Comments on: Ramblings of a Switcher http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/22/ramblings-of-a-switcher/ entertaining hundreds of millions of eyeball atoms every day Sun, 12 Aug 2012 17:06:22 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/22/ramblings-of-a-switcher/comment-page-1/#comment-765 adam Tue, 24 Oct 2006 01:15:39 +0000 http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/22/ramblings-of-a-switcher/#comment-765 I don't see how that could possibly be justified as "more efficient". In the particular case I mentioned, there's a text key to select the object, and once I have activated the text edit box, I need both hands to type the label. So if my hands were already on the keyboard, you've made me move over to the mouse to activate it and then back to the keyboard to type. Another thing about iTunes just came to mind - there's no way to list the filesystem path of the files without individually selecting "Get Info" for each one! That's another general gripe - thinking I don't care where my files actually are. I can understand how it might be confusing to beginners to <em>have</em> to care and why it might be useful to abstract that away, but don't stand in my way if this is actually important to me. There is zero justifiable reason why real file path isn't an option for one of the columns. After all, the file <b>does</b> live somewhere. Apple has been very good at the "Make it easy for beginners..." part, but fallen down horribly on the "but also make it easy for the experts" part. I don’t see how that could possibly be justified as “more efficient”. In the particular case I mentioned, there’s a text key to select the object, and once I have activated the text edit box, I need both hands to type the label. So if my hands were already on the keyboard, you’ve made me move over to the mouse to activate it and then back to the keyboard to type.

Another thing about iTunes just came to mind – there’s no way to list the filesystem path of the files without individually selecting “Get Info” for each one! That’s another general gripe – thinking I don’t care where my files actually are. I can understand how it might be confusing to beginners to have to care and why it might be useful to abstract that away, but don’t stand in my way if this is actually important to me. There is zero justifiable reason why real file path isn’t an option for one of the columns. After all, the file does live somewhere.

Apple has been very good at the “Make it easy for beginners…” part, but fallen down horribly on the “but also make it easy for the experts” part.

]]> By: Caitlin Burke http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/22/ramblings-of-a-switcher/comment-page-1/#comment-764 Caitlin Burke Mon, 23 Oct 2006 00:01:11 +0000 http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/22/ramblings-of-a-switcher/#comment-764 #2 really bothers me, too, and I've been told by Apple people that it's just "more efficient" with liberal links to an "Ask Tog" article about tests of situations in which the mouse is pretty fast. But I know how to type, and more than that, I have a tremor, so anything that forces me to mouse in the middle of work (especially when my tremor might cause me to move the cursor a bit away from a menu, thus CLOSING IT - ARRRGH) makes me crazy with irritation. I see #2 as a terrible place for Apple (and mouse enthusiasts) to stake a claim about what ought to be. To me, it's an accessiblity disaster. #2 really bothers me, too, and I’ve been told by Apple people that it’s just “more efficient” with liberal links to an “Ask Tog” article about tests of situations in which the mouse is pretty fast. But I know how to type, and more than that, I have a tremor, so anything that forces me to mouse in the middle of work (especially when my tremor might cause me to move the cursor a bit away from a menu, thus CLOSING IT – ARRRGH) makes me crazy with irritation.

I see #2 as a terrible place for Apple (and mouse enthusiasts) to stake a claim about what ought to be. To me, it’s an accessiblity disaster.

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