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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Member since:2006-11-12
Mac Menu bar isn't detached from the application
Really?
the window itself isn't the window
If that statement were actually true, OSX might have a slightly bigger usability problem than the detached menu-bar.
just look at photoshop, dreamweaver, etc to look what apps looks alike, even those finder windows aren't applications by themselves why would you repeat one menu for each one?
With the menu-bar attached to the window, menus don't have to be repeated in multi-windowed applications -- look at how multi-windowed Photoshop is handled in Windows, look at how multi-windowed Gimp is handled in *nix. And even if a menu is repeated, there is no usability conflict, nor will the computer explode.
Giving the function remain the same, it should be on the same spot so users knows where to look for when they want to perform the action they want, in the same way that once you learn how to drive you do it automatically, no need to search for the wheel because things are where expected to.
Yes. Yes. The subject of spatial memory and conditioning has been covered ad nauseum in this thread (and elsewhere), and the Mac GUI does not have an advantage in that regard.
Given that where better to place it then on one of the edges of the screen where you can bump right into it with mouse?
Having the menu bar on the edge of its application window is better -- it prevents a lot of confusion/disorientation, which is usually more important than occasionally taking a split-second longer to hit an application menu.
Often, users interact with the content, window buttons and window borders more than the application menu. Application toolbars and palette buttons can get even more interaction. So, if you really want to take advantage of the "infinitely large" targets on the screen edge, put the toolbars and pallet buttons there (some *nix WMs/desktops allow this configuration with certain apps).
By the way, a target isn't easy to hit just because you put it on the edge of the screen -- try hitting on the edge of the screen an "infinitely large" target that is one pixel wide.
I don't want to go on your job but when invoking a title of 'product designer' without knowing even the fitt's law just makes me wonder how did that happen...
Please stop. The last thing that a forum such as OSNews needs is one more Mac fanboy incessantly barking the term "Fitts' Law" like a flipping, hyperactive Jack Russell Terrier.
Most Mac fanboys who reference Fitts' Law don't really understand usability nor the psycho-motor model postulated by Paul Fitts in 1954 (when there were no computer graphical interfaces).
The notion that the Mac menu-bars are detached at the top of the screen to "comply" with Fitts' Law is "BS." According to Fitts' law, distance to the target is also a direct function of the aiming precision required. So, with the Mac menu-bar always at the top of the screen, the targets are always the furthest distance away from the work -- an OSX detriment.
And if Apple was really concerned with making it easier to click on targets, it would enlarge the clicking area of more of its widgets, for instance, the click-able area of the "jelly-blobs" should encompass the full window border outside of the "jelly-blob."
Unlike OSX, some OSs/desktops/window-managers are actually designed to take advantage of the screen edge/corners, such as SymphonyOS's Mezzo desktop (note the corner and edge widgets in this screenshot): http://www.symphonyos.com/ss/sos-2007b.jpg
Photoshop is still different from Cinema4d from DreamWeaver, from iDVD, Pages... Things which are the same should remain the same and not implemented in multitude of ways just for the sake of it.
Okay.
Edited 2007-11-21 03:51
Member since:2005-09-30
Where it reads:
should instead be read:
the window itself isn't the app.
Of course, it emulates the behavior of Mac...
BTW GIMP and usability even if at the same paragraph doesn't mix...
You know, Menu happens to be there already...
[/q]By the way, a target isn't easy to hit just because you put it on the edge of the screen -- try hitting on the edge of the screen an "infinitely large" target that is one pixel wide. [/q]
How do you know, you obviously doesn't use it.
No Mac fan boy, altough I've been using the menu system system since the dawn of the times (ie- Amiga) I know what feels better and Fitt's law just happen to show I'm right.
[p] So, with the Mac menu-bar always at the top of the screen, the targets are always the furthest distance away from the work -- an OSX detriment. [/q]
Although far it is reached faster, and it's not even me saying it, usability tests are...
My corners are working fine thank you very much, it only seems that you haven't work with all MacOSX has to offer...
cheers
Member since:2005-07-11
If you have a high resolution monitor, and a bunch of applications open all with the windows sized such that you can see and interact with a bunch of them, don't you get annoyed at having to go to the top of the screen to do things in the menus? I know I've been annoyed when playing with the demo Macs at the Apple stores here in town.
Having a nice, smallish window open in the bottom-right of a 1600x1200 or larger screen, wanting to activate something in the menu, and having to move both my eyes and my cursor out of the window to get to the menu is a royal PITA.
Put the menus in the window, right close by where the cursor is.
If you run all your windows/apps full-screen-ish, then it makes sense to put the menu bar at the top. But if you have many smallish windows all over the screen, it makes a lot more sense to put the menus in the window.
The Mac menu bar made sense on 9" screens when it first came out. It doesn't make as much sense on 22" screens nowadays.
Member since:2005-09-30
"I know I've been annoyed when playing with the demo Macs at the Apple stores here in town. "
Someone tries once the system then, all suddenly they all think they'd mastered it, as always had use one... do you know acceleration is? Your mouse has it...
"The Mac menu bar made sense on 9" screens when it first came out. It doesn't make as much sense on 22" screens nowadays."
No problem on my 22"...
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it."I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)"."The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight.""And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.
Member since:
2005-09-30
Mac Menu bar isn't detached from the application, the window itself isn't the window, just look at photoshop, dreamweaver, etc to look what apps looks alike, even those finder windows aren't applications by themselves why would you repeat one menu for each one?
Giving the function remain the same, it should be on the same spot so users knows where to look for when they want to perform the action they want, in the same way that once you learn how to drive you do it automatically, no need to search for the wheel because things are where expected to. Given that where better to place it then on one of the edges of the screen where you can bump right into it with mouse?
I don't want to go on your job but when invoking a title of 'product designer' without knowing even the fitt's law just makes me wonder how did that happen...
Photoshop is still different from Cinema4d from DreamWeaver, from iDVD, Pages... Things which are the same should remain the same and not implemented in multitude of ways just for the sake of it.
Edited 2007-11-21 00:31