software usability

[derek <derek@xxxxxxx>]

howdy....

i won't reproduce it in all its detail here, but there is a fascinating 
   dicsussion about the usability, flexibility and accessibility of 
music softeware going on over at the [PD] list right now. the basic idea 
is to go over the pros and cons of making a visual programming 
environment like PD [here i paraphrase various positions] "more user 
friendly", "more of a 'product'", "more accessible to Mac users/ 
non-programers/ non-linux people/ etc", "prettier" or simply "functional".

my favorite story so far has been from Marc Lavallée, who ended up 
quitting his job at a university over the fact that his students and 
administration wanted expensive, but "easier" tools like Max/MSP/Jitter 
over free tools like PD/GEM. another point which seems to come up a lot 
[mostly from Linux folks] is how many Win/Mac users stay "willfully" 
ignorant of the workings of their own machines, preferring push-button 
solutions to learning even what directory applications get installed to. 
of course, there are other sides to that story as well...

good, heady stuff, if the theory of interaction with your technology is 
interesting to you, which goes far beyond "platform wars" [hey! OSX and 
WinNT users can compile code too!] check the archives for the thread "PD 
usability":

http://iem.kug.ac.at/mailinglists/pd-list/2003-February/index.html

and read the "opening salvo" here:

http://iem.kug.ac.at/mailinglists/pd-list/2003-February/002162.html

more here:

http://iem.kug.ac.at/mailinglists/pd-list/2003-February/002203.html

cheerio!
d.

------------------------------