Re: Apple II info please...

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article Togega@concentric.net (Gabriel Morales) writes... 

>Mitchell Spector wrote: 
>>     I guess the Macintosh is a good alternative for people who want
>> to be sure they never have to learn anything about computers, how
>> they work, or touch anything except for a mouse and occasionally a
>> keyboard. It's kind of like a bicycle with training wheels. You can
>> feel safe that you won't fall over, but the drawback is your limited
>> in other ways.
>
>        Why do graphics artists, writers, ect. have to know all the
>intricacies of the software & hardware interaction occurring in their
>computers?

    I'll tell you why: because no computer is perfect, and your bound
to experience oddities and glitches. Having a basic understanding of
the computer's operation is a must should you run into problems. Lack
of such knowledge can potentially mean the loss of hours or even days 
of irreplaceable work. Incidentally, I'm a graphic artist, and know what
it is like to lose work (floppy disks getting corrupted, program lock
ups, or something as trivial as accidentally selecting "Save" rather
than "Save As").

>Just because you're human should you have to know exactly how your body
>ticks in order to utilize it? Of course not!

    You should. Just like a machine, there are things that can go wrong
with the human body and understanding how it works can be vital at times.
As with a computer, there are things you can do which can be detrimental
to you body. You should have a basic enough understanding to diagnosis
things and determine if a problem exists, and then take the proper
measures so it doesn't lead to a more serious one. If I experience a
hardrive crash on my computer, I know what steps to take in order to
try and attempt recovering data; if a human being "crashes", I know CPR. :)

>I despise ignorance,

    As do I, and to me, the Apple Macintosh symbolizes it. ;-)

>and I do believe that the people should know THE BASICS of how the technology
>around them works, but to be FORCED TO DEAL with it on a daily basis is
>absurd!

    That's rather a blind assumption, I own several computers which are
not Mac's, and I am not forced to deal with any such intricacies each
and every day.

>By your philosophy, we shouldn't even use GUIs- because they're just too easy! 

    My philosophy is both a GUI and CLI should be available for the user
to choose, not force the user to use only one which you can never exit.

>Learning about how one's computer functions is up to the user, not the
>computer!

    Unless the computer prevents your from learning, by making its
software and hardware closed to users and keeping much about how it
works a secret.

>The computer is all about automation and making things easier. Please people!! 

    To me automation and ease of use is being able to throw as many
tasks as you want at the computer and not have to wait for it to finish
one task before you give it another. True multitasking (and the ability
for the machine to continue operating when you hold down the mouse button)
are what productivity are all about. The computer should have to wait for
you, not _you_ wait for it.

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca