for 17 April 2000. Updated every WEEKDAY.
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Skin Cancer Subject: people will get what they want... They want skins? They'll get skins. They want consistency and ease-of-use? They'll get Macs. The idea is choice. I choose to (or not to) use skins, not my vendor. Choice is always, ALWAYS a good thing. You can choose to use a boring yet productive/intuitive interface to get more work done, or you can go with Enlightenment and get paid to wank off different themes all day. For the record, I use KDE + xmatrix -root ;) Matt Hennessy <hennessy@razorfish.com> Oh, I'm all in favor of choice. My choice is the native Windows GUI for Netscape 6. What? Oh, it's not available? Well, so much for choice. For the record, I use KDE + xmatrix -root ;) Oh, man, then you deserve what you get. I wrote xteevee and can't let it run -static as root for longer than a minute or two without going stark-raving buggo. Greg Knauss  But there isn't a cross-platform way to do UI. Using native components on whatever system you're on has been tried before- the Java AWT used that approach and had so many subtle bugs that is was unusable. Sun wrote its own components from the ground up for the next release. I think the real problem is shitty user interfaces, like WinAmp skins and Netscape 6. Ignoring the platform's controls is okay as long as the stuff works and it's intuitive. Russell Cagle <russell_d_cagle@yahoo.com> There isn't a cross-platform way to do UI, true, so don't do cross-platform UIs. If you're going to bother to write code that runs on a particular OS, at least respect your users enough to give them what they expect: a native interface. If it's going to take more work, well, then, too bad. Ignoring platforms controls is simply telling your audience that they're not important enough to bother with. The common controls are there to be common — and that ultimately matters more than either working or being intuitive. Greg Knauss Greetings, Great article in the vein of Sucks usual venomous style. As a usability developer it's amazing how the freedom of the Web is translated into "Let's build the wheel over and over again. 'cause WE CAN!" Baron Lane <baronl@raremedium.com> Oh, it's not only that. It's "Let's build the wheel over and over again, but this time make it so that you can specify the tread, the diameter and the color! And the hubcap! And the shape! Well, I don't know who might want a square wheel, but, y'know, they might! The only problem with this is that it makes a round wheel impossible. You can have any shape but round. But any shape!" Um, to carry a metaphor. Greg Knauss Thanks for another bizarre and nonsensical article. Your point seems to be "all user interfaces must be exactly identical and if they're not, its an apocalyptic tragedy." Get over it. While we're at it: who the hell gave the 'great unwashed' control over their computers anyway? How dare they set their computers up the way they want. Pretty soon they'll be asking for the right to vote! Jason G. Fleming <jgflemin@eos.ncsu.edu> P.S. I agree that there is too much of an emphasis on customization. Most people never bother with it. But it's not so important that you need to write an article complaining about it. Oh, chill, Jason. If you think the ability to skin your browser is on the level of universal suffrage, you've got some serious perspective problems. But as long as we're talking about control of the machine: I'm a citizen and I want native OS controls. They're not available? Oops. So much for the wishes of the masses. Or do your skins get more votes than mine? Greg Knauss Subject: Netscape 6 and your article The only thing I can say is you are correct, up to a certain point, but as some one has pointed out to me, this version is only a Beta, so things could get better or worse! jboyle22 <jboyle22@home.com> Most likely it will get neither. But no matter how "better" the final interface looks, it still won't be made up of native, common controls, the stuff that every other Windows/Mac/Linux program on the planet uses. It'll still be Netscape 6, all by itself, over in the corner, claiming that it's flexible when it's really just worse. Greg Knauss Skin Cancer "It's what's makes the Web such a visually exciting place. It's also what's makes actually using the Web such a consistent exercise in frustration. " is that correct? is what's possessive or a shortened version of "what is"? why? otherwise, i loved the article. i was a rather vocal mac user on the mozilla lists complaining about it all the way through. imagine my lack of surprise when they released netscape 6 and it looked exactly like the last milestone. ugh. Todd Greco <todd@elementri.com> Heck, I just write the articles. I don't actually know no good grammar. I sat out the XUL discussions because I've been too busy, but when the subject first came up, I just knew that it would come to no good. It's not the looks that bother me so much — because they are changeable — but the fact that there's no way to opt out, back to the normal OS native controls. I've been through the emulation of native widgets before and it never, ever works. Users can tell. They may not be able to point to a pixel or a color and say, "That's different," but they can tell. Greg Knauss This is just a note to let you know that there is at least one person out here who wishes that someone would make you the god of all interface design. QuickTime is a particular sore point with me, what as I have spent years asking Wintel folks "why, oh my god, why do you put up with such inconsistant interface design?" Apple has apparently decided to join 'em if they can't beat 'em. I say: 'try a bigger stick.' oh well Aaron Headly <Aaron_Headly@baseview.com> You're all alone in that God of Interface Design thing. I couldn't design a decent interface to save my life. But at least I like to think that I recognize the fact that starting from the fundamentals — familiarity gooooood — is important. QuickTime 4 was so disappointing. Sigh. Greg Knauss Telling Baby No I love it. I am one of those Baby Boomers. I survive by employing the "Me Inc." strategy when it comes to the work world. I have one core part-time job with great benefits. I switch hats and work other part-time jobs. If my second part-time job does not work out (usually it's one of those "flexible hours and great place to work jobs") I'm out of there. As long as I can get out of bed I will always have some sort of part-time job. I live modestly. I am a single Dad with a teenage daughter. I am home at different times of the day. I used to work from dark to dark. Who needs that. I dumped my Costco membership. Just more stuff. I love it! Don't mess with me. SWWM. You won't have a problem with me pally, just so long as you register all your gun purchases. I have to say though, you probably have come across a good way to deal with corporate job situations. I think the angriest people are the ones who sign on to companies and pin all their hopes and dreams on them, only to get frustrated when the machine doesn't pay off. With your way, you've got more control day to day than most people. Glad you liked the comic, Bert Admit it. You're jealous about sex and the drugs, right? <scarrif@deltanet.com> No, Larry, it's the herpes and short term memory loss that's got me jonesing. No, there's lots of sex and drugs out there - don't you old timers read MAXIM? Disco Rules, Bert This is awesome. It reminds of my father in law's company. I work for MCIWorldCom Network and Data Solutions. I would be interested in how your company is structured. Ken Minton <kenneth.minton@wcom.com> SUCK is structured on the policy of Might Makes Right and If You Don't Like It, Jack, There's Always Salon. It's pretty tough around here. SUCK's idea of a health plan is If You're Not Healthy, Plan to Look For a Job. You know what I'm saying? It's a long work week, too. As I was told, "Bert, if you don't want to work on Saturday, don't plan on coming in on Sunday." If you really want to know about SUCK, write Tim Cavanaugh (tim@suck.com), cause my whole work experience here is structured all around him. Bert Man, you made my day. Used to work at this strange job, editing the transcripts for National Public Radio on the far outskirts of the DC metro area. My average transcriber's age was 45. At one point, I had four lawyers working for me. Seething mass, dude, seething mass. Tee, hee, hee. <D.leach@elsevier.com> Wow, Talk about your front line veterans! As John McCain would say, "Thank you for serving, sir." Glad you liked the strip. I've had some angry boomers writing in and some letters like yours. One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist, I guess. The Ageist of Aquarius, Bert Subject: yeah, well, ur site name pretty much sez it all u suck... i see, so baby boomers are stupid old hippies and disgruntled workers..and teenagers are gun toting psychopaths..... but not the gen-x'rs .... hell no.. u guys are level headed, completely sensible, well adjusted young adults... bite me... i dont hav anything to learn from the generation that made bands like 'poison' and 'motely crue' and 'ratt' and 'cinderella' rich... not from people that would get all teary over 'power ballads'... such crap... ur a cookie cutter generation... no substance.. all hype... even ur drugs are lame copies of the real stuff.... suck.com is right... u suck... Trip <TripTampa@aol.com> Cinderella? Ratt? Crue? Nobody was more disgusted than me to see those baby boomer metal acts conning decent kids out of their cash. Well "Trip," sorry you weren't into "Telling Baby 'No'". I tried to say nice things about Carly Simon and Bill Clinton, but you can't please everybody. I'm just doing it for the kids, Bert Blecht |
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