Re: Get rid of the scrollbars

["foss[ilized]" <fosslistmail googlemail com>]

On 5/15/09, Fernando <ferkiwi gmail com> wrote:
> On Thu, May 14, 2009 at 4:48 AM, foss[ilized]
> <fosslistmail googlemail com> wrote:
>> Just a thought: one of the ugliest graphical items I see on almost all
>> of today's desktop environments is the scrollbar.
>>
>> I think it's time to get rid of scrollbars. With the push toward
>> "touch" computing, the scrollbar becomes a hindrance rather than an
>> aid to navigation. Users with large, wide or "clumsy" fingers are at a
>> disadvantage when trying to click, press or drag a scrollbar to pan
>> (move) a window up, down, left or right.
>
> The problem is not scrollbars... What you are searching for is an
> easier way to scroll, I don't see why scrollbars have to be removed
> for getting that.

Well, the problem for me is the scrollbars as a navigation tool. As an
indicator, maybe it has its uses. However, there are alternatives.
Look no further than the typical role-playing game. Instead of scrollbars
they have maps, which may or may not work as navigation tools.

The Gimp implements this mini-map concept when dealing with images
or views too large to fit in the screen. Of course on a small screen, such
a mini-map will be tinier than mini and will be just as difficult to use as a
scrollbar.

For an approximation of my idea of scrollbar-less navigation, take a look at
(warning: fancy Javascript!) the home page of Sabayon Linux
http://www.sabayonlinux.org/.) Of course, it may be argued that the
screenshot bar is itself a giant scrollbar. My idea is to have the navigation
surface large enough for "fat" fingers