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The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

nicholaswindsorhoward.com

101–110 of 440 posts

Re: The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

#101
post #28

This article doesn't make any sense. The use of metaphors worked when people didn't know what a computer was, and the only way to make its UI make sense was to mimic real-world objects. Now, this is no longer necessary. It's been 40 years. While I agree that new macOS icons aren't great (see the Game Center icon), the old ones were silly. I'm 35 and I have probably seen an actual contact book only once when I was lit…

> The use of metaphors worked when people didn't know what a computer was, and the only way to make its UI make sense was to mimic real-world objects. I disagree strongly. If you were new to a machine, is there anything in the new Photos icon that tells you that it anything to do with images, photos or image manipulation? No. The new icon for Pages is fine by the way,

[deleted]

Re: The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me the old yellow colour implies that the notes taken within the app are for easy disposal and will be poorly organised - just like how yellow paper is used primarily for quick throw-away notes and scribbles in reality (at least here in the UK). The Notes app is far better than that, the white it uses now implies a more permanent organised feel which better reflects the app. The texts I store within it are import…

Where do you buy your notebooks? I've never come across yellow paper except in US media. I'd always assumed it was dyed yellow to hide poor quality paper. Is there any truth in this?

Never seen yellow notebooks, but yellow paper, sure. That yellow looks like the colour of the A4 pads I bought at the university bookshop in Norway.

Re: The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

#103
post #16

One thing I really dislike about 10.10 is that "maximizing" a window will - with a few exceptions - switch it to fullscreen. To maximize a window I need to press Alt while clicking the maximize-button. And there is not even an option to switch this behavior. On a small laptop screen this behaviour might be preferable, but on a FullHD display, I find it rather annoying.

Ah see I like that behaviour. I've never once wanted to fill the screen with an app without putting it in fullscreen, I just don't see what the point of doing that would be.

Re: The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

#104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is there anything in the new Photos icon that tells you that it anything to do with images, photos or image manipulation Yes, it says "Photos" below it

Cool, so we don't need icons at all!

Indeed, icons are unnecessary. They're there to fill space with colors, which people like. Full = good. Color = happy. good + happy = sales.

Re: The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

#105
post #3

It’s not that important a point, but legal pads are a very US phenomena. I’m German and I have never ever seen a yellow pad like that in person. The current notes icon (with white paper) is much more in line with the note pads you would encounter in Germany. Paper people write on to take notes is typically just white. Maybe bound with a spiral on the left or top (and perforated paper to tear off), maybe glued togethe…

Oh that make sense then ! I never understood why most of the notes apps on my smartphone were yellow and not white, I found it bizarre and assumed it was some kind of fashion, it must be international differences then.

for anyone else non-US but curious:

Photos of typical yellow pads: https://www.google.com/search?q=yellow+legal+pad&tbm=isch

History of the yellow legal pad: http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/May-June-2005/scene_snide...

Re: The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

#106
post #16

One thing I really dislike about 10.10 is that "maximizing" a window will - with a few exceptions - switch it to fullscreen. To maximize a window I need to press Alt while clicking the maximize-button. And there is not even an option to switch this behavior. On a small laptop screen this behaviour might be preferable, but on a FullHD display, I find it rather annoying.

Get Spectacles, which is free, then enjoy making a window maximised (without making it fullscreen) by pressing option command f.

Also, moving windows between monitors, making them side-by-side etc are insanely easy.

Re: The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

#107
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The use of metaphors worked when people didn't know what a computer was, and the only way to make its UI make sense was to mimic real-world objects. Now, this is no longer necessary. It's been 40 years." I disagree strongly. It is now more needed than ever. 40 years ago, the majority of people using computers knew what they were doing. Now, they're everywhere, and people interact with them every day. It's very commo…

> 40 years ago, the majority of people using computers knew what they were doing. You think that 10 and 20 year olds growing up with computers and even smartphones available for all of their life, know less of computers than people in the past? Even a 7 year old that plays games can almost run circles around a 1980s propellerhead computer programmer in using a GUI. Compared to regular people (e.g. office workers) fro…

I think they know less than the people who were using computers back then.

The difference is of course that today computers are used by more of the general public for communication, office, and media consumption, rather than (only) bunch of tech savvy specialists.

Most of my generation and the generation that followed barely have a concept of a computer beyond "press the thing to make things happen". They know no more about their telephones now than did the people using the landlines of 20 years ago, or how much most people understood the internals of TV or radio or fridges.

As for running circles around people while using a GUI, while I accept there are specialized fields and exceptions that disprove the rule, outside of marketing presentations I just don't see it happen. As much as any generalisation can be valid, the GUI does not run circles around anyone that can actually program and is generally the mark of the computer novice/consumer...

Re: The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

#108
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think that 10 and 20 year olds growing up with computers and even smartphones available for all of their life, know less of computers than people in the past? Most of them don't know a thing about computers. It's a magic box with a small selection of shiny buttons on. They use it for passive media consumption. Even a 7 year old that plays games can almost run circles around a 1980s propellerhead computer programm…

> Most of them don't know a thing about computers. It's a magic box with a small selection of shiny buttons on. They use it for passive media consumption. You'd be surprised. Except by "know about computers" you mean they known about interrupts, and cache lines, and filesystem design, and other stuff that are completely inconsequential to using their computers. > Well, they clearly forget by the time they're twenty.…

You'd be surprised.

I disagree. The catalogue of complaints listed in this article are the norm.

http://coding2learn.org/blog/2013/07/29/kids-cant-use-comput...

Re: The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

#109
post #3

It’s not that important a point, but legal pads are a very US phenomena. I’m German and I have never ever seen a yellow pad like that in person. The current notes icon (with white paper) is much more in line with the note pads you would encounter in Germany. Paper people write on to take notes is typically just white. Maybe bound with a spiral on the left or top (and perforated paper to tear off), maybe glued togethe…

To me the current icon looks a lot like a Rhodia notepad with the typical orange cover folded over at the top:

https://www.stylo.ca/fr/produits/Rhodia/Basics-(no.18)/430_2...

Not sure how well known that brand is outside of Europe.

Re: The Apple Goes Mushy Part I: OS X's Interface Decline

#110
post #63

This essay is nothing more than the authors opinion (which there is nothing wrong with) presented as fact (completely take umbrage with this). Looking at the authors website, the current design of Apple's UI elements are not to their taste. An example would be this; http://www.nicholaswindsorhoward.com/blog-directory/2016/1/2... The odd idea is interesting, but it's massively regressive.

I particularly like that in this case apparently a picture of a sunflower is a perfectly acceptable icon for "Photos"
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