I'm not sure if I have a higher tolerance for bad usability than other people, I find I am often more vocal complaining about it. Besides if you watch a highly non technical user use a computer they will often do things in incredibly inefficient ways and don't seem to worry about it too much.
I think the key though is making it as difficult as possible to get stuck when trying to do a particular task. This is where consistency is hugely important, if most of your apps work approximately the same way (such as with Apple) and have predictable behavior this is hugely helpful to users.
There is also a lot of context to bear in mind when thinking about how easy something is to use and I think this is where it does a disservice to lump "non technical" users together.
For example , I grew up during the days of DOS so switching to a UNIX/BASH command line when I got older felt very natural to me. However I wouldn't want to put myself up against the average 15 year old of today when learning how to use the latest social network.
Regards FOSS applications, one thing to bear in mind is FOSS is by nature easier to port than proprietary software. Therefor most of the good Linux desktop apps are also available on Windows which in many ways actually damages Linux adoption.
For example I know plenty of Windows/Mac users who are using Firefox , VLC and Pidgin. There would not be a particularly big tangible benefit for them moving to Linux (apart from saving MS license money they already spent in the price of their PC).
On the other hand it makes it easier in the sense that most of their familiar apps are already available.
I think the key though is making it as difficult as possible to get stuck when trying to do a particular task. This is where consistency is hugely important, if most of your apps work approximately the same way (such as with Apple) and have predictable behavior this is hugely helpful to users.
There is also a lot of context to bear in mind when thinking about how easy something is to use and I think this is where it does a disservice to lump "non technical" users together.
For example , I grew up during the days of DOS so switching to a UNIX/BASH command line when I got older felt very natural to me. However I wouldn't want to put myself up against the average 15 year old of today when learning how to use the latest social network.
Regards FOSS applications, one thing to bear in mind is FOSS is by nature easier to port than proprietary software. Therefor most of the good Linux desktop apps are also available on Windows which in many ways actually damages Linux adoption.
For example I know plenty of Windows/Mac users who are using Firefox , VLC and Pidgin. There would not be a particularly big tangible benefit for them moving to Linux (apart from saving MS license money they already spent in the price of their PC). On the other hand it makes it easier in the sense that most of their familiar apps are already available.