22 Feb
2014
22 Feb
'14
11:30 p.m.
On Sat February 22 2014 5:12:48 pm David C. Rankin wrote:
On 02/22/2014 04:54 PM, Darrell wrote:
> Who is going to use an XML editor? Mom and pop? Never. I prefer placing the
> new app in Development->Web Development, next to Quanta Plus.
Right. You are a geek (as am I). Mom and pop are not. Don't clutter and confuse their
perspective. Geeks find things. Moms and pops don't. Throwing non text editors into
the Editors sub menu confuses such people.
Why would you leave kHexEdit in 'Files'? Yes,
all editors edit 'Files', but
'Files' is normally for tools that move, copy, rename, compress, decompress,
etc.. Files. I had to use the kmenu search: [ ] to find the darn thing.
Because in both a geek world and non-geek world I don't ever think of a hex editor as
a traditional editor. I use the word "editor" in reference to editing text. Yes,
I've been using computers since the 1970s and I am aware that the word
"editor" can and is broadly used.
Among geeks.
Whenever I want to use a hex editor, which is seldom. I am not looking for a text editor
in the traditional sense. I don't look in the Editors sub menu.
As a tech writer I have found that most of the writers I have worked with are not geeks,
despite their dependence upon computers. Most I would label (firmly) as computer
illiterate. They learn only what they need to know. This is my observation of all people
using computers. Only geeks go further.
And yes, I have been asked, "What is a hex editor?"
That is just the English side. Many of these words do not translate well into other
languages.
Even in the English side words do not always translate as expected. Years ago when I
visited New Zealand I was warned not to ask for a napkin when in a restaurant. Instead ask
for a serviette. Why? Because in New Zealand a napkin is short-hand for feminine napkin.
I'm tired too. I don't care where it goes, but
scattering editors all over the
menu tree just seems like a bad idea. If it wasn't for the Search: [ ] in
kmenu, I couldn't find things half the time and would just use Alt+F2. I know I
wasn't here when kmenu got moved around, so I'll live with where things are.
This stuff is so easy to change, if there are better ideas of where things
should go, I think we should all be open to considering them.
You define all of these apps at "editors" rather than as "tools."
Speaking of the Search field, many users refuse to look even for the basic apps they use
every day. I have seen this often working with other people. Their solution? They slap a
shortcut on the desktop to avoid using the menu.
The result? After a few months the desktop is cluttered with shortcut icons and they
cannot find what they seek.
Do they learn? No. The next time they use a new app they create Yet Another Shortcut.
For myself I rarely use the Search field. When I do, and that happens only on my test
machine with all of the additional apps, I then realize I am suffering from menu clutter
and app overload.
--
Darrell