On Fri, Dec 14, 2012 at 1:23 PM, Ken Dibble <krdib...@stny.rr.com> wrote:
> >> I find restricted, single-path-through-the-task interfaces to be > annoying. Not everybody thinks or works most efficiently along the same > path. Plus you never know how close you are to being done with those > things, and sometimes going "back" doesn't work so well if you really need > to see the data you've entered in different steps at the same time--or you > get interrupted and forgot what you did back in Step 3. > > I try to organize things logically and certainly I set tab order sanely > (though a suprising number of computer users don't know how to use the tab > key or simply refuse to do so when you tell them it's available -- "Oh, I > like using the mouse.") > > In a larger sense I don't think it's always a good idea to hide complexity > from people. They get hooked on the illusion that things really are simple, > and they expect everything to be simple. I am so tired of decision-makers > who can't read a few pages of text to gain a nuanced understanding of an > issue and instead demand five or few bullet points. > > When people expect things to be simpler than they are, we should not > struggle and sweat to make them appear that way. We should tell them there > is such a thing as irreducible complexity in the world and sometimes > understanding details is important. > > Here's one of my favorite interfaces. it takes three people to run it. I spent over a year learning how to operate the right-third, and another few months to run the left-third: http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0864504.jpg It's as simple an interface as can be made for the complexity of the application. It was designed by engineers in the 50s but has held up pretty well. -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html --- _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: ProFox@leafe.com Subscription Maintenance: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/CACW6n4sdK=+B2vwfTy7McS12QP_9bPdMpwxMz4=g+mf5z67...@mail.gmail.com ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
