The Linus view of GNOME 3.2

[Alan Cox]

> The ignoranti may want a UI with no learning curve, but they're not 
> going to get it.  Even the nipple takes time for an infant to learn how 
> to use.

That's somewhat arrogant and misleading. You assume that people want
exact control of everything they use, whereas most people want detailed
domain knowledge and control of a few things and would prefer the rest
just worked simply without configuration.

Interfaces also differ dramatically in whether the knowledge on how to
use them is internalised (eg the command line) or externalised (many gui
interfaces).

Then there is discoverability, making a user interface something you can
gradually learn and find the extra features in - like hotkeys and
shortcuts. That's one case where Gnome 3.2 panel in fallback fails
horribly - alt right-click ???? how will anyone logically deduce this and
try it ?

If you've not read it you might find Norman's "The Design of Everyday
Things" an interesting read.

Alan