0100059 russ lipton: "There are many analogies useful for approaching Userland products and services. I recently suggested computer gaming as one of them. Here is another - Frontier and RadioUserland are a 21st-century EMACS."

I'm really enjoying Russ Lipton's efforts to explain Radio.  I especially like this analogy to Emacs.

The key in both cases is that they are tools in the truest sense of the word. Both are extensions of the mind. But like any good tool, they take time to learn and to appreciate. Most software tools today fall into one of two categories. Either, they are blindingly complex power tools that take years of study to master. Or, they are single function power tools that do one thing only and that within the limits of the tool designers view of the world.

Radio sets out to do something else and is well on the way to succeeding. Like Emacs, it is a tool that reveals itself over time. As many others have already demonstrated you can be up and running with Radio in less than five minutes. Five minutes from download to having a weblog out and visible on the web for all to see. More importantly, Radio is built on top of decades of experience in building tools for writing, programming, and thinking.

Better yet, this experience is largely contained in one mind. While Dave Winer would be the first to credit his team and many others, there is a conceptual integrity that comes from one mind driving the design. Look at all the blockbuster software tools out there and you will find the same thing. Visicalc - Dan Bricklin. Word - Charles Simonyi, Lotus 1-2-3 - Mitch Kapor.

As a powerful tool, Radio can also get you into trouble. That's the price of power and the price of starting early with a new tool. The payoff of starting early in a tool's lifecycle is that you as tool user develop an experience edge that builds over time.

11:55:51 AM •  • comment