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From: reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach)
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng,comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: OPEN LOOK
Message-ID: <4368@pdn.UUCP>
Date: 20 Sep 88 11:11:15 GMT
References: <7099@well.UUCP> <1508@hp-sdd.HP.COM>
Reply-To: reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach)
Organization: Paradyne Corporation,   Largo FL
Lines: 30

In article <1508@hp-sdd.HP.COM> nick@hp-sdd.hp.com.UUCP (Nick Flor) writes:

>What's   wrong   with  this?  My  feeling  is  that  if  the   interface
>specification  is based on what has been proven to be an effective means
>of conveying the functional  characteristics  of the icons, then why not
>specify it exactly?

       I don't feel we completely understand the impact of windows, icons,
menus, etc.... upon the user to the point where we can definitely say that
"xyz" is the appropriate means to display this entity.  There have been
numerous studies and controled experiments conducted with crt-based user
interfaces, but relatively few with bit-mapped display oriented user 
interfaces.


>Too much freedom of expression for  programmers  leads to confusion with
>the users.

       Quite true!  How many systems have you seen where you can determine
from the user interface how exactly where in the system a different programmer
coded?




-- 
George W. Leach					Paradyne Corporation
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Phone: (813) 530-2376				P.O. Box 2826
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