I don't disagree with the goal of simplicity for the youngest users (as you probably remember from other mails). I do feel that young users need such a constrained browsing experience because they can't type well and have literacy issues (can't spell urls correctly), that this should demarcate browse to be a case like TamTam where there are two alternatives. I also think many people solve the problem of young users by making a "home page" that presents constrained alternatives with icons. This is why I believe that Moodle will have to have a much simpler theme on a school server than any I have seen so far.
On Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 5:01 PM, Bobby Powers <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 7:58 PM, Eben Eliason <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > 2008/7/7 Carol Lerche <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > >> The UI seems pretty important to me, but obviously that's a matter of > >> taste. Not everyone likes tabbed browsing. Correct operation of > websites > >> that fail with the extant browser. Direct availability of plugins and > >> addons. One example: scrapbook, a superb research tool. Another > example > >> Google Gears (according to a recent mail being ported, presumably > because > >> the browser is not standard). I am not familiar with the Firefox > codebase, > >> and perhaps all these things are directly available so long as the > Firefox 3 > >> engine is there, but if so, there desperately needs to be a detailed > body of > >> documentation telling how to access these capabilities. > > > > I certainly acknowledge that a) the sparse UI isn't for everyone and > > b) the UI is young and still needs some more work (and more features). > > It started out bare bones, and is slowly gaining important features > > as we go (recently URI autocompletion, find in page text, foundational > > support for global bookmarks, and other features appeared!). It > > should also be noted that tabs were part of the initial design, and > > were taken out both to prevent abuse of RAM and because we thought > > that it might be confused adjacent to the link sharing feature, which > > we felt was a really important addition for our target audience and > > collaborative learning. I'd consider adding them in light of recent > > engine improvements, assuming we can prove that kids navigate them > > naturally. > > > > Additionally, I'd love to see other individuals with interest porting > > other browsers to the XO. I think someone was working on this with > > Opera. Perhaps a more full featured Firefox could also be Sugarized. > > However, we designed the current Browse as is to be purposely sparse, > > to give kids the basics without overloading them with things that > > could get in the way. I think there's a place for Browse as a default > > browser, especially for kids under 8 or so, even if other more complex > > browsers appear as viable alternatives. > > +1 > > > - Eben > > > -- Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck -- George Carlin
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