for The Rest Of Us
<abuse> (From the Macintosh slogan "The computer for the rest of us") 1.
Used to describe a spiffy product whose affordability shames other comparable
products, or (more often) used sarcastically to describe spiffy but very
overpriced products.
2. Describes a program with a limited interface, deliberately limited
capabilities, non-orthogonality, inability to compose primitives, or any other
limitation designed to not "confuse" a naïve user. This places an upper bound on
how far that user can go before the program begins to get in the way of the task
instead of helping accomplish it.
Used in reference to Macintosh software which doesn't provide obvious
capabilities because it is thought that the poor luser might not be able to
handle them. Becomes "the rest of *them*" when used in third-party reference;
thus, "Yes, it is an attractive program, but it's designed for The Rest Of Them"
means a program that superficially looks neat but has no depth beyond the
surface flash.
See also point-and-drool interface, user-friendly.
[Jargon File]
(2000-08-08)
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Fortran 66
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