Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 7th Nov 2007 13:39 UTC
This is the fourth article in a series on common usability and graphical user interface related terms [part I | part II | part III]. 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 IV today, we focus on 
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Member since:
2005-07-08
Screen corners are not only physically easy to reach by unexperienced and clumsy users. They are also those points on the square screen that are the easiest to notice and remember.
An example: I have a Gnome desktop here where the top panel is filled with more than 30 shortcut icons of my most used apps. 30 is quite a lot and although I've learned to remember the looks and places of the icons pretty well I don't always immediately find the right icon to hit when I want to start some of those programa. Anyway, it is very easy to both reach and remember the shortcuts you have in the (only) four corners of the screen. Thus the four corners may indeed be quite optimal places for the most important shortcuts.