I have officially moved out of awardspace and also (rather unfortunately but inevitably) out of blogger!
Come over to my new website at http://yuenhoe.com/ and my new blog at http://yuenhoe.com/blog !
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Ubuntu Girlfriend Experiment
el w00t0s! Lets take advantage of this short short period of time, which I hereby christen "time-in-which-I-can-blog-whenever-the-hell-I-feel-like-it", to finally make another post about linux!
And so I was sticking around some of my long-forsaken haunts, like the holy dota forums and linuxNUS, and stumbled upon this blog post about the Great Ubuntu Girlfriend Experiment and found it pretty darned interesting. Basically this dude went and made a fresh install of the latest version of UbuntuLinux (8.04 Hardy Heron) then sat his un-linux-y girlfriend in front of the newly setup box and charged her with a list of tasks to perform, presumably to discern Hardy Heron's usability for your run-off-the-mill windows user, and not because he had some sadomasochistic inclinations :P
Anyway, the results were pretty insightful, I think. Pretty interesting how little little things that veteran users overlook can end up being a big help (or an insurmountable barrier) to novice users. Still, it is evident that Linux (or at least Ubuntu) has come a very long way. I think the results of the experiment are actually pretty good (with the exception of YouTube and flash, that one is a pain alrite =.= I blame flash for being proprietary!! xD) and it actually looks easier and more intuitive than ever to just start using Linux for almost any common task. Of course, I guess it cannot be helped that some of the potential barriers that need to be cleared results from the virtual synonymous relationship between 'Personal Computer' and 'Windows'. It'll unfortunately take some basic knowledge of operating systems to appreciate why '.exe' files won't run on Linux =x
It may be because when I started using computers we were still fooling around in horrid ol' DOS, but I find I disagree with the author on his final comment : "Linux won’t truly be ready for the desktop until someone computer illiterate can sit down at a the computer and with little effort do what they want to do." I think that even now, any kind of computer usage - DOS, Windows or Linux - requires a little literacy training - people don't just appear in front of the computer and magically start single clicking things to select them and double clicking things to execute them. The problem is the literacy training you usually get is heavily windows-biased, and shifting to Linux ends up being precisely that - SHIFTING. I don't think it will be more difficult to teach a WHOLLY computer illiterate user to use modern Linux that to use Windows. In fact, I think that if everyone started out using Linux and had to shift to Windows halfway through, the list of complaints will probably crash through the roof (like how I cannot stand not being able to move windows by alt-clicking them now xD)
And so I was sticking around some of my long-forsaken haunts, like the holy dota forums and linuxNUS, and stumbled upon this blog post about the Great Ubuntu Girlfriend Experiment and found it pretty darned interesting. Basically this dude went and made a fresh install of the latest version of UbuntuLinux (8.04 Hardy Heron) then sat his un-linux-y girlfriend in front of the newly setup box and charged her with a list of tasks to perform, presumably to discern Hardy Heron's usability for your run-off-the-mill windows user, and not because he had some sadomasochistic inclinations :P
Anyway, the results were pretty insightful, I think. Pretty interesting how little little things that veteran users overlook can end up being a big help (or an insurmountable barrier) to novice users. Still, it is evident that Linux (or at least Ubuntu) has come a very long way. I think the results of the experiment are actually pretty good (with the exception of YouTube and flash, that one is a pain alrite =.= I blame flash for being proprietary!! xD) and it actually looks easier and more intuitive than ever to just start using Linux for almost any common task. Of course, I guess it cannot be helped that some of the potential barriers that need to be cleared results from the virtual synonymous relationship between 'Personal Computer' and 'Windows'. It'll unfortunately take some basic knowledge of operating systems to appreciate why '.exe' files won't run on Linux =x
It may be because when I started using computers we were still fooling around in horrid ol' DOS, but I find I disagree with the author on his final comment : "Linux won’t truly be ready for the desktop until someone computer illiterate can sit down at a the computer and with little effort do what they want to do." I think that even now, any kind of computer usage - DOS, Windows or Linux - requires a little literacy training - people don't just appear in front of the computer and magically start single clicking things to select them and double clicking things to execute them. The problem is the literacy training you usually get is heavily windows-biased, and shifting to Linux ends up being precisely that - SHIFTING. I don't think it will be more difficult to teach a WHOLLY computer illiterate user to use modern Linux that to use Windows. In fact, I think that if everyone started out using Linux and had to shift to Windows halfway through, the list of complaints will probably crash through the roof (like how I cannot stand not being able to move windows by alt-clicking them now xD)
Saturday, May 3, 2008
General update
Whew! And so its finally time to do a general update after a semester's worth of endlessly being screwed over and slaving over projects around the clock. I feel like the effects of the incredible amount of stress I accumulated over the past half a year will take an eternity of rest to diffuse, but oh well, I guess a week and a half at home is still a hellalot better than nothing.
Home sweet home, with nice food, (almost) no homework, and air con(!). Bliss it is, but one made imperfect by the nagging knowledge of its fleetingness.
It'll be back to work soon enough =(
Ah wells, lets talk happy stuff while we can. I have (finally!!) begun long-postponed, massive reconstruct/redesign work on my poor neglected webbie! I'm planning to move out of Awardspace, which unfortunately seems to block Malaysian IP's =( A shame really, their features are near-unparalleled. All of the considerable number of alternate hosts I've been hopping and shopping around for are giving me trouble because they don't allow me to pull stuff out of remote sites for my feed readers =( So it looks like I will be forced to move out of blogger too, and host my own blog with Wordpress instead. Well, on the bright side, all my experimenting and playing around has culminated in a prototypical design for my new redefined web site! Go stick around and give me some feedback :P
And after being completely detached from the events transpiring beyond my little little world of work, I've finally been able to pick up a newspaper again! And WAS there news to read! I don't usually care much for the local news section, but recent developments in Malaysian politics were so delightfully delicious that I found myself glued fast, and having uncontrollable periodic tendencies to cackle and giggle and emit high-pitched squeals of utter delight. Yes! It does seem likely that we may be standing on a pivotal moment in regard to the fate of this country, and I must say I am quite excited about whats gonna happen next. This country has been sitting under the cyclic lock of retarded policies long enough. All these squabbling and unusual occurences are bringing alot of healthy attention to the local political scene, and, if we're lucky, may serve to create enough of a jolt to allow big things to change, or at least come into direct question. The surfacing movement to abolish the ISA seems to be a promising sign. Either way, I guess the bonus is that all these news and events are just so darn entertaining ^^
Interestingly, I find I have been discussing anime with, *ahem*, skeptics, alot lately :P But while I argue firmly and fervently that much of the perceived shortcomings of anime (as compared to regular shows) are mythical, I have to say that I kind of empathize with people who are unable to appreciate anime like they do other normal shows - for the simple reason that I feel the exact opposite. In this I suppose I must concede there IS a concrete difference somewhere, a difference I am yet unable to define. Well either way, I must say that I've grown to like anime with a depth close to passion. Anime has been one of the major life-lines on which I have been leaning my battered spirit during the hardest times of the semester. There is something about it that is oddly therapeutic, makes you relax and allows you to draw breath and go on.
Well, the good ones of course. There is a formidable enough amount of anime out there for there to be a good score of bad ones :P
Anyways, think that's all for my random crap for now. Till next time! (if till then I live!)
Home sweet home, with nice food, (almost) no homework, and air con(!). Bliss it is, but one made imperfect by the nagging knowledge of its fleetingness.
It'll be back to work soon enough =(
Ah wells, lets talk happy stuff while we can. I have (finally!!) begun long-postponed, massive reconstruct/redesign work on my poor neglected webbie! I'm planning to move out of Awardspace, which unfortunately seems to block Malaysian IP's =( A shame really, their features are near-unparalleled. All of the considerable number of alternate hosts I've been hopping and shopping around for are giving me trouble because they don't allow me to pull stuff out of remote sites for my feed readers =( So it looks like I will be forced to move out of blogger too, and host my own blog with Wordpress instead. Well, on the bright side, all my experimenting and playing around has culminated in a prototypical design for my new redefined web site! Go stick around and give me some feedback :P
And after being completely detached from the events transpiring beyond my little little world of work, I've finally been able to pick up a newspaper again! And WAS there news to read! I don't usually care much for the local news section, but recent developments in Malaysian politics were so delightfully delicious that I found myself glued fast, and having uncontrollable periodic tendencies to cackle and giggle and emit high-pitched squeals of utter delight. Yes! It does seem likely that we may be standing on a pivotal moment in regard to the fate of this country, and I must say I am quite excited about whats gonna happen next. This country has been sitting under the cyclic lock of retarded policies long enough. All these squabbling and unusual occurences are bringing alot of healthy attention to the local political scene, and, if we're lucky, may serve to create enough of a jolt to allow big things to change, or at least come into direct question. The surfacing movement to abolish the ISA seems to be a promising sign. Either way, I guess the bonus is that all these news and events are just so darn entertaining ^^
Interestingly, I find I have been discussing anime with, *ahem*, skeptics, alot lately :P But while I argue firmly and fervently that much of the perceived shortcomings of anime (as compared to regular shows) are mythical, I have to say that I kind of empathize with people who are unable to appreciate anime like they do other normal shows - for the simple reason that I feel the exact opposite. In this I suppose I must concede there IS a concrete difference somewhere, a difference I am yet unable to define. Well either way, I must say that I've grown to like anime with a depth close to passion. Anime has been one of the major life-lines on which I have been leaning my battered spirit during the hardest times of the semester. There is something about it that is oddly therapeutic, makes you relax and allows you to draw breath and go on.
Well, the good ones of course. There is a formidable enough amount of anime out there for there to be a good score of bad ones :P
Anyways, think that's all for my random crap for now. Till next time! (if till then I live!)
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