Re: [Usability] Contribution

[Calum Benson <Calum Benson Sun COM>]

On 30 Aug 2006, at 13:30, Maxim Udushlivy wrote:
> > .
> That is the problem: those checklists become constraints that  
> hinder UI
> innovation. As a programmer (artist to some extent) I want to learn
> common sense principles that possibly would allow me to implement
> interface in a more productive way than guidelines authors may  
> think of
> - and not to loose my personality by just following templates.

The HIG provides many of those principles too, and we actually made a  
point of putting them at the front of the document, rather than the  
back.  Like many things in the HIG, it could do with a refresh, though.

> Windows programmers manage to create successful applications without
> guidelines.

Hardly.. the Windows guidelines are the thickest ones on my bookshelf:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/ 
dnwue/html/welcome.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/Resources/windowsxp/default.mspx

> I disagree with HIG existence (more below) - but I suppose
> my opinion is not very important here ;)

If you remember the mess GNOME was becoming before the guidelines  
existed, your opinion may be a little different :)

> So here is that principle that I think make Google successful: reduce
> number of UI controls and expand application functionality while
> preserving UI/functionality coherency. I think that consumer  
> electronics
> inherently follow this principle (TV, video recorders, phones, etc.)

Yet video recorders and phones have historically had some of the  
worst UIs imaginable... so there must be more to it than that.

> Some thoughts about being a Gnome application...
> I remember there was such a thing on Windows as application
> certification. Perhaps it was not very useful on Windows but Gnome may
> adopt this process.

It's already being discussed; feel free to add your thoughts to  
http://live.gnome.org/GnomeCertification.

Cheeri,
Calum.

--
CALUM BENSON, Usability Engineer       Sun Microsystems Ireland
mailto:calum benson sun com            Java Desktop System Team
http://blogs.sun.com/calum             +353 1 819 9771

Any opinions are personal and not necessarily those of Sun Microsystems