From: bcoleman@hayes.com (Bill Coleman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: Re: Multiple button mice vs keys(was: Macintosh advocacy (really!))
Date: 20 Dec 92 11:08:15 EDT
Organization: Hayes Microcomputer Products, Norcross, GA

In article <1992Dec7.181006.1218@yvax.byu.edu>, feijai@endor.byu.edu (Sean Luke) writes:
> 
> Okay.  This is not a thing that can be "solved" with aliases, etc.  It is  
> a fundamental graphical interface problem, stemming from a lot of recent  
> research.  We tend to focus on two things:  Where the cursor is (because  
> it moves around and attracts our attention) and our current working area  
> (which is usually near the center of the screen).  Things on the periphery  
> get "lost" to our minds momentarily, and it takes a bit of re-focusing to  
> do simple stuff like pull down menu bars (which are on the periphery).

The "re-focusing" may or may not be necessary. Read on....

> This problem becomes apparent mostly on large monitors, since the  
> periphery is even futher from our focus.  Examples include the Mac's menu  
> bar, the NeXT menu bar (and application title), NeXT's icon bar on the  
> right, the Mac trash can and hard drives, the Mac's scroll bar  
> arrangement, etc.
> 
> This is not my opinion, but a topic that has been researched of late.   
> Atudies in various graphics or psychology journals have been showing up  
> about focus. The NeXT got lambasted in BYTE for this very problem, though  
> the Mac has not yet been (which surprises me).
> 
> Windows' focus center is nearer its menu bars, since its menu bars are  
> tied to windows.  Hence, it's theoretically not as bad, though *I*  
> personally don't like it too much.

OK. The problem with Windows is, although the menus are closer to the
application, they aren't that much closer than the Mac, and the menus are
much, much tinier (since Mac menus have infinite height). Consider the
fact that there AREN'T any big monitors for the PC. (At least, not 
in comparison with the NeXT or Mac)

> Because the Mac's menu bar can not be easily moved to, say, the center of  
> the screen, the focus problem on Macs with large monitors cannot be easily  
> solved without the aid of unusual 3rd-party devices.  On the NeXT, the  
> menu bar also suffers from lack of focus...but the NeXT's menu bar can be  
> moved anywhere, helping out a bit.  Tear-off menus and the NeXT's menu  
> button also help.  Nonetheless, it's still a problem, and not something  
> that'll be figured out for a while.

There's a dual dilemma here. While the issue of "focus" or attention is a
true phenomenon, placing the menus close to the work is a difficult task.
Having a menu "pop up" distrupts focus as well, since the menu may or may
not cover up part of the item of interest.

The other half of the dilemma is the issue of placement. Having interface
mechanism always in the same place sets up a comfortable consistancy. The
user needs only to glance at one spot on the screen to always see the
same (expected) thing. Placing the menu part always at the top, sides or
bottom fulfills this property, while following around the work on the screen
does not.

It is an interesting engineering dilemma. Apple obviously chose one solution.
NeXT and Sun opted for another. Microsoft hedged ineffectively.

> The whole point of my original posting was that NeXT's menu choices were  
> not completely aesthetics.  There were concious decisions about the menus,  
> based on screen size, focus, etc.  Perhaps there are better ways of doing  
> it, though--after all, NeXT's design is almost a decade old (Sun had a  
> similar system early on).  Anyone?

Ah, this is the type of question that innovation springs from. If someone can
solve this interface dilemma, you'd have the basis of a whole new interface.

-- 
Bill Coleman, AA4LR                ! CIS: 76067,2327    AppleLink: D1958
Principal Software Engineer        ! Packet Radio: AA4LR @ W4QO
Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. ! UUCP: uunet!hayes!bcoleman
POB 105203 Atlanta, GA 30348 USA   ! Internet: bcoleman%hayes@uunet.uu.net
Disclaimer: "My employer doesn't pay me to have opinions."
Quote: "The same light shines on vineyards that makes deserts." -Steve Hackett.

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy