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for the rest of us
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for the rest of us /adj./ [from the Mac 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 naive 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 lusers 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 WIMP environment, Macintrash,
point-and-drool interface, user-friendly.
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