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

[Alain Schremmer]

On Feb 21, 2010, at 2:43 PM, David Messerschmitt wrote:

>> The "trouble" with users is the same as with cars: cars don't  
>> remain new very long and users don't remain lazy very long. Even  
>> I, among the laziest of the lazies eventually got a bit less lazy.  
>> It seems to me that the old lazy me would like Koch's new scheme  
>> because I would have had nothing to do to get going and the later  
>> less lazy me would also like it because I might now venture moving  
>> a few entries. (I take it that would not involve the terminal.)
>
>
>
> Good point, but there is absolutely nothing inconsistent between  
> (a) accommodating naive and power users differently and (b)  
> allowing users to move from the naive to the power category. All  
> you are saying is that naive users should not matter, because they  
> dont stay that way.

All to the contrary: The passage from lazy to less lazy to power is  
continuous and, as I see Koch's scheme, as the user grows less lazy,  
s/he just starts moving stuff from one folder to the other which  
seems pretty continuous to me.

> Such a perspective is commonplace in open source software, but I am  
> arguing that naive users are important.
> For one thing, accommodating them will attract more new users to  
> TexShop, whether or not they later turn into power users. I would  
> argue that this is good, if we wish to maximize the impact of TexShop.

I have been arguing this very point ever since my beginning on this  
list. And, unless, I don't understand Koch's idea, which may be  
indeed the case, I think that it is good for everybody in that it  
allows for an easy transition.

Regards
--schremmer