An on OSnews discusses the much complained about spatial Nautilus found in the most recent version of Gnome. The argument basically goes like this; 1) computers can be difficult for new users, 2) adding real-life-alike (their words not mine) interfaces, i.e. making things in a computer environment more like real life, helps overcome these difficulties, 3) spacial file management allows users to treat windows like actual folder “objects” making them more real-life-alike, and finally 4) this makes spacial file management easier for users to interact with.
Trying desperately to contain my disdain for the mind numbing ignorance of said spatiality; I will attempt to explain why this understanding of UI is… shale we say “flawed.”
1.) Almost everything new is difficult until you understand how to use it. Just imagine trying to explain how to drive a car to someone who has never done anything but walk. “You start off by checking your vehicle’s mirrors and buckling your safety belt. Turn the car key (assuming your car using a key) clockwise to start the car, while simultaneously applying foot pressure to the car break. Stop turning the car key once the vehicle engine begins running. Put the car in the appropriate gear for desired movement….” My 3 year old daughter prefers crayons because they are “easier” to use than pencils (darn things have those erasers, are way to thin, and you have to sharpen them for the love of GOD.)
2.) Limiting interface advantages by making them act more like other interfaces REDUCES their usability. It does not increase it. I wish my frigging TV still had a dial! Why? Because a dial is a whole lot easier to use than having to press and/or hold down a damn volume button. Dials take advantage of the users wrist movements to allow quick, easy, and accurate adjustment of object with a range of possible values. How many of you remember when Apple QuickTime had a volume dial? Seriously it had a frigging dial. Like my flexible wrist movement helps a whole lot on a dang mouse. Most users resolved to adjusting the volume by clicking on the top of the dial, pulling the mouse in a semi-round fashion, letting go of the mouse, repeat 50 frigging times.
3.) How about the spacial folder metaphor? The windows remember their placement, and each folder opened opens a new window with file placement, window sizes, and window placement all remembered. God knows I got a frigging computer because I just loved having 2500 fscking folders open at the same time on my “real” desk; moving paper from one folder to another. Now I can live this joy in the electronic age too! Hey while we are at it why don’t we remove the copy and paste functionality. There’s an entirely electronic metaphor that is simply making my life too easy. The modern computer user interface was designed to take advantage of the computer environments strengths.
4.) Things like drop-down menus, shortcuts, icons, and tree views are all electronic representations of functionality that have no real-life-alike equivalent (just imagine trying to implement a drop down menu on paper.) Tons of research and development were spent to discover UI elements that would be fairly simple to understand but would still take full advantage of the electronic environments strengths. Use our drop down menu for an example. A more real-life-alike representation would be to have a full list of all drop down menu options with a radio button beside them. But once you have taught someone how to use a drop down menu, they have little trouble using it later on. The new element is now both a space and time advantage over the more real-life-alike radio button list. The best way to make a UI that users will easily interface with is to take use the environments advantages in a consistent and user friendly way. To teach the how to use a functionally clear file manager that does not relay on old metaphors to try and gain a temporary learned advantage. To teach the person how to use the pencil; not remove the pencil eraser, make it shorter, and remove all the wood.
There is a reason that Apple, Microsoft, Sun, and Xerox all abandoned the spacial metaphor within the file manager. Steve Jobs may have said it best when he said, œThe problem with the spacial finder is that it causes all users to become janitors.