[openbeos] Re: Data or App Centric?

>
> It would be the exact opposite. It would provide you with a
> predefined "path", but allowing you to change that path at every
> point/joint. I forsee certain standard tasks to be delivered out
> of the box, but I also forsee the vacuum of "but I need the task
> to do this and that for me" to be filled very quickly. It's just
> that in this case it's far more likely that even a small
> developer or task-genius can help out, rather than having to wait
> for the large ISV to release a new version.
>
Just following up on your explanation here: in case it's not obvious why a
task/command-based approach is The One True Way, just imagine how
computers would work if Cut/Copy/Paste weren't standard operations that
(more or less) worked the same way in all applications.  Now, it's mostly
limited to text, but it's a standard on almost all computer systems, and
it is in reality one of those Global Commands I've mentioned.  We all
expect to be able to copy text from a text box -- but why limit ourselves
at that point? What's stopping us from providing spell checking in all
text boxes?

Currently, you'd have to add the functionality to the -text box itself-,
but you might just as well make it a Command you can apply to any data set
-- if the data you apply the command to isn't text, the system will try to
translate it into text. Failing that, nothing will happen.  Actually, all
that could be done the very moment you select the data you want to apply
the command to, so that commands not applicable won't bo shown.

Imagine a Command button on your keyboard: select text, hold down Command
and either type out the command or choose it from a pick list using the
keyboard or press its graphical representation with your graphical input
device (GID).

>
>> Anyway, I haven't read "the book" so perhaps there's something
>> I'm not seeing.
>
> I haven't read the book either; I'm just thinking out loud,
> because computers have -even for me- not become easier to operate
> - which defeats their reason for existence.
>
Definitely sounds like you have, though :)
Seriously though, computers are -not- easy to use in any way, and even
though BeOS is the one with the least amount of friction (can only talk
for myself, obviously), it could be even smoother!


The Humane Interface doesn't only discuss these issues, it's in large a
book on interface design, with methods where you can actually measure the
efficiency of an interface.  Anyway, it's pretty interesting even though
he's out in the blue from time to time.

-- tic

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