From: Benjamin Peterson <bjsp123@...>
Date: 2002-07-25T23:13:51+09:00
Subject: Re: [OT] Re: GUI's and the Rouge, Part III (yes, finally) 1/2

>> And then came VisiCalc and Excel, which were not at
>> all tedious and unexciting!

>Actually, there is a class of users out there that
find the spreadsheet 
>metaphor so exciting and empowering that they think
they can do anything with 
>it. (I am not one of them.  I just stand in awe of
their ability to saw with 
>a hammer.)

This is true.  In fact, there is a certain scenario
which plays out really often:  a deskful of talented
people has been using a Motif GUI for years.  To them,
a GUI is something you just click buttons on.  Then,
one day, Excel is installed and a crummy new VB GUI is
put in place!  For a while, nothing happens.  Then
someone realises they can write a custom function --
someone else realises they can use a widget to
communicate with the guys in the other building --
someone else realises he can automatically produce a
report for the whole floor by writing his own excel
program -- and in a year, everyone is an Excel
programmer!

I guess it is exciting to watch non-technical people
realise that software can empower them to make stuff. 
I therefore withdraw my sarcastic remark about Excel.

I also withdraw from the responsibility of maintaining
the terrible VB code that always results.

Although actually... with ActiveScript Ruby... they
could all use Ruby instead, right?  Heh heh.



x