This is the second article in a series on common usability and graphical user interface related terms [part I]. On the internet, and especially in forum discussions like we all have here on OSNews, it is almost certain that in any given discussion, someone will most likely bring up usability and GUI related terms - things like spatial memory, widgets, consistency, Fitts' Law, and more. The aim of this series is to explain these terms, learn something about their origins, and finally rate their importance in the field of usability and (graphical) user interface design. In part II today, we focus on the pictogramme, popularly known as the icon.
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Member since:2006-04-26
I can perfectly understand because i tended to think like that also. But this is all information which is lastly organized in sheets of emulated paper, be it dynamic, self calculating, hyperlinked, animated, or not. As long as we don't have nice and thin, preferrably flexible or even foldable tablets like f.e. that in Neal Stephensons Diamond Age i don't see that much use of it. Does the surface of your real desk change when you put some letter somewhere? Maybe you have whole stacks of paper on it, would you enjoy them falling over? Does it matter when the grass bends when you put some book on it when you're outside and enjoying the sun? Do you actually like the sand between the pages? ;-)
With all that pseudorealism i always have to think about the jokes i make to my postman that i could write three Xses onto that touchscreen when i have to sign for some reception, because the parallax between the surface of that gadget and the LC-Display just isn't right.
Edited 2007-10-28 20:27
Member since:2005-10-19
Nice article Thom,
<rant>
I've been banging on about how a consistent and well thought out icon set is really essential for our suite of apps, but my calls are falling on deaf ears.
Our icons basically look like were done by a pre-schooler with his eyes closed, as our parent company insists that we have text (our 3 letter acronym) within the icons.
At 16 pixels, this just looks like a smudge, and gives an overall impression to our users that we just can't be stuffed.
</rant>
Have to disagree by the way about the wobbly windows in XGL. That has to be the most unholy of 3D effects.
Just makes you feel like you're on drugs, only without the fun part.
Edited 2007-10-29 04:15
Member since:2006-01-19
This looks to me like a discussion which is not really resolvable. Simply because obviously the brain structure of different human beings can differ much.
Having Desktop objects to be more "physical" is a disturbance to some, and to others it is a help. Some like "overiconized" GUIs like MSOffice 2007 better than reduced one (KDE vs. GNOME anyone?). Some people can find their way through 20 icons thrown at them immediately, others are completele at a loss there but don't have problems remembering 100 console commands including most of their options.
And that is the truth about user interfaces: One size does not fit all. With a graphical interface you can try to reach most, but you will never be able to be good for everybody.
That is the reason why I think that each of the numerous desktops (KDE, Gnome, Aero, XFCE, ...) are best for someone, and each of them should be developed further without converging too much onto a "unified desktop".
"Sources have described iOS 7 as 'black, white, and flat all over'. This refers to the dropping of heavy textures and the addition of several new black and white user interface elements." I couldn't be happier.
"Ilja van Sprundel, a security researcher with IOActive, has discovered a large number of issues in the way various X client libraries handle the responses they receive from servers, and has worked with X.Org's security team to analyze, confirm, and fix these issues."
"Google is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said." Sucks to be Google today, apparently.
"In the midst of the major press blitz surrounding its annual I/O Conference, Google dropped some unfortunate news about its instant messaging plans. In several places around the web, the company is replacing the existing 'Talk' platform with a new one called 'Hangouts' that sharply diminishes support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber), and also removes the option to disable the archiving of all chat communications. These changes represent a switch from open protocols to proprietary ones, and a clear step backward for many users." That's why I always say: only suckers trust companies.
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing."The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run."There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
Member since:
2005-06-29
This sentence has a few problems. For instance, many find the wobbly windows in Compiz annoying and a toy - but to me, they contribute to a feeling that I sorely miss in GUIs: making objects behave like physical objects. I love how a window in Compiz wobbles when I move it, it gives me additional feedback, just as if I was manipulating a real world object.
I have been thinking a lot the past years about how to make user interfaces more physical. If I'm manipulating multiple objects on a screen, I want those objects to interfere with one another, as if they are real-world objects.
As an example, imagine you have a wallpaper with leaves on it. Moving a window over those leaves could ruffle those leaves - that would give the window a physical dimension. Of course having leaves flying around your desktop wallpaper is a bit over the top, but you get the idea.
Edited 2007-10-28 19:50 UTC