Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 18th Nov 2007 15:46 UTC
This is the sixth article in a series on common usability and graphical user interface related terms [part I | part II | part III | part IV | part V]. 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 VI, we focus on the dock.
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RE[5]: Yet another thing not invented by Jobs/Apple.
by joshv on Mon 19th Nov 2007 04:00
in reply to "RE[4]: Yet another thing not invented by Jobs/Apple."
Member since:2006-03-18
"This effectively embraces the idea that applications are Modes. The taskbar provides a way to switch modes. "
Well, applications are, after all, the reason we use computers. I find it amazing that so much time and energy is spent debating the relative merits of operating systems, when our interaction with the OS comprises perhaps 5% or less of the amount of time we spend working each day.
As for the idea that Windows is somehow designed around full screen applications - hogwash. Windows is designed around choice. You want fullscreen, you get fullscreen. You want to tile 4 apps and switch maniacally between them, bob's your uncle - windows will happily oblige you. On the Mac though, Steve has made all the decisions for you, how dare you try to maximize an application!
RE[5]: Yet another thing not invented by Jobs/Apple.
by google_ninja on Mon 19th Nov 2007 04:49
in reply to "RE[4]: Yet another thing not invented by Jobs/Apple."
Member since:2006-02-05
What happens when you launch abiword? Cause when you launch Pages, the window doesnt fill your entire monitor, only the size of your document. The "accessory" apps are corner cases, they are treated in a spatial manner, but they are one of the few classes of applications that do.
RE[6]: Yet another thing not invented by Jobs/Apple.
by tupp on Mon 19th Nov 2007 04:59
in reply to "RE[5]: Yet another thing not invented by Jobs/Apple."
Member since:2006-11-12
RE[6]: Yet another thing not invented by Jobs/Apple.
by dbodner on Mon 19th Nov 2007 05:49
in reply to "RE[5]: Yet another thing not invented by Jobs/Apple."
Member since:2007-07-01
RE[6]: Yet another thing not invented by Jobs/Apple.
by phoenix on Tue 20th Nov 2007 01:45
in reply to "RE[5]: Yet another thing not invented by Jobs/Apple."
Member since:2005-07-11
What happens when you launch abiword?
The same thing that happens when you launch any program in Windows, KDE, GNOME, etc ... it looks at the application shortcut to see what you have set for the default window size.
Some people set it to Maximised in the .lnk/.desktop file. Some people set it to Normal or Default, which means it starts at whatever size you had it set to when you closed it, or whatever default is set by the app developer, or whatever the systemwide default is. Some people set it to Minimised.
There is no "all apps will open maximised" default set in Windows, KDE, or GNOME. These are all app-specific settings that can be changed.
Is there a way, in MacOS X, to configure an application to always open maximised, and to actually take up the entire screen?
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 22:23 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:38 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:30 UTC, submitted by JRepin
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 22:06 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:45 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 15:53 UTC
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 22:43 UTC
The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 21:50 UTC
PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:15 UTC
"This is my NeXTstation Turbo Color booting the Mac System 7.1 Operating System using a hardware add-on called 'Daydream'. The Daydream has a Mac ROM and a few custom ICs in it and hooked up to the NeXTs DSP port. Turns your NeXT into a full fledged 68k powered Mac." So cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:11 UTC, submitted by Drumhellar
"The NetBSD Project is pleased to announce NetBSD 6.1, the first feature update of the NetBSD 6 release branch. It represents a selected subset of fixes deemed important for security or stability reasons, as well as new features and enhancements. Please note that all fixes in the prior security/bugfix updates (NetBSD 6.0.1 and 6.0.2) are also in 6.1."More News »
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Member since:
2007-07-01
Huh? The Xfce I'm using even has smart window placement, so if I open up 4 terminals simultaneously, not only are they not maximized, but they're automatically placed in separate corners of the screen so all 4 are fully visible at the same time.
Lumping all *nix DE's/WM's together might be a bad idea.