21-07-2004 07:06									#181
	Got spare money?

Asher, only a monkey couldn't work out how to operate the Search Box. You're splitting hairs and making objections that have no practical import. Even my wife worked out how to do it first go.

I guess your HIC training missed "The Blindingly Obvious 101".

	21-07-2004 07:10									#182
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

quote: Originally posted by Agathon Asher, only a monkey couldn't work out how to operate the Search Box. You're splitting hairs and making objections that have no practical import. Even my wife worked out how to do it first go. I guess your HIC training missed "The Blindingly Obvious 101".

Blingingly Obvious 101 is all of the freshmen philosophy courses.

There are way better ways to make that search dialog box less ambiguous and more precise, without making it harder to use. Apple just didn't think very hard.

It's kinda funny how your argument revolves around "well people can figure out how to do it" -- that's not the point. The idea is you can LOOK at an interface, a screenshot, and know exactly what everything does. It's one of the fundamental guidelines.

You cannot do that with that dialog, and it's something that's easy to do.

I don't consider myself a novice user, and I'd have to click the + buttons (and try clicking the - buttons, since they don't look greyed out at all to me), to see what they do.

And that right there is a sign of a bad interface.

	21-07-2004 07:14									#183
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Here's the XP Classic search interface.

It's unambiguous and more obvious what you're doing, no?

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	21-07-2004 07:27									#184
	Support Apolyton

quote: I remember Asher once argued that having a big, green "X" icon for Microsoft Excel X would confuse people (I'm sure Drake remembers that one).

It was indeed a classic...

	21-07-2004 07:28									#185
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

It is funny, but it's true. She didn't know what "Excel" was and was afraid to click it, since an "X" is the same shape as the Windows Close thing, so she thought it might "close" the computer since it was so large on the desktop...

For all this talk about the Mac being easier to use, it's bullshit. It's counter-intuitive to have a single menubar, detached from the window it controls. That's the main thing.

Another example is all of the little things, like that search dialog.

You guys wouldn't know the first thing about designing a decent interface. You mock me for nitpicking inconsistencies and ambiguities, but that's how great interfaces are made.

	21-07-2004 08:55									#187
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

I have to agree with Asher in this case, the XP interface in unambiguous whereas the other one is not. It does have a pretty gay rainbow however, what is that for?

	21-07-2004 09:09									#188
	Full PM-box? Change here!

quote: Originally posted by Flinx I have to agree with Asher in this case, the XP interface in unambiguous whereas the other one is not. It does have a pretty gay rainbow however, what is that for?

The XP interface is missing a way to specify multiple optional keywords, multiple date ranges, and so on.

	21-07-2004 09:32									#189
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

What good is selecting multiple date ranges if you don't know if it'll be an AND, OR, BETWEEN, or NOTBETWEEN?

	21-07-2004 09:33									#190
	Increase Your PM Length

In other news, DragonflyBSD 1.0 is out.

Off to a very nice start!

	21-07-2004 09:55									#191
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

quote: Originally posted by Asher What good is selecting multiple date ranges if you don't know if it'll be an AND, OR, BETWEEN, or NOTBETWEEN?

I am not familiar with the interface, but I suspect that an And/Or field would pop-up somewhere. This fight is stupid.:P

	21-07-2004 09:59									#192
	Tired of ads?

Two icons, simple grey background. Two many icons and a complex image in the background slow down your computer. I like fast, fast, fast.

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	21-07-2004 09:59									#193
	Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

Apparently it doesn't let you select multiple date ranges in the first place:


It just forces you to click to reveal the option to have a date range.

	21-07-2004 10:28									#194
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

Hay I'll post my desktop.

Two monitors are better than one

Click thumbnail for fullsize:

	21-07-2004 10:49									#195
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

quote: Originally posted by Asher Apparently it doesn't let you select multiple date ranges in the first place: It just forces you to click to reveal the option to have a date range.

Fine. You win the debate. Congratulations.

	21-07-2004 12:28									#196
	Suffering from ads?

quote: I have to agree with Asher in this case, the XP interface in unambiguous whereas the other one is not. It does have a pretty gay rainbow however, what is that for?

There are no gay rainbows at Apple anymore.

I think the XP method is stupid. The "advanced options" aren't particularly advanced, nor is there any need to separate them.

With the Apple Method you add all the criteria you want and it doesn't take up half the screen. And it's consistent across all the apps that use it.

+ means "add a new criterion"; - means "subtract this criterions

Hardly rocket science. I don't even remember being confused at all the first time I used it, but then again I'm not struck dumb with terror at the sight of a big green X.

	21-07-2004 15:53									#197
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

My new and cleaned desktop, not so busy anymore eh

Last edited by laurentius on 21-07-2004 at 16:00

	21-07-2004 15:55									#198
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

That is lovely. Is that Detroit?

	21-07-2004 16:06									#199
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

detroit?

	21-07-2004 16:18									#200
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

I was joking. They don't have electric lighting in Detroit.

It looks like something out of Star Wars or Trantor from the Foundation books.

	21-07-2004 16:20									#201
	Remove this text

lucky guess, its coruscant

	21-07-2004 16:28									#202
	Increase the size of your Attachments

I feel vindicated.

	21-07-2004 19:03									#203
	Increase Your PM Length

What is with all of the crop circles?

	21-07-2004 20:28									#204
	Inflate your Upload Space

Getting OSX forces me to get a new desktop...

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	22-07-2004 22:54									#205
	Got spare money?

WTH is that icon 4th from the bottom of your dock.

	22-07-2004 23:14									#206
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Please excuse the Desktop messiness.
I can't decide:

Fort George?

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	22-07-2004 23:15									#207
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Or St Andrews?

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	22-07-2004 23:26									#208
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

Fort George

	22-07-2004 23:27									#209
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

Fort George

	22-07-2004 23:44									#210
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

BC

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