kpv@ulysses.UUCP (09/17/83)
After lots of flame and a few good articles, it seems that this newsgroup
has gone to sleep - at least I haven't seen any new article for a week now.
Let me raise the hibernators and ask a few questions:
1. Has anyone done hard/scientific studies on what are the trade-offs
among pure menu, pure command or hybrid systems? What are the
underlying parameters that cause one mode of communication to be
preferred to another?
For example, a large part of the world is still constrained to low
bauds communication. As a result, the verbosity of a menu-oriented
system can cause it to be a nuisance. On the other hand, the ZOG
system at Carnegie-Mellon claims some success with very high-speed
communication line with touch-sensitive screens and all.
2. What about your experiences with systems combining menu, command,
form-filling and so on?
I've developed a prototype language and an interpreter for building
systems with these characteristics as interface to other UN*X tools.
Initial reactions from users are very positive.
3. What about your experiences concerning graphical communication,
SmallTalk style or otherwise?
If there are enough interesting responses, I'll summarize to the net.
Phong Vo, 201-582-4869, {penelope, ulysses}!kpvsilver@csu-cs.UUCP (09/19/83)
It occurs to me that my keyboard is a simple, static "menu". Since I know this menu very well (it doesn't change much), I can quickly punch my way through a series of "levels" to get where I want to go, almost as fast as I can type (:-). There is the slight nuisance of having to "confirm" with the RETURN key, and I could make a "wrong turn" at the first level but not know it until I hit RETURN. You get the analogy. With that in mind, I offer this observation... Menu systems will be acceptable interfaces for even the richest command sets, when they are as easy to remember and as fast to access as the keyboard used for command input. I have in mind as an example the HP-internal, menu-driven system software debugger for the HP9000. Every command is a single letter, the interaction is snappy, and common sequences are memorized as a side- effect of normal use. Of course, the number of inherent capabilities, while numerous, does not approach that of UN*X. Alan Silverstein, Hewlett-Packard Fort Collins Systems Division, Colorado ucbvax!hplabs!hpfcla!ajs, 303-226-3800 x3053, N 40 31'31" W 105 00'43"
laura@utcsstat.UUCP (Laura Creighton) (09/20/83)
I do not have my copy of "the Starcrossed" here right now, so if anyone wants to correct my quotes, go right ahead, I am doing this from memory. "The Starcrossed" is by Ben Bova, and it describes the debacle that began as an attempt to produce a Canadian science fiction tv series, and ended up as "The Starlost" about the funniest sf series because it is so poorly done. 10 times as bad a Space 2001... really, really, bad. Now who was involved in this mess? Harlan Ellison. I have heard him tell this story at a con, and Bova has recorded it for all posterity, but I may have the words wrong... At any rate, Ellison goes to the prop room where people are building spaceship models. And the models have fins, and other attachments that are obviously designed for travel in an atmosphere. Ellison says "Look you morons, this film is taking place in SPACE. Where there is NO AIR. These fins are stupid!" The nearest prop-maker replies "But the fins look SPIFFO!". This is one of the things that I see in some menu/help/whatever systems. The same people who are designing the help facility also want to make it 'Spiffo'. The wants lots of diagrams, and cute messages... the problem is that there is a certain amount of CPU time spend in printing long informative messages, and a LOT involved in repainting an elabourate screen. And it looks spiffo! but most days i wonder if it is really worth it. Yesterday I saw a full-screen spiffo spelling corrector. Bells, music, 3 screen colours, pictures and pop-up dictionary pages. Real spiffo. But all i want is a mechanism to list all my spelling errors, and a way to give me a chance to globally change them to something else. Quickly. And it would be several orders of magnitude faster if it didn't bother to hoot and wave at me. i am well aware that I am one of the lousiest spellers ever to use the program, and see no need to be reminded of the fact... This program is a CAI program that may be used to teach spelling somewhere. I guess the emphasis was on 'fun to use'. This in not compatible with my aims -- fast to use and quiet to use would be on my list. laura creighton utzoo!utcsstat!laura