that consider some of the finer points of the inner workings, minutiae. The
people that want to plug in their camera on Christmas day and have it work. "Don't tell me
about device drivers, i just want to download my pictures." In that situation they probably
are getting the best and only driver for their camera, under the covers. Probably.

The phrase is also used, i think, in an arrogant manner. My first exposure to mac users was one of
arrogance. The early mac users were an arrogant lot. With the decline of mac sales after Jobs left,
most all of them got their comeuppance, most deservedly. An impression of this arrogance still
lingers around and i think some non mac users still perceive all mac users as this, but this is just
my perception. For these mac people, let me apologize, they truly "know not what they do."

I use the "It Just Works" phrase, both as one of astonishment, and also as a challenge, like i said previously. My "just works" moment was one where i plugged in my SVHS camcorder, into a VHS=>Firewire box, fired up iMovie for the first time, and created an edited video (from footage taken that afternoon), with songs and audio and titles, using only the on screen help, for my now Nephews 3rd birthday. This was all done complete to a VHS that the family could watch, having never used any video editing software, all in two hours. No device conflicts, no rebooting. I was very glad about this as I was working late on this and had to have it ready in the morning. This was also about 4 or 5 years ago.
(Now, this whetted my appetite for video editing which has since opened the door to more questions
and more choices. I still haven't finished editing our wedding video. ) But for then, for what that
was, that was fine. Rightly or wrongly this is fine for a lot of people.

> According to
> XySearch, there have been questions sans cesse, about 27 thousand of them at
> last count (or let's say 13 thousand questions and 14 thousand answers,
> probably describing choices) -- and that's just *one app* with a tiny
> following. Does XyWrite "just work"? No.
>
> Would you *like* a word processor that "just worked"?
>

Actually i think, solely due to the work that you and Carl have done, for me at least, i consider
that it DOES just work. I will even go so far as to say that had it not been for what you guys have
contributed, i doubt i would be using Xywrite now. It does work for me. It gets out of my way and
lets me do! But i understand what you are saying. There are a LOT of questions. (I don't read all of
them, but more power to you guys and the support and service you provide!)

I would like a wordprocessor like Xywrite. (I really wish we could gain access to the source for
that, if for nothing else than to keep a really great piece of software from one day disappearing.)
I know, for some people that i have tried to show how to use Xywrite, its not a fit for them. It has
spoiled me to what other wordprocessors can provide with regard to speed, flexibility and
configurability. I see those attributes and value them more than what i call "toy"
wordprocessors.

Wordprocessors are a whole other kettle of fish, of which i have some strong ideas about as well.
But i will say, for example, Pages, Apples new wordprocessor, works for some people. but, for me,
its really not robust enough for work use or interesting enough for my casual use. But it does
"just work."

> "Just works" means: acceptance. Whatever they shovel at you, you take.
> Unless, fortuitously, they happen to be on your wavelength. How frequent is
> that? I actually care deeply which driver I use to run my printers, my
> postscript, my image-to-ps conversion, mounting virtual DVDs, the codec I
> choose for decrypting MPEG-2, and all sorts of this'n'that. There are SO many
> choices, with radically different characteristics and results.
>
> Complexity means options, and v.v. You know it. Just works is self-defeating,
> IMO.
>

In the broadest sense, what you are saying is true. I would even go so far as to say that with
versions of the Mac OS prior to OS X, if you were not a developer, this was probably the case as
well.(I'm not an expert on those versions of the OS, so don't quote me.) BUT, with OS X, this is
Unix under the hood. I mean come on, there is no more configurable, editable, hackable, tinkerable
place to be than in Unix or Linux! You can download applications and edit their actual source before
you compile it and use it. I know, I've done it! One of the big advantantages of OS X, and the
second reason i left windows behind, was this Unix environment. I already felt comfortable tinkering
with stuff under the covers of Unix. (Heck, you almost have to tinker with just about everything in
Unix, but once you got it right, its rock solid.)

This Unix mentality is alive and well in the OS X community! Trust me. This is a community of people
who enjoy being able to fine tune the guts of their machine. They are not afraid to get their hands
dirty on the internals. I personally have downloaded and used utilities using different codec for
video translation. And, yes, you can get some interesting results when you mix and match stuff, but
that comes with the Unix territory.

So, I guess my response is, "Just works" DOES mean: acceptance. Whatever they shovel at
you, you take, on OS X, but ONLY if YOU want it! The true spirit of Unix along with all the commands
and utilities are there, free, accessible and intact. To do less would have been anathema to Unix
users. (And would have been loudly protested.)

You can choose to know where all the files are and which drivers are used, or not. If you don't want
to know, you don't have to. Your machine will be and act fine, and you can go on your merry way, and
probably not have to worry about viruses or rebooting for quite a while. And for some, thats ok.

After much thought i think i can say that "just works" means that the user can decide how
much or how little he chooses to know about the workings of his machine. Choices are there, as are
questions. And i agree with you, both are good.

Thanks for your time and your reply. I really do respect your and Carls work and hope i haven't
painted myself to you, or the rest of the Xy list, as a fanatic.

Thanks again!

Russ