[hoary] initial usability reactions

[Le grand pinguin]

On Wed, Nov 17, 2004 at 10:16:50AM -0800, Greg Rothenberger wrote:
> Speaking as someone whose job entails training *very*
> inexperienced computer users in a Windows environment,
> I have to agree with this: right-click is the cause of
> more confusion (and fear) for our users than anything
> else (except viruses). No matter how many times we
> tell them that unless we specifically say right-click,
> they will use the left button, they still ask, "Is
> that right-click or left-click?" BTW, I'm training new
> computer users (generally age 50+) in a public library
> environment.
> 
> I'd very much like to find a way around the entire
> right-click problem, but I've no ideas right now. If
> anyone has, I'd love to hear them.

I'd suggest not to use right"/"left" at all -- many
have problems to coordinate right/left with the correct
movement (remember driving lessons ? :-)
One way to think of it: not left vs. right but
point vs. grab. It's the _index_ finger you use to
point at things and it's the middle/ring fingers that
you need to grab things. Might sound silly but i'd
give it a try ...
Oh, and if you think that right/left is hard (and Apple
seems to agree with you) - i still have fond memories
of the Oberon System (developed by N. Wirth of Pascal
fame at the ETH Zurich) which made heavy use of all 
sorts of mouse _chords_ (like click left and hold, then,
while still holding down the left button, click right ...).

> On the whole icons/empty desktop issue, I prefer my
> desktop empty. In fact, that's one of the things I
> love about Ubuntu: a nice, clean desktop. 

Yes, me too :-) Given the number of files i work with
even in the short timespan of a day there's really not enough
desktop space anyway. And i _hate_ it when i need to move my
application windows to search for files (have to do it on
my real desktop all the time and hate it there as well).

> Other
> people, however, use desktop icons. Yesterday, I was
> late getting out of work because I had to put
> shortcuts on the desktops of some new computers in
> another department so they could find their programs
> and most important documents. Please understand, these
> aren't stupid people (although I wasn't willing to
> concede that yesterday); they just don't know how to
> find anything on a computer. So if it makes it easier
> for new users to have desktop icons, put them in. Just
> let me be able to turn them off.
> 
> Greg Rothenberger
> New Albany (Indiana) USA
> "Shackled to Windows at work, but free at home."

Probably a question of taste 

 Cheers, Ralf Mattes