[linux-audio-dev] [OT] marketing hype

[Marek Peteraj]

On Fri, 2004-06-11 at 15:09, Thorsten Wilms wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 11, 2004 at 01:59:41PM +0200, Alfons Adriaensen wrote:
> > 
> > I didn't. What I said was that those who complain because things
> > do no look as they are used to, are in general the same people that
> > just do not master the application domain itself. Those that do
> > will just get on with the job.
> 
> 
> My slider design might tell you that I'm not aiming at what I'm 
> used to (which would be a problem anyway, as I use Windows 
> and Linux (gnome/KDE) and sometimes Mac). I try not to blindly copy, 
> but to learn from various uis and to think outside the box a bit.
>  
> > ... If the 'standard' says that a R-click should popup a context 
> > menu, and I don not need such a menu at all, why not use that for 
> > some thing else that makes sense ?
> 
> To not mess up the overall consistency? It should at least be the 
> last option. Totaly different behaviour on the same gesture can be 
> very confusing. For example the 3d app Blender uses rightclick for 
> selection and left for placing a 3d cursor. Makes me try to select 
> with leftclick in Blender when i havn't used it for a while.
> And after using Blender I often find myself trying to slect in a file 
> manager with rightclick. It's an extreme example, but should make 
> clear that having to do a mental switch can be very problematic.

That mental switches are exactly what describes broken UI designs. If
they are inside one application, then the developers of the application
have a *real* problem.

> 
> 
> > Agreed, but that does not imply that everything done by software
> > will as by magic become easy. You can always dumb it down to make
> > it easy, but then very often some of the 'real function' is
> > sacrified. Allowing you to play out of tune is part of the 'real
> > function' of a violin. Allowing you to go beyond the conventions
> > that are observed most of the time is part of the 'real function'
> > of every interesting creative tool or instrument, be it real or
> > software.
> 
> 
> Usability != dumbing down, but restrictions can help with creativity, 
> something I learned after switching from just a workstation keyboard 
> to a pc solution. Having many different apps also means that some 
> can concentrate on rather common things, while others provide more 
> freedom. I like modular synths, but they can be counter productive, 
> making you fiddle around, while the goal might be easily achievable 
> with a fixed system.

And this is currently non-existent in linux audio.
My point was, modular and freedom will stay, fixed is what's missing.
Entirely.

Marek