Re: [Usability] Usability Digest, Vol 33, Issue 23

[Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt myrealbox com>]

On Jan 19, 2007, at 8:32 AM, Ethan Anderson wrote:
> What we need is a feature that lets the user set a desktop mode or 
> property such that all windows are maximised by default, and whenever 
> focus is put on one window, the other windows are minimized.  A 
> feature.  That simple.  All too often, I have to do that myself.  And 
> then, transparency looks ugly.  It could be quite elgant with that 
> simple set of preferences.
>
>  Please do this.  You can never regret giving the user an option.

You must be new here. ;-)

>  Defaults, however, can vary by distro.  We should make "orange", 
> where everything is layed out for elegance and speed.  To counter 
> apple's macs, of course.  Maybe that's just ubuntu.

Ironically since you mention Apple, Mac OS X betas had this: a 
"single-window mode" button in the title bar, that when turned on made 
only one window appear on-screen at a time. It was pulled before 10.0.

>  Still, can anyone deny that this feature is a good idea?  Looks like 
> this:
>  Settings preset one: "Workstation mode"
>  <X> enable single-window mode
>  <X> maximise all frames by default

Any time a control's label starts with "Enable", there's something not 
quite right. (It's the interface design equivalent of what programmers 
call a "code smell".) Sometimes the label can be reworded to express 
something users might actually be interested in doing. Sometimes it 
can't, which is a good sign that the option shouldn't exist.

>  Then, the user could switch between settings sets as well.  Like, 
> settings themes.  Imagine that.  Enable Windows settings theme, or 
> enable Mac settings theme.  A good platform is chameleon.
>  That is flexibility and power.

Them: "I just made a DVD of my photos and movies. Can your PC do that?"
You: "No, but I can auto-maximize my windows. Ha!"

--
Matthew Paul Thomas
http://mpt.net.nz/