9 Sep
2007
9 Sep
'07
8:09 a.m.
On 08/09/2007, Roy J. Tellason <rtellason at verizon.net> wrote:
I sympathise, but most of the world does not speak English and a lot
of it can't read very well. Words need to be read, and what's more, in
these days of globalisation, words need to be translated to sell
abroad.
Icons, pictograms and so on need no translation and little literacy.
This concept is elaborated well in Neal Stephenson's /The Diamond Age/.
--
Liam Proven ? Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/liamproven
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On Friday 07 September 2007 14:44, Mr Ian Primus
wrote:
> --- Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
> > On 7 Sep 2007 at 12:22, Tim Shoppa wrote:
> > > I think older calculators actually do a better job
> > > than many modern calculators.
> >
> > Same goes for a lot of things nowadays. Auto radios--while a
> > passenger in a friend's new car, I asked how I would tune to a
> > certain local FM station. His answer? "I don't know--I haven't
> > figured out how to work the thing yet".
> >
> > I liked the old auto radios--two knobs; one for volume, the other for
> > tuning and a bunch of preset buttons in the middle. Pull to set, push
> > to switch.
>
> Agreed. In fact, I'm pretty sure that most people (people here, especially)
> will agree that user interfaces on devices of all kinds has gone downhill.
I think that for computers, the peak was in the early to mid-1990s,
when programmers got creative with buttons and toolbars and things but
the marketdroids had not yet got to it and made them festoon
everything with unnecessary options.
Clearly
labeled and obvious buttons and controls are a thing of the past.
Everything now needs to be an aesthetic design element. Cars, calculators,
hi-fi equipment, it's all turned to this mess.
Worse yet, in those cases where the user interface is entirely done in
software ("skins") it's difficult to find something without all that crap
and
that gives a basic user interface!
I wonder just what happened. All-encompassing
function knobs, menus
for Bass and Treble, confusing symbols, unlabeled indicator lamps - it's a
mess. Gone is the simplicity of a switch labeled "HEADLIGHTS", replaced with
a confusing array of symbols on a knob.
I am getting SO tired of symbols on stuff -- just tell me WTF that does!