Re: Once you get Intuit you Can't Get Out

[Robert Plamondon <robert -at- PLAMONDON -dot- COM>]

>What does "intuitive" mean?  What did it mean before the Mac
>folk adopted it?  What did they want to convey when they
>adopted it?...

It means, "something the user can use immediately, without reading the
documentation, receiving formal training in this specific product, or
having used it before."

For example, if I started a company that made baseballs, I wouldn't
include an instruction sheet that explained how to play with balls,
or even how to play baseball.  I would assume that my customers' prior
experience with baseballs would translate to competence with my particular
baseballs.

If I were writing documentation for an application program, I would not
instruct the reader in the details of inserting a CD into a CD-ROM drive.
(This contradicts the "maximalism" school, which assumed that any program
would be the first program the user every installed, and went into detail
that would have made Og the Caveman a successful computer user.  Too
bad he wasn't in the target audience.)

        -- Robert
--
Robert Plamondon, High-Tech Technical Writing, Inc.
36475 Norton Creek Road * Blodgett * Oregon * 97326
robert -at- plamondon -dot- com * (541) 453-5841 * Fax: (541) 453-4139

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