[OS X TeX] New Macros, new Engines, new TeXShop versions, and all that

[David Messerschmitt]

> <snip>
> 
> I don't like anything to happen blindly! If the user really is lazy I don't see what motivates them to do anything like make a list of items they don't want, etc. 

<snip>

Exactly! Let me reiterate the principle: "Make upgrade _completely_ transparent for naive or lazy users who are happy with the packaged distribution, and place the burden of manual changes only on users who desire something different from the packaged distribution." I think there would be more naive users of TexShop if no manual intervention is required -- the corollary being that they are willing to let the TexShop maintainers choose macros etc for them and they have no interest in manually specifying what they dont want (like you say).

Obviously there is an inconsistency between the requirements of a power user like Herb and a lazy user like me. The power user doesnt want anything to happen blindly, and the lazy user wants everything to happen blindly (and is willing to live with the consequences). Maybe the solution is to have two flavors of upgrade -- power and automatic -- chosen by checking one or the other box at the time of upgrade. Or maybe that is a one-time choice in preferences.

-dave

David Messerschmitt
Roger Strauch Professor Emeritus
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
University of Californa at Berkeley
    and
Visiting Professor
Helsinki University of Technology
Software Business Laboratory
   and
Visiting Researcher
SETI Institute