[Sderby] Re: What fun Linux is!!

[James Gibbon]

On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 12:44:54 +0100
"Barry Woodward" <barrywoodward at ntlworld.com> wrote:

> My thanks to Derek Huskisson for taking the time to reply. I should have
> been more specific.  I strongly object to the use of Jargon where it is not
> only unnecessary but downright frightening.  A newbie installing any OS
> should not have to guess an obscure meaning,  (BIOS is one of the worst
> offenders for this but, a newbie may not even realise the BIOS exists.).
> 
> The newbie faced with an option to "install without ACPI "  can guess it's
> meaning, or cancel the installation and investigate the meaning, or ignore
> the menu option and pray.  Is it not time for the software developers to
> think about (and write for) their audiences?
> 

It's inevitable that in an industry where typed communication is so prevalent,
acronyms will be used.  In any case they can be valuable, serving as a unique
name to prevent ambiguity.  And they are in everyday use in every part of life
would we really want to type or write "National Health Service" every time,
instead of "NHS"?  Or Electronic Mail, or Personal Computer, or Alternating
Current?