On Feb 22, 2008, at 7:38 AM, dave malouf wrote: > Digital vs. Software. Ok, then we are in agreement. I was thinking of > "software" more specifically, meaning that which is presented > through a screen, but if you want software to mean anything running > through silicon, great.
Yes. Also, as a point of clarification, the television remote example to me can be treated in the same way I think of different levels of software. Web sites are basically software, but very limited in interaction possibilities until recently, as accepted forms of Javascript interaction have become more of the norm. The amount of and type of design that goes into web sites without Javascript to supplement the interaction possibilities is an order of degree less than what goes into designing a desktop application. That's not meant as a qualitative assessment on the differences in designing a web site versus desktop applications. It's just a way to understand scale and scope of what's possible with the platform choice. I tend to focus most of my attention on software with screens, but software is software, even if it lacks a robust screen display. The television remote example is one that has levels depending on how robust the television display is used in conjunction with the remote. The more the television screen is used, like with a TiVO, the more it becomes a higher order of interface design. Further, As an interface designer, one has to be very well aware of both the limitations of the platform one is designing on, as well as what kind of input model is being used, even the hardware. I think a lot of that got lost in the web craze. Let's return to one of the core input interactions of the interface design for so long: Cut, Copy and Paste. It just so happens that C and X are right next to each other on the keyboard in the lower left quadrant, making it convenient to assign a mnemonic to Copy and Cut while also making it easy to use with one hand. But V? Not really a mnemonic. It as only chosen because it was easy to reach and right near the X and C keys. That kind of understanding of the hardware and input device and how it needs to be used within the software is fairly critical with interface design. -- Andrei Herasimchuk Principal, Involution Studios innovating the digital world e. [EMAIL PROTECTED] c. +1 408 306 6422 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
