RE: GUI necessary?

[Bob Crothers <bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My two cents:

What Douglas is talking about is not totally the fault of developers. 
 It is also the users.  They get "Lazy" and do everything via the 
mouse.  But many (not all) Windows apps can be run largely from the 
keyboard.  The problem is that nobody tells the end user that when 
they see an underline on a menu item, they can press alt and that 
letter and it will bring the menu up.  Of course, many developers are 
not very good in assuming the accelerator keys are unique on the 
panel.

Just like the Y2K problem is not totally the fault of the programmers, 
neither is mouse inefficiencies.  But yes, the programmers did help!

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From:   Douglas Handy [SMTP:dhandy@isgroup.net]
Sent:   Wednesday, December 02, 1998 1:32 PM
To:     MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
Subject:        Re: GUI necessary?

Don,

>As for Quicken, yeah, it's good stuff...but, think of the 
keystrokes...  I
>want to put in the state code for Virginia...  on a green screen I 
just
>enter VA...on a GUI...it point, click, drag, click, scroll.......at 
least
>5 functions for most states....:)

Why is it that so many people think you have to use the mouse just
because it is there?  Just type VA like you would if it was text.  If
you know the code, it is no slower.  The Enter key can be made to
operate like a tab when desired (Quicken gives this option too).

But this gets back to doing the interface right.  I've seen some combo
boxes implemented where the second keystroke repositions the list as
if it is the first letter.  So typing V takes you to Virginia (being
the first state abbreviation beginning with a V), then the A throws
you back to Alabama.  This is not an inherent fault of GUI; it is poor
design and usability testing on the part of the developer.

I contend that anything a heads down data entry operator can do in
text mode can still be done at least as fast in a *properly* designed
GUI, provided the hardware can keep up.  The main caveats here is that
most Windoze apps are not well designed or include usability testing
by keyboard users.

Doug
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