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From: macman@wpi.WPI.EDU (Chris Silverberg)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: New control panel icons in 7.0
Message-ID: <1991Apr8.033823.18199@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 8 Apr 91 03:38:23 GMT
References: <1991Apr7.224711.4792@athena.mit.edu>
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Lines: 30

In an article mlwiese@mit.edu rambles:

>   I suppose the slider is to help the user identify the item as a control
>   panel. But normal users, even expert users who aren't developers, do not
>   know that "control" has a special meaning, ie check box, button, slider.
>   The slider <-> control panel association is NOT intuitive except for 
>   developers, and they don't need help identifying control panels. Normal
>   users will learn the association, but they will wonder why.

Well, unless you are viewing them in small icon view, they certainly don't
all look alike, and I think the consistency of the Control Panels is a good
thing... and it WILL be helpful, especially for novices, not just developers.

When a Control panel is out of the system folder, a user can still double
click it and change the settings. But if there is init code in it, there
isn't much to tell the user that this item is not an application, but a
control panel, and belongs in the control panels's folder.  The common icons
will be a good visual cue.

Now, whether 3rd party authors will pickup the new format is up in the air...
I would hope that they do, but it they don't... oh well..  no big deal... 
at least they tried...



 
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