Usability or why less is more
by Volker Weber
Joel Spolsky posted a blog entry about how offering choices to end users is not always a good thing and illustrated his point with the redesigned Start menu in Vista. Moishe Lettvin, who worked on that feature while at Microsoft (he now works at Google) gives some insights into the process that led to this result. Arno explains how this feature was designed in Mac OS X.
And since we recently discussed about "Reply without nonsense", here is a comparison between usability labs at Apple, Microsoft and Lotus.
Comments
I somehow like Joel's solution for the b'bye-Button. These articles are great. Thank you for the links...
In despair and frustration with the Betas and Release Candidates, I finally wrote a rude note to the Microsoft feedback system to say that everything I have seen of Vista so far, reinforces my long-held feeling that just as Apple have an instinct for simplicity and clarity, so Microsoft have an equally finely-honed instinct for needless complexity and clutter.
With Vista, they have outdone themselves.
I'm not expecting a reply. Any more than I expected them to do anything different.
Post a comment
Recent comments
Nick Shelness
on Foldershare, R.I.P. at 16:43
Ralf M Petter
on Foldershare, R.I.P. at 15:32
Jan Tietze
on Foldershare, R.I.P. at 14:12
Ole Saalmann
on Foldershare, R.I.P. at 13:33
Stefan Weigand
on Doc Scrubber cleans your Word document at 13:21
Doug Petrosky
on Apple TV: First impressions at 13:00
ursus schneider
on Apple TV: First impressions at 09:16
Armin Roth
on Doc Scrubber cleans your Word document at 08:56
Volker Weber
on Foldershare, R.I.P. at 08:28
Ralf M Petter
on Foldershare, R.I.P. at 08:10
Ralf M Petter
on Foldershare, R.I.P. at 08:09
Mariano Kamp
on Foldershare, R.I.P. at 07:58
Volker Weber
on Apple TV: First impressions at 06:48
Kevan Emmott
on Apple TV: First impressions at 04:44
Robert Dahlem
on Doc Scrubber cleans your Word document at 22:14
Andrew Pollack
on Jehovah at 20:11
John V. Keogh
on Apple TV: First impressions at 19:57
Jan Fuellemann
on Apple TV: First impressions at 19:22
Volker Weber
on Doc Scrubber cleans your Word document at 18:14
Michael Renner
on Doc Scrubber cleans your Word document at 17:01
Ben Poole
on Apple TV: First impressions at 15:05
Ben Poole
on Jehovah at 15:03
Chris Linfoot
on Doc Scrubber cleans your Word document at 14:50
Philipp Sury
on Apple TV: First impressions at 14:50
Tony S Lee
on Jehovah at 14:46
Click here to subscribe
