| [Web] Exclusive Online! A New Queens Bits Article! | ANN.lu |
| Posted on 10-Aug-2004 05:10 GMT by Lou Vidal | 56 comments
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Campaigning for the updating of the Workbench look, a new Queens Bits article traces the look of the Amiga interface from 1.3 to now. Profusely illustrated.
The official newsletter of the Queens Amiga Users Group ceased regular publication in the summer of '99 and there have been precious few articles published in the interim. Advocating a more up-to-date, professional-looking Workbench (along with accompanying OS4 applications), club president and former Queens Bits editor, Lou Vidal, has penned an appeal for a new look in the Amiga interface that can proudly hold its own against all the other OSs out there. Check it out on the QAUG website. Examples illustrating the development of Workbench from 1.3 to the future abound. Also make plans to see the ongoing demos of OS4, various machines, and sundry gadgets & goodies at our August meeting this Saturday, the 14th, starting at 11:30 am. Be there!
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List of all comments to this article| Sorted by date, most recent at bottom |
| Comment 1 | Anon | | 10-Aug-2004 04:15 GMT |
| Comment 2 | Anonymous | | 10-Aug-2004 04:33 GMT |
| Comment 3 | cheesegrate | | 10-Aug-2004 05:07 GMT |
| Comment 4 | cheesegrate | | 10-Aug-2004 05:08 GMT |
| Comment 5 | Don Cox | Registered user | 10-Aug-2004 06:15 GMT |
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| Exclusive Online! A New Queens Bits Article! : Comment 6 of 56 | ANN.lu |
| Posted by Don Cox on 10-Aug-2004 06:41 GMT | In reply to Comment 5 (Don Cox):
An example of how not to do it is LouOS4_WB_2.jpg (in the article).
This shows a window containing a dozen icons that are almost identical. So you end up having to read the name underneath. In that case, why have a picture? Leave out the pictures and the text could be bigger.
I have about 50 icons in the dock, all different shapes and sizes. Most of them do stand out clearly so I can go straight to them. But they are not a uniform set.
Another major fault in this example is the heavy background in the Dock, which makes the icons hard to see.
The area on the screen that you can click on to produce a desired result is always a rectangle. IMO icons should match the clickable area. If you make the image smaller than the clickable area, and of an irregular shape, you are making the user's task needlessly difficult.
One thing to remember is that when using an Amiga, you do not spend much time in the Workbench program. It is not like the Windows desktop, which acts as the computer's only public screen. Most of the time on an Amiga, you are using an application program, not Workbench.
However, it may be that if Amigas ever get into retail shops, some kind of pretty display is needed to attract consumers.
I was surprised at the author's negative comment about Bars and Pipes, which he admitted to not having a copy of. This actually has a very good functional interface for what is a dificult and complex task. Certainly Alfred's update which allows you to use a high resolution screen is better than the original 640x256 version, but that is true of any program.
BarsnPipes is much easier to use than Reason, in my experience. Reason is the extreme example of the habit of using a picture of a control panel instead of a control panel. It looks great in screen grabs, but is an ergonomic disaster. |
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