[openbeos-cdt] Re: Areas of interest for CDT
- From: Ryan Leavengood <leavengood@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: openbeos-cdt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:02:12 -0500
On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 2:45 AM, Johan Aires Rastén <johan@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> For example we might analyse an interaction process (a user doing
> something) and measure the number of mouse clicks, mouse pointer move
> distance, swaps between mouse and keyboard etc. Then we could see if
> any steps could be simplified or removed. If we feel that comparing
> the efficiency of two processes, I guess the difference might be so
> small that it's not worth it.
I have had these thoughts of measuring the efficiency and ease of use
of Haiku in a structured way, and even if we can't do it on the same
scale or the with the same analyzing as more "professional"
interaction designers, it could still be helpful.
> On the other hand, Propellerheads' Reason is an example where I think
> a custom UI really works.
I've only used Reason a little bit, but in general I think they have
taken the "metaphor" interface too far. Maybe it works but I wonder if
a better UI could be designed by just throwing away the metaphor idea
and starting over with more standard UI controls. Most audio
applications seem to use the metaphor of a mixer deck or stereo or
whatever, but could something else be more affective?
This is getting a bit off-topic though, since we are just talking
about custom UIs. So back on that topic, maybe the learning curve for
something like Reason could be reduced if it used standard controls
instead of a custom interface. Of course some things need custom UIs
because there just isn't a standard UI element for it (like audio wave
representations or drum machine editors.) But in general I think when
you introduce a custom UI you are adding a possibly unnecessary
learning curve, unless the UI is really well done and the metaphor
appropriate (and maybe Reason is one case of this.)
> I think screens aren't that far away. We have workspaces already and
> I'm advocating that all the junk on the desktop should be removed (and
> that functionality added elsewhere), dynamic creation of workspaces
> and when I have time I'll finish my gnome-do clone so don't need the
> deskbar for everything.
I guess I don't quite understand the concept of the Amiga screens. I'm
always up for resurrecting good ideas from the past, but I'd have to
be sure something was truly useful before adding it to Haiku. If
someone has more explanation and use cases for the screens concept I'd
love to hear them.
Also as far as Johan's mission to clean-up the desktop, I do agree
that it is bad how the desktop becomes like a junk drawer, but at the
same time I think it is a good central place for the volume icons, the
trash, etc. I also think it is very good as a replicant container. And
many people are quite organized in putting files on their desktop, and
it is very useful and accessible for them. So I don't agree with
forcing the desktop to be clean just because some people make it
messy. Of course we can still provide tools like the Sorting Chute
concept I mentioned before to help people organize their files so this
messiness is less likely.
--
Regards,
Ryan
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