[plug] Newbie Guide - The beginning

[Alex Polglaze]

>>Recent research has shown that quality of life appears to be inversely 
>>proportional to the number of choices one has... (sorry I can't provide
>>a reference here)
> 
> 
> I doubt that's true. Imagine if we could only eat corn, rice and
> carrots, or if there were only five musicians in the world. To the
> contrary, we like variety, and the ability to try something new, and
> the ability to have what we "want" when we want it. What *has* been
> demonstrated, at least, is that if you need to "commit" to a single
> taste-based selection (e.g. it's more complicated that choosing a radio
> station or sharing a buffet with your family), then having fewer than
> ten choices is "comfortable", but being exposed to a larger number of
> options makes it likely that you'll postpone your decision or make an
> "irrational" choice.


My experience with computers would make me agree with the first paragraph. In 
fact, I have found that in trying to get Linux installed over Windows, because 
of the choices available, people get scared. As a result, I wrote the following 
to describe the situation, called "The Problem with Choice";

Choice causes indecision.

Indecision causes uncertainty.

Uncertainty causes doubt.

Doubt causes animosity.

Animosity causes rejection.

People aren't used to having three web browsers to deal with. The are used to 
clicking here for the web, here for e-mail etc.. Give them multiple choice and 
they loose it.

Alex Polglaze