![]() I wonder if anyone in the Open Source community would be interested in taking a crack at developing a new system based on these proposals.Raskin designed the Apple Macintosh and CanonCat systems, both of which are used as frequent examples. Some of his ideas are quite radical, but definitely thought-provoking. The last half of the book looks at some popular current practices in software, and points out ways they violate the principles expressed in the first half. As valuable as usability testing can be, it's nice to add some objective measurements to the toolbox. Then, he provides formulas for analyzing interface efficiency. Once you have that background, Raskin starts defining terms. ![]() Studying how the mind works, such as matters of attention and habituation, clarifies why many popular designs are often so COUNTERintuitive. The book opens with a brief look at cognetics. A creative mind can think of many new ideas based on the general concepts presented here, other than the specific things that Raskin mentions.The book is, for the most part, very pleasant to read (a page-turner!) and focused on the concepts. After finishing the book, I began to have an all-new way of thinking about programming a whole new attitude which is helping me with some of the projects I'm currently working on. This is a hint for all you inventors out there.)And it isn't just the individual ideas themselves. (Not to mention the help that it might give to someone who decides to go about designing an all-new computer or operating system of his or her own. But that is necessary to get a complete picture of the concepts. Even designers of non-computer interfaces, like for steroes or vcrs, would benefit from reading it.The book doesn't just explain the dos and don'ts of interface design-it also clearly explains the WHYS, by going into the psychology of the human mind and explaining interface design from that standpoint.It is true that the book goes outside the realm of currently-used computer systems, and introduces ideas that can't immediately be put to good use. I can not over-emphasize how absolutely important it is for everyone involved in the design or programming of computer software-no matter how big or how small-to read this book. Get this book, and pay attention to the footnotes!| OK | Rather than the complicated, feature-bloated and overly cryptic machines we use today, computers are presented as being capable of adapting themselves to our work, fading into the subconscious, and allowing us to focus on the work itself.Everyone should come away with an almost obvious thought or two they've never realized, but upon reflection will say, "you know, that's right!" Nothing is taken for granted, and you will never view such standard user interface components as logins and passwords, file systems or text searches the same way.I'm afraid it will be years before hardware, software, operating systems and development tools catch up to some of these concepts, but there is nothing in it that couldn't technically be implemented today. As a matter of fact, the references and bibliography alone are probably worth it for serious programmers.For those of us in the second category, the book is a glimpse into a world where computers serve useful functions in a simple way. ![]() There are two categories of people who should read this book:1) those who write programs and design user interfaces (which today includes everyone who builds a Web page, and2) those who don't.For the first category of folks, the point is clear - there are some well-researched principles to designing user interfaces, and you should know about them before you write code for human consumption.
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