Re: What I'm doing

[Bowie Poag <bjp primenet com>]

> 
> It's been a crazy month or so, and my one observation I have to say...could
> people please consider the importance of whatever they're arguing about?
> Could people please start asking their friends what annoys them about
> computers?  Could we all start trying to fix the things that are genuinely
> being done *WRONG* before we try to tell the world that what they think is
> right really isn't?  Help is a pain in the ass to use in most UI's.  Most
> error messages evoke fear in the user without providing a link to an
> explanation of what went wrong.

This was the very first thing I addressed in the opening remarks of the
speech I gave on Sunday. :) People have about had it with Windows, which
is a good thing, but theyre kinda unsure about wqhat needs to be done to
remedy it.. Its only when you have people proposing new ideas do the
whells of progress get to spin.

> 
> I cannot believe I spent so much time arguing about File.  Gleef, noun,
> verb, antecedant, whatever, it doesn't matter, users have no problem with
> File and seem to like it.  That's about as correct as I care about.  If we
> can manage to make everything else so perfect that users start actually
> realizing that something might be wrong with File, fine, whatever.  It just
> so happens that there are a couple thousand different things that PISS
> PEOPLE OFF about computers, and changing the File menu will actually *join
> the crowd* before pleasing people.
>

Well, the issue right now is whether or not File is going to be made
manditory or not.. Im seeing alot of argumenmts that say it should be
optional, the same way Edit is... Youre going to WANT it there , 99.9999%
of the time, but there are instances when you wouldnt (ex. Cacluator
applets, POS/cash register systems, etc)
 
> I read an interesting comment a while ago:  Open Source is succeeding now
> not because of the religion but because of the pragmatism.  Open Source apps
> work, closed source apps do not.  This is the type of slant we need this UI
> to take.  Purism?  Sure, yeah, fine, but only as far as it is pragmatically
> helpful.

More development, less chaos. See? Its the motto right underneath the logo
on my "Open But Controlled"coat of arms. :)


> 
> The orders, the icons, hell, even the whitespace are irrelevant.  This
> document we all design has to have one thing in mind:  THIS INTERFACE MUST
> WORK.  That doesn't mean it's empty, it's featureless, it's spartan.  This
> means that it interfaces better with human psychology than anything else.

Absofrigginlutely. 

> 
> I don't want to hear a *WORD* about File until everything that genuinely
> pisses off users is fixed.  How's THAT for a Proposal?
> 

Hehe.. Right on. :)

Bowie