notes@ucbcad.UUCP (11/03/83)
#R:utcsstat:-135900:ucbesvax:25800002:000:1244
ucbesvax!turner Nov 3 02:11:00 1983
Subject: Re: Two cog-eng questions on displayed instructions to the user
I know some people who type "T" "A" and then a "B" whether you say
TAB or <TAB>. If you expect to get a lot of naive people "the TAB key"
may be better.
Laura Creighton
utzoo!utcsstat!laura
This is all fine--given standard labels for predefined keys on keyboards.
But what about those wonderful keyboards that use arrows to denote RETURN,
TAB, BACKSPACE, etc.? Personally, I don't like them, but other people
think that "iconic" keyboards are good human-engineering.
I think this discussion is getting out of hand. I mean, since when does
someone walk up to a terminal that is completely unattended, with no
external documentation for the system he/she intends to use, and with
no idea of how to use a machine?
I would say, for such applications (and I *can* think of a few), there
should be
1. A graphics monitor;
2. A touch-sensitive screen panel;
3. A sign, saying "touch screen to start"
with any necessary instructions displayed by the software. If a keyboard
of some kind is needed, this can be put up on the screen (thus giving
control over the text of the labels on the "keys").
---
Michael Turner (ucbvax!ucbesvax.turner)dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman) (11/09/83)
Michael Turner (ucbvax!ucbesvax.turner) says:
I think this discussion is getting out of hand. I mean, since when does
someone walk up to a terminal that is completely unattended, with no
external documentation for the system he/she intends to use, and with
no idea of how to use a machine?
Well, Mike, that is the problem that the organizers of the Law:Forum
computer conference for lawyers are running into. The users are lawyers
and legal educators, some of whom have never touched a terminal before.
They get their hands on terminals through all sorts of routes (such as
being lent a Radio Shack Model 100 to use for a couple of weeks), and
there's absolutely no guarantee that a wizard is around for consultation.
We do have external documentation. It's hard to get people to read it
though, particularly when they are looking at the screen and not at their
documentation.
I would say, for such applications (and I *can* think of a few), there
should be
1. A graphics monitor;
2. A touch-sensitive screen panel;
3. A sign, saying "touch screen to start"
with any necessary instructions displayed by the software. If a keyboard
of some kind is needed, this can be put up on the screen (thus giving
control over the text of the labels on the "keys").
Graphics monitors and touch screen panels are all very well, but they
don't work for a system which allows arbitrary access by phone or
Telenet/Datapac from anywhere in North America.
For the record, I have been gatewaying this particular discussion into
Law:Startup, a conference on the same system as Law:Forum which is used
for discussion of matters related to starting up Law:Forum. The organizer
is on the final draft of the documentation for naive users, so it seemed
useful. If anyone's interested, I could probably bring back and post
on net.cog-eng the discussions from Law:Startup.
Dave Sherman
Toronto
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{allegra,cornell,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo}!utcsrgv!dave