HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: akm@getafix.cs.uoregon.edu (Anant Kartik Mithal)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Re: Am I being turned into a handicapped programmer?
Date: 10 Oct 92 01:44:15 GMT
Article-I.D.: cs.1992Oct10.014415.2189
Organization: University of Oregon Computer and Information Sciences Dept.

I'd like to suggest that there is more to discrimination against left
handed people (i'm right handed myself) than just having pointing
devices that are designed for right handed people.

I appreciate Apple's way of dealing with the problem: have just one
button, and Window's way of dealing with the problem: swap buttons
around. Of course, neither approach helps much if the pointing device
is physically non-symmetrical.

But there is more to the left handed - right handed debate. For one,
handwriting in languages that go from left to right across the page
are biased in favor of right handed people. It is easier to write
'outwards' (try it if you don't believe me) than inwards. So,
languages based on Arabic scripts should be easier for left-handed
people to write. If for no other reason than: if you use an ink pen,
and you have the 'normal' right handed grip, not the 'inverted' left
handed grip that some lefties have to effect, *and* you are left
handed, then you are likely brushing your hand over ink that is still
wet... 

Putting the trash can in the bottom *right* hand corner favors right
handed people...

It is also true that there isn't a lot that can be done about much of
these discrepencies, but I'm just pointing them out...

cheers,

kartik



-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you quote my article remember to trim it down to the essentials.
Anant Kartik Mithal, Network Manager, Ph.D. Student	akm@cs.uoregon.edu
Comp. Science, U of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 (503)346-3989 (503)346-5373 (fax)
From: izeek@techunix.technion.ac.il (Ilan Aisic)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Re: CD case design problem
Date: 16 Oct 92 11:45:26 GMT
Organization: Technion, Israel Institute of Technology

EIVERSO@cms.cc.wayne.edu writes:

>On recurring problem I have is assuming that the CD is in the case.
>Unlike good old record albums, CD cases (most of them) weigh more than
>the CD they are meant to carry. I consider it to be a flaw of CD case
>design, that I cannot always tell if the CD is inside or not without
>opening the case to check.

>Any thoughts on this?

>--Eric

I agree.  I also agree with the gripe someone else had about the way
the booklet is inserted and how hard it is to remove it.
I have another complaint about this plastic case: The hinges tend
to break and the whole thing tends to crack (This always happen to me
when I fly and take a few CDs in a suitcase with me)
    ____
     /  /   __ 
    /  /   /_/ /| /
 __/_ /__ / / / |/   o o o
 
ilan@allink.com
From: mennie@bcrki39.bnr.ca (Bill Mennie 3-4473)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Re: CD case design problem
Date: 16 Oct 92 16:40:44 GMT
Reply-To: mennie@bcrki39.bnr.ca (Bill Mennie 3-4473)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Ottawa, Canada

In article <16881E754.EIVERSO@cms.cc.wayne.edu>,
EIVERSO@cms.cc.wayne.edu writes:
> On recurring problem I have is assuming that the CD is in the case.
> Unlike good old record albums, CD cases (most of them) weigh more than
> the CD they are meant to carry. I consider it to be a flaw of CD case
> design, that I cannot always tell if the CD is inside or not without
> opening the case to check.
>  
> Any thoughts on this?
>  
> --Eric

I agree.

Another problem is that the case has extremely sharp corners.  It is
VERY easy to scratch a CD as you are putting it into the case.


Cheers,

Bill

William E. Mennie        | Phone:    (613) 763-4473 | BNR is in no way
Bell-Northern Research   | Internet: mennie@bnr.ca  | responsible for the
P.O. Box 3511, Station C |                          | preceding ideas or
Ottawa, Ont. K1Y 4H7     |                          | opinions
From: johnl@spinner.cs.indiana.edu (John Lacey)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Re: Am I being turned into a handicapped programmer?
Date: 15 Oct 92 23:22:24 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.1992Oct16.042251.13075
Organization: Computer Science, Indiana University

seidman (Aaron Seidman) writes:

> I am another right-hander who prefers to use the mouse with my left
> hand.  When I first started using a system that had a mouse I realized
> that I was overloading my right hand, typing, using the keypad, and
> handling the mouse.

And I am another left-hander who uses the mouse (exclusively) right-handed.

I think the main reason is that I use paper a lot when I am using a
computer--for both reading and writing.  Having the mouse on the left
would interfere with that.

Also, I have noticed that I tend to use my right hand for things other
taught me to do, and my left for things I taught myself.  I don't
recall whether this has any bearing on my use of the mouse.

-- 
``Each man must look to himself to teach him the meaning of life.  It is not
  something discovered: it is something moulded.''  --Antoine de Saint Exupery
From: de19@umail.umd.edu (Dana S Emery)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Re: How would you explain this to a user...
Date: 8 Oct 92 12:56:44 GMT
Followup-To: comp.human-factors
Distribution: na
Organization: Personal

In article <1992Oct6.203918.11687@schunix.uucp>, sonix@schunix.uucp (Duane
Morin) wrote:
> [...]

> Currently:  The FFT is taken on 4096 points, and the most relevant 25pts are
> kept and displayed.  The ideal trace is saved as a baseline of 25 pts, with
> a tolerance (that varies from one end to the other).  Both traces are 
> graphed, and the user is essentially shown whether or not the line falls 
> within the envelope.  
> 
> We are trying to redefine this so that it will be more intuitive to the users.
> Some sort of analogy toward "hitting a target" or somesuch may work.  
> 
> [....]  All the user's
> task should be is to look at a picture and see whether or not it has passed
> or failed the diagnostic test.  If necessary, they will be able to print 
> this picture and send it to us for diagnosis.
> 

I dont unbderstand why you have to ask the user to interpret the graph for
you.

surely you can do the comparison and send yourself mail, or ask the user to
send you mail?
--

Dana S Emery <de19@umail.umd.edu> | "Novo, de Novo,
                                  |     de novo, de no-o-o-o-o---, 
                                  | Novemba come an' dey gonna go home."
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
From: tvtjet@eua.ericsson.se (Jorgen Eriksson)
Subject: Re: Am I being turned into a handicapped programmer?
Organization: Ellemtel Telecom Systems Labs, Stockholm, Sweden
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 09:08:02 GMT

Dick made a very interesting point of view indeed, being a "right-hander" 
myself i have to admit a haven't give this matter much thought. A couple of 
weeks ago, after a discussion with a couple of my colleagues, i launched a 
question in our local news. I asked left-handed persons with which hand they 
operated the mouse. I didn't get a massive response (pity), but all (4) used 
their right hand to operate the mouse. Just a reflection...

	Jorgen (Jorgen.Eriksson@eua.ericsson.se)

PS. If you are left-handed, drop me an email and let me know which hand you use.
From: izeek@techunix.technion.ac.il (Ilan Aisic)
Subject: Re: repeated motion injury
Organization: Technion, Israel Institute of Technology
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 12:25:27 GMT

YES! 
And I thought I was the only one...  For some reason, I was lead to
believe that problems like this happen from keyboards but that mice
are much "nicer, natural and intuitive".
In fact, I tend to develop pains in my right hand and wrist after 
only 20-30 minutes of using a mouse-based program.
This is true for the cheap "Agiler" mouse I use on my PC.  With the
optical mouse I use on my Sun SPARC, it doesn't happen that soon.
As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, the Sun's mouse' buttons
are flat and long and thus you don't have to bend your fingers much.
In addition, its buttons click easier and softer than those of the
Agiler.

Ilan Aisic
Software Consultant
Graphical User Interfaces
ilan@allink.com

Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
From: bengting@iti.gov.sg (Tan Beng Ting (CCL))
Subject: SILENT KEYBOARDS
Keywords: keyboards
Reply-To: bengting@iti.gov.sg
Organization: Information Technology Institute, National Computer Board, S'pore
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1992 02:03:30 GMT

Hi,

I am helping my friend working in the COURTROOM to look for a keyboard that
will NOT generate any sound when user enters data. Would appreciate very
much if anyone of you know or have used such keyboards please send me an e-mail. 
Please indicate the contact addresses of the vendors and the features provided 
by the keyboards. 

Beng Ting, Tan
e-mail: bengting@iti.gov.sg
Fax: (65) 779-5966
Tel: (65) 772-0547
From: timbomb@cs.uq.oz.au (Tim Mansfield)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Apogee UIMS references?
Date: 12 Oct 92 07:49:23 GMT
Reply-To: timbomb@cs.uq.oz.au

I'm looking for reasonably up-to-date references on the Apogee UIMS from 
UofArizona. I have 

Hudson, Scott E., "Graphical Specification of Flexible User Interface Displays"
Proc of ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, 
November 1989

But that only describes the UIMS briefly. Is there anything more recent and/or 
more comprehensive?

(too lazy to walk down to the library and check a citation index when he can 
 post to USENET)

tim
--
Tim Mansfield                                         timbomb@cs.uq.oz.au
Dept of Comp Sci, Uni of Qld, Australia, 4072           +61 (0)7 365 2956
"Nothing is wrong with the idea that there would be a God...  
		who changes the water." mvs@softway.oz (Mark V. Shaney)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
From: bq276@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Michael Seese)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: BBS in Ottawa
Date: 9 Oct 1992 13:01:39 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc4.ins.cwru.edu


I will be in Ottawa Oct 12-16 for the conference on multimedia.

If anyone knows the phone number of a BBS which will allow me to
access the Usenet, I'd appreciate it if you could post that
number, as well as any relevent information regarding access,
etc.

PS  If you're going to be at the conference, look me up.
-- 

Michael Seese
Cleveland, OH (and darned happy to be here)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
From: joet@dcatlas.dot.gov (Joe Trott)
Subject: Re: Am I being turned into a handicapped programmer?
Organization: U.S Dept. of Transportation
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 18:00:39 GMT


I am genotypically left handed.  I was also phenotypically left handed until
I was 20.  To me, the issue of handedness was never much more than a source
of humor.  I could see clearly how scissors worked, and could operate them
left-handed if necessary.  I actually preferred writing on "right handed"
desks, where the support is under the right arm (it would have been
irritating under the left).  I was occasionally annoyed by looseleaf
binders with big rings, because they interfered with writing near the left
margin.  I always held a pen in essentially a right-handed style grip, but
I do not recall ever coming home from school with ink all over my left
hand (maybe I extended my fingers more).
It never occurred (sp?) to me to use a rat with my left hand, although I
think I had pretty much switched to doing things right-handed before I did
much with "alternate input devices".
Haven't studies shown that lefties have a greater chance of being [more]
ambidextrous than righties?  Even in elementary school, I thought it
would be "neat" to learn to write with my right hand.  Now I do, and it is
as neat as my left handed writing ever was.

In any case, I still say that lefties are the only people in their right
minds.

-JTT

PS. Sorry for rambling a little off the thread.
From: heinzl@jaws (Heinz Lottermoser)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Re: Am I being turned into a handicapped programmer?
Date: 15 Oct 92 17:03:41 GMT
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

Jorgen Eriksson (tvtjet@eua.ericsson.se) wrote:
: Dick made a very interesting point of view indeed, being a "right-hander" 
: myself i have to admit a haven't give this matter much thought. A couple of 
: weeks ago, after a discussion with a couple of my colleagues, i launched a 
: question in our local news. I asked left-handed persons with which hand they 
: operated the mouse. I didn't get a massive response (pity), but all (4) used 
: their right hand to operate the mouse. Just a reflection...
: 
: 	Jorgen (Jorgen.Eriksson@eua.ericsson.se)
: 
: PS. If you are left-handed, drop me an email and let me know which hand you use.

Just for informations sake... I am left handed, but I use both hands for
the mouse, depending on the type of manipulation needed and desk space.

I currently have both CPU's on my desk with the mouse on the left side, but
I know for a fact that it doesn't necessarily mean I use my left hand.  I
also have a micro/macro manipulation bias in which I do more detailed work
with my left hand while gross movements like menus or scrollbars I do with
my right hand.  This micro/macro bias is hemispherically brain related and is 
reflected in most of my other manipulations also.  You will probably find
that most people display this trait to some degree.  
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
From: mguyott@eriador.prime.com (M. Guyott)
Subject: Re: Am I being turned into a handicapped programmer?
Organization: /etc/organization
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 17:47:56 GMT

In article <1992Oct9.100328.11193@syma.sussex.ac.uk> andyh@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Andrew Holyer) writes:
>
>Well, for myself, I'm (strongly) left-handed, and I always use a mouse
>with my right hand.

I'm right handed and I always use a mouse with my left hand for the same
reasons.  I am using one of the more generic appearing (older?) Microsoft
mice that seems only slightly right hand oriented (i.e. the left most button,
the one for the index finger of the right hand, is larger then the right
most button).  I have gotten used to working with this mouse.

Marc
----
Two of the worst things we teach our children are that a knowledge of science
is nice but not necessary, and a knowledge of sex is necessary but not nice.

Marc Guyott              Constellation Software, Inc.          (508) 620-2800
                         Framingham, Mass. 01701 USA                Ext. 3135
mguyott@primerd.prime.com       ...!{uunet, decwrl}!primerd.prime.com!mguyott
mguyott@eriador.prime.com       ...!{uunet, decwrl}!eriador.prime.com!mguyott
From: ceb@dbrus.Unify.Com (Caroline E. Bryan)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Re: Am I being turned into a handicapped programmer?
Date: 9 Oct 92 17:15:59 GMT
Organization: /usr/lib/news/organization

In article <1992Oct7.072030@eklektix.com> rcd@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn) writes:
>
>... Someone recently pointed out an ad for a laptop computer with a pointing
>device claimed to be "ergonomically designed"--the distinguishing charac-
>teristic being that it is explicitly tuned to right-handed use!  It is
>becoming more and more common to create pointing devices which can only be
>used with the right hand.
>
>The incidence of left-handedness in the general population is about 10%.
>That's a lot to ignore.  I suspect (and various others corroborate the
>suspicion) that the incidence of left-handedness among serious computer
>users is as much as twice that of the general population.

Some 20 years ago or so someone did a Master's thesis showing that lefthanded
people make up about 25% of the population of people getting Master's de-
grees.  (Also, for a freshman genetics course (also about 20 years ago), I
surveyed the Vassar College student population and found that about 25% of
the students there were left-handed.)  The Master's thesis suggested that the
mental agility required to adapt to a right-handed world from early childhood
tended to make lefthanded people more successful in all mental activities
than righthanded people.  So your perception that lefthanded people are more
concentrated in high-tech activities than in the general population is quite
possibly accurate.

Do not despair, however.  It took scissors manufacturers generations to fig-
ure out that lefthanded people who used righthanded scissors tended to view
the scissors as being at fault, not themselves.  All the better quality
scissors (and garden shears and secaturs) manufacturers now offer lefthanded
scissors at the same price as righthanded ones.  A little agitation by 25%
of mouse- and pointer-makers' potential customers ought to inspire the more
quality-conscious manufacturers to smell the coffee in a tad less time than
it took the scissors manufacturers.

I use the mouse right-handed, myself, but only because piano lessons trained
agility into my right hand I wouldn't have otherwise.


Carrie		ceb@rechenau.unify.com		x 6244  ----------------+
|  I don't belong to any organized political party:  I'm a Democrat.	|
|						-- Will Rogers		|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
From: raveling@Unify.com (Paul Raveling)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Re: Am I being turned into a handicapped programmer?
Date: 12 Oct 92 19:37:05 GMT
Organization: Unify Corporation (Sacramento)

In article <1992Oct8.090802.19541@eua.ericsson.se>, tvtjet@eua.ericsson.se (Jorgen Eriksson) writes:
> ... I asked left-handed persons with which hand they 
> operated the mouse. I didn't get a massive response (pity), but all (4) used 
> their right hand to operate the mouse. Just a reflection...

	That strikes me as slightly odd...  keyboard manufacturers generally
	make it easiest to use the left hand on the mouse.  Most extend
	the keyboard to the right with one or more clusters of function
	keys -- DEC is the worst I've seen -- so handling the mouse
	requires a long reach with the right hand or a short reach with
	the left hand.  I find the left-handed reach far more comfortable.

	BTW, I'm either somewhat ambidextrous or just equally inept
	with both hands.  I do tend to use the right hand almost exclusively
	for things where the tool requires it (e.g., cutting with scissors)
	or the task makes it advantageous (e.g., writing in the customary
	left-to-right direction).


------------------
Paul Raveling
Raveling@Unify.com
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
From: caldwell@ie.engr.wisc.edu (Barrett Caldwell)
Subject: Re: conference session announcement
Organization: /usr/local/lib/organization
Date: 9 Oct 92 15:51:29 CDT

Sorry about the poor line control before.  This post is repeated...


I have been invited by the program chairman of the 5th International 
Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI '93) to organize a parallel 
or interactive session on Social Aspects of HCI.  HCI '93 will be held 
August 8-13, 1993, at the Hilton at Walt Disney World Village,Orlando, 
Florida, USA.  To acknowledge the International Space Year (and my own 
long-term interests in this area), I would like to propose a session 
(presentations and/or interactive discussions of work in progress) entitled,
"Electronic Environments for Long-Duration Space Flight: Social Aspects of 
HCI in Space."  


If you are interested in participating in either a presentation or a 
discussion session on this topic, please contact me by November 2, 1992 
with your name, affiliation, and a brief (< 50 words) description of your 
proposed contribution.  I will be contacting all respondents regarding 
acceptance and presentation of the session as soon as possible after 
December 1, 1992.  Thank you for your interest and ideas.  Please distribute 
this notice to anyone you may consider interested and knowledgeable in 
this area.

Sincerely,
Barrett S. Caldwell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Industrial Engineering, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison
1513 University Ave., Rm 379, Madison, WI 53706-1572  	
VOICE: (608) 262-2414 	FAX: (608) 262-8454
caldwell@engr.wisc.edu / BSCALDWELL@WISCMACC / barrett@grouper.ie.wisc.edu
        	       	       	       	       	       	       	      	
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
From: mayoka@csgrad.cs.vt.edu (Kevin A. Mayo)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Repost:  User Classes Survey
Date: 13 Oct 92 13:37:11 GMT
Organization: VPI&SU Computer Science Department, Blacksburg, VA


Recently (10/5) I posted a survey on user classes and their impact
on user interface design.  

I have not received many replies, so I am re-posting.  If you are involved
with user interface design at your site, please take 5 minutes to fill
this survey out.  It will give the use-net population an idea of
the level of formalisms used in real practice.  Also, if you do not
have a set process/formalism, please let me know--that is important
too!  (I will assure anonymity of all responders!)

I seek replies (either post or email directly to
mayoka@vtopus.cs.vt.edu) from all interested individuals.
I will post a summary.

  o  How do you (or your company) produce user class profiles?  
        survey/interview/focus groups/ESP/??

  o  How do you (or your company) record user class profile information?  
     Do you (or your company) have a specific formats/forms/notations?
     If so, can you share blank copies of those forms or samples 
     of notations?

  o  How do you (or your company) reconcile multiple user classes within
     a single user-interface design?  I.e., what in your UI design process
     takes care of multiple user classes?

Thank you for your reply in advance.
--
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------------------+
| Kevin A. Mayo (mayoka@vtopus.cs.vt.edu) | The shortest path between any |
| CS Department / VA Tech / a.k.a. VPI&SU |   two points is through hell. |
| Blacksburg, Virginia   24061 USA        +-------------------------------+
| 703-231-6470/6931 (W)  703-951-4337 (H) |     My thoughts are my own.   |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------------------+
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
From: lark@ruby.ora.com (Lar Kaufman)
Subject: Re: Am I being turned into a handicapped programmer?
Organization: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 19:52:33 GMT

In article <tuod408@Unify.Com>, raveling@Unify.com (Paul Raveling) writes:
|> In article <1992Oct8.090802.19541@eua.ericsson.se>, tvtjet@eua.ericsson.se (Jorgen Eriksson) writes:
|> > ... I asked left-handed persons with which hand they 
|> > operated the mouse. I didn't get a massive response (pity), but all (4) used 
|> > their right hand to operate the mouse. Just a reflection...
|> 
|> 	That strikes me as slightly odd...  keyboard manufacturers generally
|> 	make it easiest to use the left hand on the mouse.  Most extend
|> 	the keyboard to the right with one or more clusters of function
|> 	keys -- DEC is the worst I've seen -- so handling the mouse
|> 	requires a long reach with the right hand or a short reach with
|> 	the left hand.  I find the left-handed reach far more comfortable.
|> 
|> 	BTW, I'm either somewhat ambidextrous or just equally inept
|> 	with both hands.  I do tend to use the right hand almost exclusively
|> 	for things where the tool requires it (e.g., cutting with scissors)
|> 	or the task makes it advantageous (e.g., writing in the customary
|> 	left-to-right direction).
|> 

In my (lefty) day-to-day living, I have had plenty of experience in doing 
tasks designed for right-handers.  I consider coping with a right-handed 
mouse to be a simple task, not worthy of the effort of coping with
descriptions of procedures designed for right-handers, etc.  It might be a 
bit different were I doing graphics* and the like that required fine motor 
control, but I just use a mouse for routine window operations - not worth 
the trouble of customizing the setup.

It isn't like the hazard of left-handed use of a right-handed circular saw 
(with safety guard) - something that somehow the power-tool manufacturors
still manage to ignore.

-lar

  *Vendors of graphics products should take this problem seriously; I think 
   you will find that in creative arts there is a much higher ratio of
   lefties than in the general user population.

-- --
Lar Kaufman                                       This is only my opinion.
Publishing Tools Specialist
O'Reilly and Associates, Inc.
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors