I got a call this morning (New Year’s Eve day, 2019) from Trevor, who is the person who caused me to pull the trigger on building LIDA. All of us should be offering up a round of applause to Trevor for getting this whole LIDA ball rolling.
Trevor told me he had just been to the download page for Beta Testers and had a difficult time finding the link to download the latest version of LIDA.
Hmm. That’s true. That link is NOT super-easy to find, but there’s a reason for that.
In my experience building software and working with computer users, I have found that for a great proportion of users, the tendency is to skim over everything that is not what they consider to be “meat” and rush into action.
The effect of this tendency is these people will neglect to read the precautions and the instructions, and simply – in this case – install the software. Many times, if they do this without reading the directions, they get themselves in a mess, then they call their computer advisor (often, me) and whine “it isn’t working!”
However, if we make the download link at least a little bit more difficult to find, then perhaps more of these rush-into-action types will actually read the instructions, and keep from having issues that result from not reading them.
Back in the Air Force, we had a phrase/acronym – “RTFI” – the nice version of which means “READ THE FREAKING INSTRUCTIONS!” usually said in a tone of admonishment. Every so often, I would have a copilot come to me saying that this or that didn’t work, or how can I do this … My reaction, if the situation warranted, was to give this person a 3-second stare, then say, “RTFI.” and watch his face get red.
So the issue here is: Do I make the download link for LIDA easier to find? Do I make it a great big button right at the top of the page? Or do I keep it as-is, and hope that more people will actually read the instructions before downloading?I think for now I’ll leave it as-is, but I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter. Reply in the comment section below.
I have been unable to figure out how to find the link to download the most current version on LIDA. I have read the instructions but, perhaps, have missed finding the information I need to proceed. It might be better if I removed myself from the Alpha team since I am unable to contribute any comments on recent developments.
Bob, the link is right there on the Beta Testers Only page, where it says, “Download the latest LIDA install package by clicking HERE.” The “HERE” is the link to download.
Thanks, David. I was able to get the current version now.
I’m a new Beta-tester; however, have a long experience with technology and band libraries. I agree how important it is to ‘RTFI’; however, this isn’t the Air Force and all of us come with different understandings of technology and reading instructions.
I did not find the instructions difficult to use; however, I did find challenges getting what was there to work ‘on my computer’ with “my software” – specifically getting my 64-bit Access to read the 32-bit program. While I ‘think’ I have everything set up, I’m not yet sure. I’ll keep reading and exploring. Marcus Neiman
If we are attempting to make this work for other band directors, simply telling them to RTFI will turn them away. Watching the video presentation is much more effective, at least for me, than reading a technical instructions.
Marcus, thanks for all your help getting us to this point. There is new information on the Beta Testers Only page that goes into more detail on this and where we are headed.
Hopefully, this whole situation will be resolved by 1/9/2020.