[Web4lib] RE: Browser ennui

[Tracey.Reed at myClearwater.com]

<snip from David Walker>
But now I just want them to work consistently and reliably, and then get the heck out of the way so I can go about the _actual_ tasks I want to do.
</snip>

And that is what the majority of the people who walk into our libraries want them to do. 

I tend to liken it to a borrowed/rented car.  If someone is coming into the library who is familiar with computers and browsers, they know it's going to feel and work a bit differently (and probably be more clunky) then theirs.  If someone who doesn't use a computer often comes in and needs to use one, it's going to feel wildly different no matter what browser we have on our computers.  

Those of us who work with them all the time have the luxury of understanding the nuances that make our particular model of choice work best for us, but many times, our users, especially in the public library realm, are not those people.  And what we strive to do is maintain a functioning borrowed machine that both those who most often drive a fully customized version of Firefox as well as those for whom their turnkey IE7 works just fine.

-t
-----
Tracey Reed
Computer Services/ Answer Line Librarian
Clearwater Public Library System
tracey.reed at myclearwater.com
727.562.4970 x5036
www.myclearwater.com/cpl
> "Living never wore one out so much as the effort not to live." - Anais Nin