On Nov 23, 2007 6:17 AM, Philip Poten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Jay Vaughan wrote : > > > The point is: Power Button = Turn the computer off, and on. Oh, and > > also, close apps, and .. Arrgh! Not Sensible!
I agree. > yet, this can be quite easily solved: think of the power button as > "negative action" instead of "power" > > so, the semantics would be along the lines of > > * phone: switch phone off, logout, suspend, whatever. > * item: delete, cut, "step back" > * process: kill, stop, minimize > * sound: deactive speaker, deactivate mic, lower volume > * phone functions: hang up, suspend, redirect Well Motorola does that... the red button is hang up, cancel, back up to the main screen, and oh yeah, power on/power off. But the labeling (sortof) tells you its primary functions, and having it on the front of the phone as a large button in a convenient place tells you it's intended to be used regularly. Whereas having it small, indented, on the side, and labeled as a power button tells you it's just a power button, and you should avoid hitting it by accident (since it's indented). Like the power button on some old nokia phones... On Nov 23, 2007 2:07 AM, Jay Vaughan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > And what about the things the AUX button is used now? > > > > one short button tap = close the app. > one long held button = pop up the menu. > two short taps == something else, like switch apps. That's at least as bad! The aux button is not very easy to hit. The location is questionable, and it feels like it takes more pressure. It's enough trouble to activate it once, let alone having to double-click it or hold it the right amount of time. Are these switches built to last? Since you have to press the aux button so hard, I wonder if it will break eventually? (either the switch itself could break, or the pressure could fatigue the solder joint) And I'd sure as heck not want the power button to break. So really it's better to use it sparingly, just for powering on and off. Then the phone will probably last longer. Seriously, OpenMoko should be like PalmOS in that you never have to close the apps... just make it easy to get the next app that you might want to launch, and as for the existing ones - out of sight, out of mind.
