Messages about Long Software Processes

[George Hayhoe <george -dot- hayhoe -at- SRS -dot- GOV>]

     The thread about displaying messages about long software installation
     processes, etc. has been a very interesting one for me. I too have
     been annoyed by messages in which the computer assumed a human persona
     ("Open the bay door, Dave.") or implored my patience when I was trying
     to get the @#!&ing program to install successfully for the fourteenth
     time.

     Several folks have suggested that the message provide the user with an
     estimate of the time required to perform the process. On the surface,
     this sounds like a great idea, but I'd offer the caution that such
     estimates will differ wildly depending on the user's processor type,
     processor speed, disk drive type, and disk drive speed (among other
     factors). And since folks like us are likely to have more powerful
     computers than at least some of the software users, we could seriously
     mislead people about the time required for certain processes to run.

     To provide a specific example: Several months ago, I successfully
     convinced my management that my team needed 66 MHz 486 machines to run
     Corel Ventura 5 because the program took nearly 5 minutes to start on
     our 18 MHz 386 machines. With the new computers, the program took less
     than 2 minutes to load.

     --George Hayhoe (george -dot- hayhoe -at- srs -dot- gov)
       Assistant to the President for Recognition Programs, STC