“Many people don’t know this, but Google Docs has a built-in equation editor that natively uses LaTeX! You can build up your equation with the WYSIWYG functionality and it updates the corresponding LaTeX in real-time, or you can enter LaTeX directly, and it updates the typeset math in real-time. See this screenshot: http://cpbotha.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/google_docs_ss1.png Personally I type math equations directly in LaTeX, but the Google Docs equation editor is very useful if you quickly need an equation typeset, or you want to teach someone else how to use LaTeX math. One could also use it in addition to a normal text editor, purely for doing the math bits in LaTeX.”
“If I search for "basecamp" in Google and wind up at a mountain climbing equipment supply store instead of the 37signals product I wanted, it is not Google's fault (or 37signals', or the camping store's) if I start banging my head against the screen and asking "Wheerre are my prooooojectsssss?????" It just isn't.”
“User error is important. User error means humans are still humans, and we still need other humans to help us figure some things out. Having need for help creates entire markets for services as well as opens up doors for seeking new knowledge and forging new relationships. So my argument against Ed’s position is more an argument against a philosophy, I guess. I would rather have my grandpa call me on the phone to ask “how come I can’t get on the email even though AOL says I’m online?” than have my grandpa’s understanding become the default (and socially agreed upon correct) way things work. Even though it annoys me to no end when I have to try to troubleshoot his ignorance over the phone, at the end of the day it’s a connection he and I would otherwise not have and we always catch up a little on each other’s lives and say “I love you”, and he gets a chance to teach me about some things in life that I'm pretty ignorant in.”