Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

Dave:

If you think Windows is bad, I'm a Mac user. 
But one of my favorite programs that I use 
with OS X is "Activity Monitor", a program that 
tells me what is going on in my Mac so I can 
adjust programs to work more efficiently. As 
for Hebrew, I have used only the unpointed 
text (by choice), which gives me no problems 
whatsoever.

Seriously, it is not the cognoscenti that have 
been dumbed down, rather that the advent of 
Windows has encouraged many who don't 
know what they are doing to use computers. 
I personally have used computers since the 
IBM 360 and JCL days, and have installed 
Linux systems (they have really improved 
and gotten much more user friendly in recent 
years), but I am no computer expert. It is my 
understanding that the display of fonts is 
actually done in the shell (KDE, GNOME, 
etc.) layer.

I think it is a good thing that more people are 
using technology, and I agree with you that 
people should learn more about what "goes 
on under the hood" as far as their computers 
are concerned, but not everyone has the 
mental preparedness to do so.

As for that problem with Windows and 
Hebrew fonts, I have no answers for that, 
as I don't use Windows.

Karl W. Randolph.

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dave Washburn" <dwashbur AT nyx.net>
> 
> Actually, major advances have been made in getting Linux more user-friendly
> over the past several years.  One need not be a "computer expert," just have
> an idea what a file is, what a folder is, and some basic stuff like that: 
> how
> to make changes to your display and what happens when you do, what steps to
> take to install a font and why, all stuff that the average end user can
> benefit from knowing.  Back in the DOS days, your basic computer user knew
> some of these things, but since the advent of Windows, Microsoft has been
> continuously "dumbing down" the end user, putting more and more layers
> between the user and the machine, which of course makes the user more and
> more dependent on the "experts."  Even though I made my living for a long
> time being one of these, I don't consider this a good thing.  It's the
> equivalent of owning a car, but having to go to a mechanic every time you
> need to check the oil.  The more a user knows about the basic operation of
> that machine, the more empowered s/he is to get the most out of it without
> some corporate clown dictating how.  I do consider that a good thing, and
> right now Linux is a reasonable and user-enabling vehicle toward that end.
> And unless one is either creating fonts or reinventing the wheel, I hardly
> think display of Hebrew is "cutting edge technology."  It's been around for 
> a
> while; the major new factor is how it's done, i.e. Unicode vs. replacement
> fonts.  But if a user has even a very basic understanding of how such things
> are done, it's going to make the learning curve for the new method much
> easier to deal with.
> 
> --
> Dave Washburn
> http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
> "Maybe I'll trade it for a new hat."

-- 
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