Non-technical recognition

I just noticed something I'm pleased with in SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 (our friend we call SLED); human-readable terms for utilities. Not that developers/hackers aren't humans, but it gets really frustrating when a generic task in an operating system is named with what the hackers call it, or some strange acronymn.

Good examples:

• Software Installer
• I think it's actually some sort of ZEN installer that installs RPMs, but it has a great name for the end-user for what it's actually supposed to do.
• As a sidenote, Ubuntu calls their Software Installer, "Synaptic Package Manager"
• Desktop Effects
• XGL & Compiz
  

Bad example:

• YAST
• It's the tool that you use to administer your system (things like graphics card, network card, user accounts, etc.)
• If I click on the "More Applications" button and search for "System", it doesn't show up in the list
• What does "YAST" even stand for?
• I'm sure it's a familiar term to those who have come to learn what it is, but for beginning users (which hopefully SLED will attract many), I don't think they'll really know the difference between YAST and ABC.

I think (I'm stepping out on a limb here) that developers/distributions need to give up their name history in favor of more usable and accesible software names. Go ahead and name the executables something different under the covers, but when presenting to the innocent and valuable end users, make it easy, make it generic.

SLED is definitely headed in the right direction!