[Am-info] Word Processing Features

[Erick Andrews]

On Mon, 11 Feb 2002 07:52:53 -0500, Geoffrey wrote:

>Dan Strychalski wrote:
>> Echoing many Microsoft supporters I have known (so my bitterness will
>> show, and I apologize beforehand), Geoffrey (esoteric@3times25.net)
>> wrote --
>> 
>
>No apologies necessary.  I look at macros to be similar to command line 
>tools.  I need them, I use them, I want them.  Unfortunately, the 
>average Joe has no inclination to learn them or use them.  One reason 
>the majority of Windows users fear the command line.
>

How true.  I don't understand the mentality of this except since Windows
came along, all the newbies fear of not be accepted if they were to do
something different.  This attitude fits with MS's marketing strategies.
Also, many people never learned to touch-type.  Maybe there's another
stigma here...being categorized a secretary or a geek.

They're nothing wrong with the keyboard.  When the VT05 and most
of its follow-ons were introduced, *everybody* thought they were great,
black screen and all, and we all used a keyboard, one finger at a time
if necessary.

>> 
>> This is the excuse given -- no, not given directly by those who did it,
>> but offered by their apologists -- for the elimination, beginning in
>> 1982 and lasting until 1992, of certain keystrokes from mass-market user
>> interfaces. Not to mention a million other failings of commercial
>> software of the past twenty years.
>
>Sure, because the assumption (incorrect as it might be) was that you 
>didn't need special keystrokes, you've got a mouse now!
>

There are some serious problems with mice and many of these pointing 
devices.  Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is on the rise, far more than
from keyboarding.  I've encouraged people to at least try a touch pad
even though it's slower, take a break and walk around every 15 minutes,
and learn keyboard shortcuts (another name for a "macro").

The problem with the Windows interface is that finding these shortcuts
is very obscure, particularly within many 3rd party applications.  Often
there isn't even a choice for a keyboard shortcut.  Then, no one wants to 
memorize any of them.  I have evaluated a couple of macro applications
for Windows global use and found them to be very limited because
the Windows GUI is so unstable and unpredictable in its behavior that
these "add-ons" can easily cause the system to crash or lock up.

-- 
Erick

-- 
Erick Andrews