New subject: GUIs 'forced' on people (was Re: Here's something to consider.)

16 Sep 1998

Indeed, that's the way it should be. Would you buy an item that's
never been reviewed or advertised? The only problem is that there's
a tradeoff between product quality and marketing quality most of the
time.
Back to GUIs, I think that a GUI is very useful for some things.
For example, let's say I want to look at the files in a directory
and copy five certain ones. It's easiest to do with a GUI. Graphical
software can use either. AutoCAD had a CLI up to the latest version,
not sure if they took it out. It was a Command-line drafting program,
usable very efficiently. Only now have they jumped on the Windows
buttons-pop-up-when-mouse-moves nonsense. One GUI I really appreciate
is the early Mac GUI, for being almost as simple and clear as a CLI.
That was really a user-friendly computer. But the lessons of PARC and
early Apple were forgotten and turned into a who-can-make-the-nicest-
3d-menu competition.
...
 Oh, I disagree.

> If anything, Sony had better marketing.  Many people continued to  refer
...
 > to VCRs in general as "Betamax" even
into the mid-80s.  It is widely
> believed (but of course unproven) that VHS was preferred due to the
> longer recording time per tape.  JVC rarely even mentioned this  feature
...
   in
advertising.  
M-A-R-K-E-T-I-N-G

Mac vs. Windows - who won?  Microsoft.  Why?  Marketing.

PowerPC vs. Pentium - who won?  Intel.  Why?  Marketing.

Those are simply two of the most obvious examples.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling.  But I hope you see my point.  The
majority of people buy stuff because a disembodied voice on TV or a
caption in a magazine compels them to.  The majority of the people  buying
...
 into your propaganda (marketing) is what it takes to
make a successful
product.  I could sell dogshit if I marketed it right.

Sam                                        Alternate e-mail:  dastar(a)siconic.com
...

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