lwall@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Larry Wall) (09/30/86)
Well, I sprung for the Music Studio, and now I'm wondering if I should have.
In particular, I wish there was a faster way to enter music. And I could,
if only the *^$(&#! programmers had though a little about human engineering.
Fer instance, how about if there were a way to use the keyboard to enter the
notes I want? I'd only have to type 2 to 4 keystokes per note, which is
heaps faster than hauling the mouse up to the top of the screen, pulling
down a menu, selecting the note I want, going over to another menu, selecting
the dot I want, going to a third menu, selecting the accidental I want, etc.
Real music does not consist of 37 quarter notes in a row. I fear I shall
wear out my poor mouse.
This is really an instance of a more general problem, which I will christen
Mouse Mania. A nifty new device like the mouse is introduced, and suddenly
nobody can think of anything but mice. PLEASE, all you hackers out there,
think a little! Render unto the mouse the things that are the mouse's, and
unto the keyboard the things that are the keyboard's. How about a little
human engineering for a change? Just because a mouse is good for some things
doesn't make it good for everything!
Another example. Why doesn't Preferences have a string gadget to type in
the date and time? In the time it takes to click just one of the numbers
to the right value I could type the entire date and time in. Yes, I know,
I could set up the startup sequence to ask. When I figure out how. That's
not the point. Something that is done SO often by SO many people should have
the heck optimized out of it. If you MUST use the mouse to set the date
because mice are sexy, how about making each number a pull-down menu? Just
zip to the right number and it's set. Or at least make the numbers advance
automatically when the mouse button is held down. Or have a gadget that
runs the whole date/time up and down at a variable rate, maxing out at a year
a second or so. Whatever.
The two chief virtues in a programmer are laziness and impatience. (But only
when the programmer has to use his/her own programs.)
(Speaking of Music Studio, is it possible to run both MIDI and Amiga tracks
simultaneously? It didn't look like it from the docs.)
I'll make a deal with any Amiga Software House. You send me the sources
to anything, I'll send you back my suggested changes so you can put them in
your next version if you like. I'm willing to protect your trade secrets from
hooligans. I'm willing to give my suggestions free of charge. Are you willing
to have your product improved by someone who is lazy and impatient?
Enough grumbling.
Larry Wall
{allegra,burdvax,cbosgd,hplabs,ihnp4,sdcsvax}!sdcrdcf!lwall