Whiny Tech Blog Entry

[fj]

Dear Aza

You obviously have really good eyesight. Unfortunately, mobile users like my brother, a 40+ executive, do not; he has to take out his reading glasses these days to read small type. So you managed to come up with a mobile browsing organization concept that seems like it will only work on devices with at minimum iPhone-like slabs of glass, yet still manages to be about, literally, text in 2-point fonts. Also, if you browsed some old papers in the ACM Digital library -- you are a member, right? -- you could read how fish-eye and zoom-interfaces actually do not do so spectacularly well in tasks. So using them to arrange slabs of data in an already size-constrained environment in a way that leaves 50% of the screen unsused gray half the time really needs some justification here.

This is what user testing is for. Let me know how it works out with an actual cross-section of the population instead of 20-somethings. Meanwhile, look at how Sony Ericsson is doing tiling for their latest attempt, it uses the whole screen all the time.

Sincerely,
FJ!!

Comments

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Jeff is spinning in his grave.

I don't even know where to begin.

::headdesk::

[fj.livejournal.com]

I had some crunchingly stupid UI ideas when I was 25. I still do.

But then again, I wasn't leading my own company plugging myself everywhere as a UI maven at that age.

[urbear]

I second that motion. It Just. Doesn't. Work.

After years of dismissing those with Old Guy's Eyes, I find myself staring age 50 in the face. I was distressed to discover that I have to give up on using my Thinkpad's 15" screen at its native 1600x1200 resolution. I dropped it to 1280x1024, and even with the resulting slightly fuzzy edges I'm doing much better.

[fj.livejournal.com]

I promise you that in ten years you will be using your 13" screen at at least double that resolution again. Because the screen will be reflective and 600 dpi, and it will be like computing on a current magazine, for reals.

Ok, a magazine where you can adjust the font size as necessary. But far better than what you have now.

[zurcherart.livejournal.com]

Are you applying for a job?

[fj.livejournal.com]

They'd have to ask.

[zurcherart.livejournal.com]

Na, und?

[fj.livejournal.com]

We'd have to talk. Usability for Open Source projects is usually a thankless and unsupported task.

[zurcherart.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. I wasn't thinking about that Open Source conundrum.