> Confusing people already familiar with Windows is a very bad thing, but > you don't have to copy Windows to avoid that.
As long as the changes are not too drastic, I don't think deviating from Windows/Explorer.exe is that much of a problem. Windows users sitting down at a Mac generally do not run away and curl up in fetal position in the corner of the room. What few people seem to forget is that Microsoft itself also makes some radical changes every now and then. I'd say that moving the location of My Computer etc. from the desktop (Win 9x) to the Start menu (which is where My Computer is on default installs of XP) is quite substantial change, often overlooked by people. Did people curl up in fetal position when upgrading to XP? I don't think so. The fear of alienating Windows users should NOT get in the way of developing a user interface. The moment it does, you might as well stop developing UIs altogether. Where would mankind be if it only stuck to what it knew? Thom Holwerda --- Managing editor of http://www.osnews.com _______________________________________________ Usability mailing list [email protected] http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/usability
