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I also have that mentality of wanting no friction but I guess I was really saying that users like me and you can deal with it in most cases while the average pe

I also have that mentality of wanting no friction but I guess I was really saying that users like me and you can deal with it in most cases while the average people won't tolerate it. I was mostly talking about keeping this in mind when developing new software. It definitely will be hard to make big departures from what's already in existence. It's not impossible though. You can always give users the option to add X toolbar to a window and choose which buttons appear by default and such. Of course, these solutions don't lend themselves to all software and that's okay. What's really important is just to keep these ideas in mind and not write off design as just unnecessary ornamentation in the future. Obviously we have to be thoughtful about where these ideas would work best. The easiest way to do it is know your target users and design for the least common denominator among them. Your software can launch with a design meant for the least common denominator by default with options which can be displayed and remembered later for more advanced users. I can't repeat this enough though: this can only work on a case by case basis and by knowing your users. Remember too that incremental departures are swallowed much easier. Design may not be the number one thing holding back FOSS adoption but it's high on the list I think. When the FOSS community can offer equal or better alternatives to what's out there, market share will skyrocket. I think Linux is pretty much there already. It has a few blemishes but the big thing is probably that normal folks are just scared to try it, won't go through the trouble of installing another OS over the one that came with their PC and the appalling lack of computers that come with Linux pre installed.

jiggy2011 14y ago
I'm not sure if I have a higher tolerance for bad usability than other people, I find I am often more vocal complaining about it. Besides if you watch a highly non technical user use a computer they will often do things in incredibly inefficient ways and don't seem to worry about it too much. I think the key though is making it as difficult as possible to get stuck when trying to do a particular task. This is where consistency is hugely important, if most of your apps work approximately the same way (such as with Apple) and have predictable behavior this is hugely helpful to users. There is also a lot of context to bear in mind when thinking about how easy something is to use and I think this is where it does a disservice to lump "non technical" users together. For example , I grew up during the days of DOS so switching to a UNIX/BASH command line when I got older felt very natural to me. However I wouldn't want to put myself up against the average 15 year old of today when learning how to use the latest social network. Regards FOSS applications, one thing to bear in mind is FOSS is by nature easier to port than proprietary software. Therefor most of the good Linux desktop apps are also available on Windows which in many ways actually damages Linux adoption. For example I know plenty of Windows/Mac users who are using Firefox , VLC and Pidgin. There would not be a particularly big tangible benefit for them moving to Linux (apart from saving MS license money they already spent in the price of their PC). On the other hand it makes it easier in the sense that most of their familiar apps are already available.

jiggy2011 14y ago

I'm not sure if I have a higher tolerance for bad usability than other people, I find I am often more vocal complaining about it. Besides if you watch a highly non technical user use a computer they will often do things in incredibly inefficient ways and don't seem to worry about it too much. I think the key though is making it as difficult as possible to get stuck when trying to do a particular task. This is where consistency is hugely important, if most of your apps work approximately the same way (such as with Apple) and have predictable behavior this is hugely helpful to users. There is also a lot of context to bear in mind when thinking about how easy something is to use and I think this is where it does a disservice to lump "non technical" users together. For example , I grew up during the days of DOS so switching to a UNIX/BASH command line when I got older felt very natural to me. However I wouldn't want to put myself up against the average 15 year old of today when learning how to use the latest social network. Regards FOSS applications, one thing to bear in mind is FOSS is by nature easier to port than proprietary software. Therefor most of the good Linux desktop apps are also available on Windows which in many ways actually damages Linux adoption. For example I know plenty of Windows/Mac users who are using Firefox , VLC and Pidgin. There would not be a particularly big tangible benefit for them moving to Linux (apart from saving MS license money they already spent in the price of their PC). On the other hand it makes it easier in the sense that most of their familiar apps are already available.