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From: mouse@lightning.mcrcim.mcgill.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: OL != Motif
Message-ID: <9103011331.AA00547@lightning.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
Date: 1 Mar 91 13:31:32 GMT
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 31

>> I do not find an artificial three dimensional effect (shadowing)
>> pleasant or natural to deal with.  [...]  I do not want my screen to
>> mimic a three dimensional surface which it isn't and use a mouse to
>> "push" buttons via remote control.

> About 3-D.  I think the point of what a User Interface is being
> somewhat muddled here.  Yes, it's true, many people, especially those
> of us who are computer literate, aren't impressed by the "bells and
> whistles."

It's more than just not being impressed by them; for some of us, they
are active impediments to productivity.

> But these same 3-D effects help the computer novice to relate to the
> "real world" and get their "real world" tasks done promptly.  I mean,
> what's the point of creating a nifty user interface if PEOPLE can't
> relate to it?

(And the "computer literate" types aren't PEOPLE, I suppose?)

Fine, so provide all the pseudo-3-D chrome; make it the default, even.
But *let us shut it off*!  I have no quarrel with chrome per se; what I
will not tolerate is not allowing me to disable it.  If I encounter an
application that won't let me turn off things like pseudo-3-D, I simply
don't use it.  (I have never yet seen one that's useful enough to make
me use it in spite of the chrome, nor do I expect to.)

					der Mouse

			old: mcgill-vision!mouse
			new: mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu