Re: Mac vs PC users

[Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>]

menu-driven

On Tue, Jul 6, 2010 at 1:55 PM, Deborah Hemstreet <dvora -at- tech-challenged -dot- com
> wrote:

>  Tim,
>
> I"m inclined to agree - but I don't know WHICH Of the three or four or five
> ways is the preferred way to work!!!
>
> Deborah
>
>
> On 07/06/2010 1:16 PM, Tim J. Slager wrote:
>
>> I make a practice of NOT including every method of doing something. When
>> users access help, they want to get a job done, so you help them do that.
>> Telling them all the ways to do it just slows them down. There should be one
>> topic to help them learn about different ways to do stuff, and it should
>> point to some Mac resources.
>>
>> I do sometimes switch between methods, so that users can learn on the fly
>> about different ways, but mostly I go with the one way that I perceive as
>> the easiest/fastest or as the most appropriate for the users.
>>
>> tims
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: techwr-l-bounces+tslager=isdcorporation -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com[mailto:
>> techwr-l-bounces+tslager <techwr-l-bounces%2Btslager>=isdcorporation.com@
>> lists.techwr-l.com] On Behalf Of Deborah Hemstreet
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 11:22 AM
>> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>> Subject: Re: Mac vs PC users
>>
>>   I once had a supervisor get angry with my writing. She complained that
>> any idiot off the street could install our hi-tech medical systems because
>> of my instructions. I thought that was good.
>>
>> She made me take out a lot of "basic" stuff. Two years later the new
>> Service and Support manager complained that my instructions were not
>> complete enough. That he had "idiots" in the field... and they needed to be
>> nursed through everything.
>>
>> I suppose, and perhaps I'm wrong, but if I'm writing online Help and the
>> procedure is about Saving a File, To save a file 1. On the File menu... The
>> save dialog box appears...
>> 2. In the Save dialog box...
>>
>> I SUPPOSE I could leave all that out. BUT assuming (bad word, my mom used
>> to say ass=u+me=assume) that someone is looking up how to save a file, the
>> instructions should be complete. I don't think I need to say it over and
>> over... but IF this is HELP, then the information should be there for the
>> beginner as well as for the advanced user.
>>
>> My problem, is there is a lot of stuff that everyone keeps telling me, MAC
>> users know how to use it. I ask, but what about people who are new to MAC.
>> And I am told, "It is all so intuitive". Then why, if it is all so
>> intuitive, am I translating 900 pages of a documentation to online HELP?
>>
>>  From my perspective, it is terribly confusing to have up to 4-key
>> combinations for keyboard shortcuts, AND to have as many as three or four
>> different ways to do the same thing.
>>
>> I am writing so many instructions about those FOUR methods it's driving me
>> nuts! As a user, I get confused when there are too many ways to do the same
>> thing. I asked what the preferred method was, and answer:
>> "Everyone is different, we know x is not done much, but someone might
>> complain if we take it out, and we put y in because someone else complained,
>> and of course we have to have Z because that is the MAC way of doing it..."
>>
>> I will survive... I know its Tuesday but feels like Monday!
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Deborah
>>
>> On 07/06/2010 11:06 AM, Tim Murray wrote:
>>
>>> Are there any studies out there that anyone knows of that compare how MAC
>>>> users interact with computers compared to PC users?
>>>>
>>>> Are MAC users quicker learners?
>>>>
>>>> I"m writing some Help for a MAC application, and a lot of the feedback I
>>>> get is, EVERYONE knows this - you don't have to explain it (such as what
>>>> happens when I click File>   Save, or what an Action button is, etc.
>>>>
>>> The issues are the same, it's just that the actions to perform a task
>>> seem to be easier to grasp on a Mac than in Windows. (And it's Mac,
>>> not MAC. Mac is an abbreviation, not an acronym or initialism.)
>>>
>>> In other words, if someone doesn't know anything about the concept of
>>> saving files, then they'll need more information. But unless you're writing
>>> about their very first app, I'd say just "save the file."
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>>
>
> --
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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