Bailo's Law of Decreasing UI Complexity

[Burgess Meredith]

I suffered through the interminal drivel, that the Dynamic Dummies,
freeagent-Man, and the Boy Blunder had to say,

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 11:57:07 +1000, Chris wrote:

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 06:59:51 +1000, freeagent wrote:

I recently recieved a copy of the current demo version of Sun's Java
Desktop System, a SuSE 8.1-based distribution previously known as Project
Mad Hatter. I signed up for the early release program back in August.

<snip>

The JDS is further proof that Linux-based systems really are ready for
the desktop, at least for most uses in the enterprise. The Java Desktop
System could be dropped straight onto most enterprise desktops, and after
crossing a very shallow learning curve, most non-technical, semi-computer
literate users would have no trouble at all using it.

OK so the only problem I anticipate with this is your are buying into
PROPRIETARY again. What are your experiences with adding software and
making changes to the system etc?

It copes with SuSE 8.1 packages with no trouble at all, and you're free
to change what you like at will, as you would on a normal SuSE system.

Way I see it we already have M$ / Apple if you want PROPRIETARY.

There's nothing there that's proprietary as far as standards are
concerned. The only proprietary as in source components are Java, and
maybe that Evolution connector for the calendar server.

I can see where SUN are aiming at the corporate market with this.

They're aiming it at people who do fairly basic stuff like the usual
wordprocessing stuff, mainly.

But for home / small business use, I dunno.

Small businesses, like large ones, also like to have support from a big
name on hand, and a "throat to choke" when things go wrong, etc.

You see -- this is why dinosaur
companies like $un and mi-slo$oft
are dropping like flies.

'The Desktop' has been dead as a
concept for years now.

Noboby uses Office apps.
Schedulers are useless.
PIM's are dead.
PDA's are ineffective.
and so on

these are just 80's buzzword
terms that never died.

A Browser.

Thats all the home user needs.

A Browser.

And a stable OS that can connect
and maintain a connection to the
Internet without dropping it every
15 minutes.

In other words, Mozilla and Redhat
are all the home user needs.

And in business, web developers
are making all the interesting
productivity software using databases,
middleware, OOP products like
..NET and NetBeans and

yes

a browser.

It's all part of Bailo's Law:

Every 7 years, the User Interface
for computers decreases in complexity
by an order of magnitude.

Theoretical Turning Machine can be understood by Atomic Physicists
ENIAC, Programmable Switches can be understood by Highly Trained Engineers
Assembly can be understood by Genius Hackers
3rd GL Languages can be understood by Computer 'Scientists'
4th GL Languages can be understood by Systems Analysts
Visual Programming can be understood by Consultants
HTLM/Javascript can be understood by Skate Punks
http://www.devcity.net/net/view_comm...y=2002&m=3&d=1

[Nick Andrew]

"Burgess Meredith" <ja*****@earthlink.net> writes:

It's all part of Bailo's Law: Every 7 years, the User Interface
for computers decreases in complexity
by an order of magnitude. Theoretical Turning Machine can be understood by Atomic Physicists
ENIAC, Programmable Switches can be understood by Highly Trained Engineers
Assembly can be understood by Genius Hackers
3rd GL Languages can be understood by Computer 'Scientists'
4th GL Languages can be understood by Systems Analysts
Visual Programming can be understood by Consultants
HTLM/Javascript can be understood by Skate Punks

You invented that law, right? Biggest load of crap I've read this
week. Firstly it's a "Turing machine" not a "Turning machine".
Secondly if you had bothered to actually look at the history
of computing you would have noted that skate punks have been
involved and on the leading edge pretty much right from the
start. Thirdly none of the things you listed are a User Interface.

Nick.
--
http://www.nick-andrew.net/ http://aus.news-admin.org/
Do not send me email copies of postings. Keep it in USENET please.

[Peter van der Goes]

"Burgess Meredith" <ja*****@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:pa**************************@earthlink.net...
<snip>

Theoretical Turning Machine can be understood by Atomic Physicists
ENIAC, Programmable Switches can be understood by Highly Trained Engineers
Assembly can be understood by Genius Hackers
3rd GL Languages can be understood by Computer 'Scientists'
4th GL Languages can be understood by Systems Analysts
Visual Programming can be understood by Consultants
HTLM/Javascript can be understood by Skate Punks
http://www.devcity.net/net/view_comm...y=2002&m=3&d=1

Turning Machine, HTLM??????
The alt.imhighonwhatever group is on a different news server.

[Jeff Relf]

Hi Buy Low ,
You state " Bailo's Law " :
" Every 7 years , the User Interface for computers
decreases in complexity by an order of magnitude . "
" 640 K ought to be enough for anybody " -- Bill Gates

Just the other day
I couldn't install a working version of Internet Explorer .
( For a friend of mine . )

After much frustration ,
I was finally forced to manually seek out and delete
endless Registry entries .

Then I had to immediately reboot ,
Otherwise Windows would revert to an older registry .

What is the size of Windows 2003 ?

" Although the minimum CPU speed recommended is just 133 Mhz ,
Windows 2003 , Microsoft recommends CPU Speed of 550 MHz
with at least 128MB or RAM and a 1.5GB of disk space . "
-- http://www.mouthshut.com/readreview/42342-1.html

Ever Simpler ? I don't think so .

[Wayne M Jackson]

"Burgess Meredith" <ja*****@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:pa**************************@earthlink.net...

You see -- this is why dinosaur
companies like $un and mi-slo$oft
are dropping like flies.
Odd, they seem to be still kicking very well. Sun are even prepearing
Solaris 10, even working on more Linux compatability for the SPARC platform,
along with the x86 version of Solaris.

Even M$ are adapting to the needs of the market by actively working on 64bit
versions of their OS and software for AMD-64 and IA-64.

Longhorn (or what ever it is called) has been delayed because of the
reshuffle in approach to the current development model: release the product,
fix it later; to fix it now then release.
'The Desktop' has been dead as a
concept for years now.
Sorry, "The Desktop" is alive and kicking, so much so that even Linux is
making significant movement into being an easy-to-use OS.
Noboby uses Office apps.
Schedulers are useless.
PIM's are dead.
PDA's are ineffective.
and so on
Pure myth.
And a stable OS that can connect
and maintain a connection to the
Internet without dropping it every
15 minutes.
Call you phone company, and arrange a line test, otherwise talk to your
ISP - failing that Check yuor settings.
In other words, Mozilla and Redhat
are all the home user needs.
Hog-wash.
And in business, web developers
are making all the interesting
productivity software using databases,
middleware, OOP products like
.NET and NetBeans and
I thought you said no-one used Schedulers/PIMs and the like anymore?
Theoretical Turning Machine can be understood by Atomic Physicists
ENIAC, Programmable Switches can be understood by Highly Trained Engineers
Assembly can be understood by Genius Hackers
3rd GL Languages can be understood by Computer 'Scientists'
4th GL Languages can be understood by Systems Analysts
Visual Programming can be understood by Consultants
HTLM/Javascript can be understood by Skate Punks

Maybe someone missed a few points especially when considering it was "Skate
Punks" who were also involved with early Pee Cee development in the 60s.

[Burgess Meredith]

I suffered through the interminal drivel, that the Dynamic Dummies, Jeff
Relf-Man, and the Boy Blunder had to say,

What is the size of Windows 2003 ?

it's not the size of the ship
it's the motion of the ocean

m$ is a shark that stands
motionless in the water.

dead.

[Burgess Meredith]

I suffered through the interminal drivel, that the Dynamic Dummies, Jeff
Relf-Man, and the Boy Blunder had to say,

What is the size of Windows 2003 ?

it's not the size of the ship
it's the motion of the ocean

m$ is a shark that stands
motionless in the water.

dead.

['agent]

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 11:27:30 +0000, Burgess Meredith wrote:

I suffered through the interminal drivel, that the Dynamic Dummies,
freeagent-Man, and the Boy Blunder had to say,

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 11:57:07 +1000, Chris wrote:

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 06:59:51 +1000, freeagent wrote:

I recently recieved a copy of the current demo version of Sun's Java
Desktop System, a SuSE 8.1-based distribution previously known as Project
Mad Hatter. I signed up for the early release program back in August.

<snip>

The JDS is further proof that Linux-based systems really are ready for
the desktop, at least for most uses in the enterprise. The Java Desktop
System could be dropped straight onto most enterprise desktops, and after
crossing a very shallow learning curve, most non-technical, semi-computer
literate users would have no trouble at all using it.

OK so the only problem I anticipate with this is your are buying into
PROPRIETARY again. What are your experiences with adding software and
making changes to the system etc?
It copes with SuSE 8.1 packages with no trouble at all, and you're free
to change what you like at will, as you would on a normal SuSE system.

Way I see it we already have M$ / Apple if you want PROPRIETARY.

There's nothing there that's proprietary as far as standards are
concerned. The only proprietary as in source components are Java, and
maybe that Evolution connector for the calendar server.

I can see where SUN are aiming at the corporate market with this.

They're aiming it at people who do fairly basic stuff like the usual
wordprocessing stuff, mainly.

But for home / small business use, I dunno.

Small businesses, like large ones, also like to have support from a big
name on hand, and a "throat to choke" when things go wrong, etc.

You see -- this is why dinosaur
companies like $un and mi-slo$oft
are dropping like flies.

'The Desktop' has been dead as a
concept for years now.

You haven't got a bloody clue do you, Bailo?
Noboby uses Office apps.
Tell that to my customers, of whom not one *doesn't* use office apps.
Schedulers are useless.
Wrong. As always.
PIM's are dead.
Wrong. As always.
PDA's are ineffective.
and so on
Wrong. As always.
these are just 80's buzzword
terms that never died.

A Browser.

Thats all the home user needs.

A Browser.

And a stable OS that can connect
and maintain a connection to the
Internet without dropping it every
15 minutes.

In other words, Mozilla and Redhat
are all the home user needs.
'Fraid not, fuckwit. Most home users do considerably more than just use
a web browser.
And in business, web developers
are making all the interesting
productivity software using databases,
middleware, OOP products like
.NET and NetBeans and

yes

a browser.

It's all part of Bailo's Law:

Every 7 years, the User Interface
for computers decreases in complexity
by an order of magnitude.

Theoretical Turning Machine can be understood by Atomic Physicists
ENIAC, Programmable Switches can be understood by Highly Trained Engineers
Assembly can be understood by Genius Hackers
3rd GL Languages can be understood by Computer 'Scientists'
4th GL Languages can be understood by Systems Analysts
Visual Programming can be understood by Consultants
HTLM/Javascript can be understood by Skate Punks
http://www.devcity.net/net/view_comm...y=2002&m=3&d=1

['agent]

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 11:27:30 +0000, Burgess Meredith wrote:

I suffered through the interminal drivel, that the Dynamic Dummies,
freeagent-Man, and the Boy Blunder had to say,

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 11:57:07 +1000, Chris wrote:

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 06:59:51 +1000, freeagent wrote:

I recently recieved a copy of the current demo version of Sun's Java
Desktop System, a SuSE 8.1-based distribution previously known as Project
Mad Hatter. I signed up for the early release program back in August.

<snip>

The JDS is further proof that Linux-based systems really are ready for
the desktop, at least for most uses in the enterprise. The Java Desktop
System could be dropped straight onto most enterprise desktops, and after
crossing a very shallow learning curve, most non-technical, semi-computer
literate users would have no trouble at all using it.

OK so the only problem I anticipate with this is your are buying into
PROPRIETARY again. What are your experiences with adding software and
making changes to the system etc?
It copes with SuSE 8.1 packages with no trouble at all, and you're free
to change what you like at will, as you would on a normal SuSE system.

Way I see it we already have M$ / Apple if you want PROPRIETARY.

There's nothing there that's proprietary as far as standards are
concerned. The only proprietary as in source components are Java, and
maybe that Evolution connector for the calendar server.

I can see where SUN are aiming at the corporate market with this.

They're aiming it at people who do fairly basic stuff like the usual
wordprocessing stuff, mainly.

But for home / small business use, I dunno.

Small businesses, like large ones, also like to have support from a big
name on hand, and a "throat to choke" when things go wrong, etc.

You see -- this is why dinosaur
companies like $un and mi-slo$oft
are dropping like flies.

'The Desktop' has been dead as a
concept for years now.

You haven't got a bloody clue do you, Bailo?
Noboby uses Office apps.
Tell that to my customers, of whom not one *doesn't* use office apps.
Schedulers are useless.
Wrong. As always.
PIM's are dead.
Wrong. As always.
PDA's are ineffective.
and so on
Wrong. As always.
these are just 80's buzzword
terms that never died.

A Browser.

Thats all the home user needs.

A Browser.

And a stable OS that can connect
and maintain a connection to the
Internet without dropping it every
15 minutes.

In other words, Mozilla and Redhat
are all the home user needs.
'Fraid not, fuckwit. Most home users do considerably more than just use
a web browser.
And in business, web developers
are making all the interesting
productivity software using databases,
middleware, OOP products like
.NET and NetBeans and

yes

a browser.

It's all part of Bailo's Law:

Every 7 years, the User Interface
for computers decreases in complexity
by an order of magnitude.

Theoretical Turning Machine can be understood by Atomic Physicists
ENIAC, Programmable Switches can be understood by Highly Trained Engineers
Assembly can be understood by Genius Hackers
3rd GL Languages can be understood by Computer 'Scientists'
4th GL Languages can be understood by Systems Analysts
Visual Programming can be understood by Consultants
HTLM/Javascript can be understood by Skate Punks
http://www.devcity.net/net/view_comm...y=2002&m=3&d=1