On Thu, 30 Nov 2000, Rick Welykochy wrote:
> I cannot get over the mass impression that people are somehow
> born with built-in knowledge of using a WIMP interface like
> Window or Mac. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This impression
> has arisen simply from over-exposure to that one medium. Put
> a boy raised in the jungle in front of a PC as see what happens.
> (He'll probably do the right thing and use it as a footstool
> or a projectile!)
>
> Anyone can be trained to use WIMP. Anybody can be taught to
> use a shell. Anyone can type in a command. They just have to be
> taught.
A GUI better supports the idea of user exploration, a user can scroll
through all the menus in an application to look for the item or command
they are after. GUI application also tend to be more forgiving with
yes/no ok/cancel boxes and undo feature that give the users the confidence
to try things without having to read the manual to find out the full effect
of a command.
The idea of learning an application still applies to both GUI and CLI apps
but GUI apps can use the full power of visual recongnition (size, shape
,colour and position) to allow the user to quickly learn how to perform
tasks and recongise status and event indicators.
--
+-- Nicholas Wilcox ---------------------------------------------------+
| It was Thanksgiving in New York, and about the only thing I was |
| thankful for was that I didn't live in New Jersey. |
+---------------- Kinky Friedman --------------------------------------+
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