RE: User interface suggestions

["Tom Musgrove" <TomM pentstar com>]

The recently used would be of benefit, because if I just found a new feature
I'm unlikely to recall its location.  Thus if I need to use it again, I'll
end up doing the same process of hunting it down again, thus the cost of
checking the 'recently used' bar is minimal.  (Older items might not even
expire, they might just move down a grouping in the 'freshness dating' thus
used this week, used last week, used a month ago... etc. With say some upper
limit.)  An item would only go in the recently used if it was not in the
frequently used section.  Frequently used would only have the 'search
penalty' the first use, or in the case that it no longer was frequently used
(intermittently used?), in which case it could be moved back to the recently
used, but with a freshness dating equal to its last usage.

I think that adding items directly to the frequently used has more benefit
than autogeneration, but I think the recently used would be of great
benefit.  The amount of functionality that any particular user will utilize
is fairly small, so if they go through the effort of finding a function
once, chances are, it will be used by them again.  If the time frame between
use is longer than a week, then chances are they will have to go through the
discovery process again, which is highly time consuming, but the recently
used would almost guarantee that the item would be shallow thus likely
saving the user time.

Tom M.
TomM pentstar com

-----Original Message-----
From: gnome-gui-list-admin gnome org
[mailto:gnome-gui-list-admin gnome org]On Behalf Of Calum Benson
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2000 9:02 AM
To: gnome-gui-list gnome org
Subject: Re: User interface suggestions


Tom Musgrove wrote:
>
> Perhaps we could have a floating menu/toolbar that has a list of the
> frequently used items, and perhaps another for recently used?  This would
> generate greater speed savings than the previous suggestions.

Only if you knew that an item was going to be on that menu before you
looked at it/moved the mouse over to it (which people often do
simultaneously, meaning an even greater time penalty if the thing you're
looking for turns out not to be there).

I'm only guessing, but I wouldn't be surprised if the time you spent
looking for "fairly-recently/frequently" used items (which you weren't
sure were on the list or not until you read it) outweighed any benefit.

Cheeri,
Calum.

--
CALUM BENSON, Usability Engineer       Sun Microsystems Ireland
mailto:calum benson ireland sun com    Desktop Engineering Group
http://www.sun.ie                      +353 1 819 9771

Any opinions are personal and not necessarily those of Sun Microsystems

_______________________________________________
gnome-gui-list mailing list
gnome-gui-list gnome org
http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-gui-list