Re: [Usability] Locating the mouse pointer when it is on the bottom of the screen?

[Uno Engborg <uno webworks se>]

Maurizio Colucci wrote:

> Maurizio Colucci wrote:
>
> > Hello,
> >
> > It is common knowledge that buttons anchored to the edges of the 
> > screen are easier to click, even if they are small: it is like the 
> > button had an infinite dimension along one axis. For example, if you 
> > have a button to the top edge of the scrren, you abruptly move the 
> > mouse vertically to the top of the screen, to the very last pixel, 
> > and then you only need to adjust your pointer horizontally.
> > For this reason, I believe, Gnome (or at least Ubuntu Gnome) uses two 
> > panels by default, instead of one: because they can be put at the two 
> > edges of the screen, exploiting this logic.
> > The problem is that the bottom panel is not as easy to use as the 
> > topmost one because, if I move the mouse to the bottom of the screen, 
> > to the very last pixel, I don't see the mouse pointer anymore! It is 
> > difficult to understand where I am pointing.
> > Unfortunately, the bottom panel contains the taskbar, which is much 
> > more frequently used than the other panel.
> > Of course I can move the taskbar, but other people may not be able to 
> > do it, and in general it is a pity to waste a useful edge of the screen.
> > I thought maybe the problem could be solved by flipping the mouse 
> > pointer vertically when the mouse is on the bottom edge of the 
> > screen. What about it?
> > Mau
> I may have made a curious discovery: I watched four people who usually 
> keep the window-list (=taskbar) on bottom and two people who keep it 
> on top (sorry, I don't know anyone else who does).
> It seems that who keeps the taskbar on top tends to move the mouse 
> towards the buttons in a straight diagonal line, then adjust only 
> horizontally. On the other hand, who uses the taskbar on bottom tends 
> to reach the button along a curved line, the end of which is vertical.
> The latter behavior is of course less logical and efficient. I guess 
> they developed this habit _because_ of the limitation of not seeing 
> the cursor when it is on the absolute bottom. 
Interesting.
Perhaps we should high light the button as they are moused over. That 
way it people wouldn't need to see the curser to determin what button 
they was about to click.
Regards
Uno Engborg

Attachment: smime.p7s
Description: S/MIME Cryptographic Signature