Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces

#1

Post by tvon » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 2:34 PM UTC

Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces
ignorethecode.net

Re: Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces

#2

Post by timthorn » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 2:38 PM UTC

How is a black background with orange text a "blatant UI flaw"?

Re: Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces

#3

Post by epochwolf » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 3:22 PM UTC

From the screenshot here: http://uxmag.com/design/the-impossible-bloomberg-makeover I don't see any blatant UI flaw. It looks like a number of unix tools I use on a daily basis.

Is anyone going to suggest replacing "top" with a friendlier UI?

Re: Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces

#4

Post by kmak » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 3:23 PM UTC

BBG's GUI is not pretty, but the real reason people use it, and pay a hefty fee at that, is because it is full of things people need, and that's an understatement.

Re: Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces

#5

Post by ctkrohn » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 3:29 PM UTC

As a former trader, I can say that Bloomberg's UI is, while not perfect, in general quite good. You can do almost everything straight from the keyboard; once you get used to it, it's quite fast. In about 30 seconds, I can calculate the yield on a mortgage-backed security, see what the Treasury market is doing today, skim a list of top headlines, and show a graph of the stock market since today's open. Try doing that with Yahoo Finance!

In that sense, it's very much in the spirit of any other command line environment. But apart from any UI issues, people continue to use it because of network effects. It's got a great messaging system that everyone uses, and it's got a common set of tools shared across the entire financial system.

Old habits die hard, too. Even though I'm no longer trading, I still have an old Bloomberg keyboard on my desk.

Re: Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces

#6

Post by secret » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 3:31 PM UTC

timthorn wrote: post #2

How is a black background with orange text a "blatant UI flaw"?

I guess it's just preference, but you can see this on bloomberg.com as well. I find it blinding when switching from a page with a white background (as most have). When using the terminal itself, its not as bad for some reason, but then again I don't use it on a daily basis.

Re: Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces

#7

Post by superk » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 3:35 PM UTC

timthorn wrote: post #2

How is a black background with orange text a "blatant UI flaw"?

I once worked for a company where the Marketing department believing anything that was not dark text on a white or off-white background was hard to read. Amazing how a couple individuals could off handedly discard an entire rainbow based on a single mis-guided principle: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/28/color-theory-for-...

Re: Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces

#8

Post by nuclear_eclipse » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 3:54 PM UTC

epochwolf wrote: post #3

From the screenshot here: http://uxmag.com/design/the-impossible-bloomberg-makeover I don't see any blatant UI flaw. It looks like a number of unix tools I use on a daily basis. Is anyone going to suggest replacing "top" with a friendlier UI?

> Is anyone going to suggest replacing "top" with a friendlier UI?

`htop` is that better, friendlier UI...

Re: Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces

#9

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 3:59 PM UTC

epochwolf wrote: post #3

From the screenshot here: http://uxmag.com/design/the-impossible-bloomberg-makeover I don't see any blatant UI flaw. It looks like a number of unix tools I use on a daily basis. Is anyone going to suggest replacing "top" with a friendlier UI?

[deleted]

Re: Some Users Want Terrible User Interfaces

#10

Post by gn » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 4:07 PM UTC

Shouldn't this entry link to one of the original articles instead of to some random, er, symbiont? Sorry if I'm missing something here; I'm the new kid.