Re: For a GUI that is easier to use

["David Grega" <webmaster overtech zzn com>]

Gnome really is sort of difficult to get used to because of this.  However,
not adhering to the current system of program names would confuse expert
users.  This can be solved by combining simplistic names with those experts
are used to.  For example instead of having "Edit your Images" or "GIMP",
the menu item can read "Edit your images in GIMP".

The key to getting Gnome even more popular is to decrease the learning
curve.  Though a user can simply go through every item and see what it does,
most people are stuck in the information age.  They don't have 5 hours to
waste to see what everything does.

Novice Gnome users also want to know how the experts feel about the programs
so they know what habits to get into.  Once they fix the winmodem problem in
Linux, we should integrate Gnome a little bit more with the internet.  For
example, the user can right-click a program and select something like "Get
expert opinion about this program" and that'd bring them to a website where
experts express their views on such that program.

- David Grega

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Pang" <rpang yahoo com>
To: <gnome-gui-list gnome org>
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2000 8:12 PM
Subject: For a GUI that is easier to use


> Hi folks,
>
> I consider myself an expert computer users but I
> increasing find computers, even those with a
> GUI/windowing interface, difficult to use.
>
> One thing I find it particular difficult to do is to
> think about what programs to start. Every time when I
> want to do something with my computer, for example, to
> check e-mails, to look for information in the Web, to
> balance my check-book, etc., I need to think about
> what programs to use. Sometimes it takes a few seconds
> for me to recognize that I need to start Netscape to
> surf the Web, or to start Quicken to balance my
> check-book. Imagine this from a computer novice's (or
> illiterate) point of view, not from a computer
> expert's point of view.
>
> Maybe you will think this is stupid. But I think the
> way we present what a computer is capable of doing in
> an object-oriented (or program-oriented) manner is
> counter-intuitive to a computer user, especially to a
> novice user. Why should someone go through "Programs
> -> Internet -> Netscape" menu sequence to check
> stock-quotes? Why can't I use the sequence "Check ->
> Stock-quote" to check stock-quotes? Let the computer
> figure out that it needs to start a browser (whatever
> browser is installed in the computer) and go to a
> financial Web page. Of course, this can be done by
> just installing a URL link in the "Start" menu, naming
> the link as something like "Check stock-quote",
> letting the "OS" invoke the system's default browser
> and pass the URL link to it. Indeed, this is really
> what I want to do on my computer before the windowing
> system will organize programs for me in this way.
>
> To put it in simpler terms, I wish the GUI of a
> computer to be "task-oriented" instead of
> "program-oriented". A user-interface should presents
> to the users the "what's" (what the computer is
> capable of doing) instead of the "how's" (how to do
> such things). I envision that such a system will have
> the system menus (namely the "Start" menu in Windows,
> or the main menu in "Gnome") to be full of verbs
> instead of nouns. We can have a "Check" menu with
> "E-mail" and "Stock-quote" sub-menus, "Write" menu
> with "E-mail" and "Check" sub-menus, "Buy" menu with
> sub-menus with all the things you can buy. Also,
> imagine that installing software on a computer is
> really installing new capabilities of a computer
> (teaching the computer new tricks). I care more for
> what a computer can do and less for what software a
> computer has.
>
> Just my 2 cents. What's your opinion on it?
>
> Rob
>
>
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