SEUL: Thoughts on UIs

[Jay Bloodworth <jay@pathways.sde.state.sc.us>]

Changing the subject a little bit, what do you think the SEUL UI needs?

I tend to like the Mac/Win95 setup with icon(s) on the desktop
representing the root of the filesystem(s) that can be open to give a
window with the directory listing.  I don't much care for the approach of
MS Explorer with a pane for the directory tree and another showing the
current directory - I like to have several directories visible at once.  I
think drag and drop file manipulation is a must, and I think that having a
couple other icons on the desktop that support drag and drop (trashcan,
printers, etc.)

For launching applications, I prefer a GoodStuff or Wharf like button bar,
rather than pop up menus (though it doesn't hurt to have both).  I do
think is important to allow the user to customize things like wallpaper
and screen savers from an easy to use applet.  I also like the notion of
'themes' for customizing the look and feel of a desktop in a consistent
way.

One thing we also need to consider is desktop/network integration.
Netscape and Microsoft are both making big promises in this department.  I
know that some GUI file managers already offer transparent access to
remote files via http or ftp.  We could probably come up with lots of
other interesting ways to integrate the internet into the desktop.  This
may seem a little frivolous, but I think it's going to be the next big
thing and I think we should encourage it wherever we can.

These are just some random thoughts to kick off the discussion.  I think
we need to hear from everyone who has an opinion, especially people who
have training and experience in HCI.  I suggest we stay away from thinking
too hard about what apps might solve some or all of these problems right
now.  Lets just figure out what we need.  Then we can figure out how to
get it.

Jay
 

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