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Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

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Re: Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

#161

Post by rvba »

rayiner wrote: post #132
rvba wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still dont know how to easily save files on local computer in MS Office without pressing F12.

Wow, I didn’t know about F12! Maybe they could remap that to something that doesn’t require reaching for the function row. Maybe CTRL-S.

What I want to do: I created a new file that I want to save in a new folder on shareddrive.

Using your method:

1. Make a new spreadhseet, press CTRL+S

2. Get some super limited menu with few last locations -> doesnt include any of the locations I need

3. Click on random location, ten you have to go down and choose "more locations" -> again doesnt have any of the locations I need, neither on shared drive or local computer; at least there is a shortcut to desktop (in the past it wasnt there since they were pushing cloud even more)

4. The next menu shows you more locations - but still not the new location that you want, so you have to find "browse" button.

Why not press F12 and get a browse button?

Maybe at your work you have one spreadsheet or one PDF, but I often have few open. I also dont even mention the problem of interlinked files (especially Excel files) and Sharepoint, where the folder address become impossible to work with.

Re: Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

#162

Post by hulitu »

abigail95 wrote: post #150
est31 wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hostile to users like us that can deal with a lot of data at the same time. But many people when they see "old style" UIs get overwhelmed by the mass of information and data, and having that information subdivided helps people. Sadly, they are the majority and we are the minority, so UIs get designed for them and not for us. Nowadays computing systems are being used by the 99% so they are also designed for the 9…

Has anyone tested this? Is Office(CurrentYear) easier to use than 1997?

Current office is mess. To "Save As..." you need 4 clicks just to open the god damn save dialogue.

Re: Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

#163

Post by hayley-patton »

guestbest wrote: post #33
warning26 wrote: post #8

I was playing with a Win98 computer the other day, and it is amazing how well most of the UX has held up even now. And it's so fast , especially considering the limitations of the hardware it was running on. Really interesting seeing some of the design process that resulted in it.

It’s amazing how fast everything in the core system runs when it runs trusted.

Didn't putting so much rendering code in kernel-space also produce a lot of security bugs in NT? Would be nice to run trustable code in a trusted context if one wants to do so.

Re: Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

#164

Post by vinodhn »

dporan wrote: post #135
kristopolous wrote: post #66

I've long suspected the start menu was intended to be on the top of the screen. In all other applications when you want to shut it down, it's the last option on the list. If you move the start menu to the top, then shutdown does indeed become the last on the list and the most common option, "Programs" becomes the closest by Fitts Law standards. Even in the Program Manager in Windows 3.1, the Run and Shutdown options…

I created the Start Menu and Taskbar, and I did intend for them to be at the top of the screen. http://blogs.harvard.edu/danieloran/2022/11/28/qa-about-the-...

Interesting Q&A, thanks for sharing!

Re: Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

#165

Post by zapzupnz »

bombcar wrote: post #6
ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #2

Some of the greatest UX of all time. Shame how far we have fallen in the current flat world.

Windows 95 was an unprecedented advance in the human/computer GUI interface, which is still reverberating today. Even many Mac users copy aspects of it (put your Applications folder in your dock and you have a start menu/programs).

In fairness, Mac users were already doing that in 1991 with System 7's Apple Menu Items folder.

You could put anything you wanted in that folder, and it would show up in the Apple Menu. It was a good idea to put aliases to your most commonly-used apps in it. I remember doing that all the way up through Mac OS 9.

Re: Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

#166

Post by DoingIsLearning »

dporan wrote: post #135
kristopolous wrote: post #66

I've long suspected the start menu was intended to be on the top of the screen. In all other applications when you want to shut it down, it's the last option on the list. If you move the start menu to the top, then shutdown does indeed become the last on the list and the most common option, "Programs" becomes the closest by Fitts Law standards. Even in the Program Manager in Windows 3.1, the Run and Shutdown options…

I created the Start Menu and Taskbar, and I did intend for them to be at the top of the screen. http://blogs.harvard.edu/danieloran/2022/11/28/qa-about-the-...

Hi Daniel, the interview you linked should be a HN submission in its own right. It's a shame to have it lost in a comment two levels deep in a long thread.

I am sure there are a lot of people interested in the history of computing and user interfaces that would really appreciate this interview and seeing the original prototypes and sketches.

Re: Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

#167

Post by thfuran »

SebastianKra wrote: post #89
retrac wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a general purpose device, I really am a believer that software should teach the user how to use it, or document how to use it. How else would you do it? A manual? Which is done in software these days, anyway. Making as much as possible discoverable in the interface is good design. The more of that which can be done, the less that needs to be learnt explicitly. Maybe not everything can be, but 40 years ago the Mac…

> How else would you [learn to use it]? Randomly tapping elements on the screen and seeing what happens is a perfectly acceptable learning strategy for a child. From there, you might learn that an accent color can represent links; That a row of buttons, where one is emphasised, might be a tab-bar; That holding on an element will open a secondary menu; That little arrows represent folded content; that a list on the le…

>Randomly tapping elements on the screen and seeing what happens is a perfectly acceptable learning strategy for a child.

Sure, but that doesn't mean that a UI that requires the user to randomly tap everywhere to see which spots will do something is as well designed as one which indicates what parts do what.

Re: Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

#168

Post by vegetable »

hulitu wrote: post #162
abigail95 wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has anyone tested this? Is Office(CurrentYear) easier to use than 1997?

Current office is mess. To "Save As..." you need 4 clicks just to open the god damn save dialogue.

Not in front of a computer rn, but f12 should bring up the save as dialogue box (unless hijacked by another program).

Re: Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

#169

Post by rkagerer »

MonkeyMalarky wrote: post #15

I think windows 95/98 era was the peak of UI discoverability. As a kid, I and my friends could learn and explore how a program worked just by expanding all the menus and opening the various dialogs. Dialogs which were filled with fields and their descriptions! Before then, it was the world of DOS and you had to know what you were doing ahead of time. And now, UIs are dynamic, initially hiding stuff from the user and…

There's a reason I still primarily use Word 2003 instead of the newer versions.

Having normal toolbars instead of dealing with the takes-twice-as-many-clicks Ribbon is another benefit.

Re: Designing Windows 95’s User Interface (2018)

#170

Post by dporan »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #166
dporan wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I created the Start Menu and Taskbar, and I did intend for them to be at the top of the screen. http://blogs.harvard.edu/danieloran/2022/11/28/qa-about-the-...

Hi Daniel, the interview you linked should be a HN submission in its own right. It's a shame to have it lost in a comment two levels deep in a long thread. I am sure there are a lot of people interested in the history of computing and user interfaces that would really appreciate this interview and seeing the original prototypes and sketches.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Here it is:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33794018

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