Re: [9fans] UI configurability

Re: [9fans] UI configurability

[anothy]

// The problem here is not that the system can't be configured; the
// problem is that the interface has design problems.  It is much better
// to fix those problems than it is to add configurability.

this is sometimes correct. as in the cases i pointed out, sometimes the
issue is rather that different people legitamatly have different
requirements, for very good and valid physical reasons. some people
find the chording in rio and acme very dificult to use, whereas i find
it amazingly time-saving. should either one of us be forced into a fit
for the other? and simply adding more ways to do things isn't really an
option, either - that's awful design for everyone, as thigns start to
get in each other's way.

i mean, i find the new button 2 menu in rio to be longer than i'd like.
maybe i'm just not smart enough to deal with larger menus proberly, but
i could find snarf and send much more quickly when plumb wasn't in the
way. i'd love to shrink that menu size. but some people need it.

same with color contrast issues. mind you acme's got much better
choices than most editors that touch color, but for some people they
still represent problems. i've seen people with poor vision working on
high-contrast color setting in M$ Windows and X Windows; this helps
them make the computer much more usable, but it gives me migranes in
about 90 seconds (anyone seen one of these and know what i'm talking
about?). again, one size does not fit all.
ア

Re: [9fans] UI configurability

[Thomas Bushnell, BSG]

anothy@cosym.net writes:

> // That said, the amount of configurability of the
> // UI is much smaller than X windows.
>
> understatement of the week.

The problem here is not that the system can't be configured; the
problem is that the interface has design problems.  It is much better
to fix those problems than it is to add configurability.

[9fans] UI configurability

[anothy]

// That said, the amount of configurability of the
// UI is much smaller than X windows.

understatement of the week.

while i happen to really, really like rio and (nearly)
all the decisions made in its design, configurability
greater than zero would be useful. for example, i've
shown rio to people with poor vision and/or poor
motor control in their mouse hand. the narrow
borders cause problems for them, the cut,  paste,
and snarf button 2 options are indespensable, and
chording is useless (which they can safely ignore).
i love the thin borders and chording, but i'd gladly
remove the cut, paste, and snarf options in favor of
adding look and getting a shorter menu.

another common complaint of people i've shown
acme to with poor vision is the color choices. it's
been a while since i've used 2nd edition, but didn't
(or couldn't) it have seperate color maps per
window, or am i just mis-remembering?
ア