ccoombs@pilot.njin.net (Cliff Coombs) (10/18/89)
Netlanders,
I am posting this question for a friend, so no flames please
and keep the answers simple. Thanks in advance!
Q: In hypercard, what is the signifcance of the size of the buttons???
--
Cliff Coombs VOICE (201) 527-2729
Network Coordinator FAX (201) 355-5143
Kean College of New Jersey, Union, NJ, USA, Earth. ccoombs@pilot.njin.net
Disclaimer: You can't quote me, I'm still on lunch...alms@cambridge.apple.com (Andrew L. M. Shalit) (10/18/89)
In article <Oct.17.16.36.26.1989.18131@pilot.njin.net> ccoombs@pilot.njin.net (Cliff Coombs) writes:
Netlanders,
I am posting this question for a friend, so no flames please
and keep the answers simple. Thanks in advance!
Q: In hypercard, what is the signifcance of the size of the buttons???
The bigger the button, the easier it is to see, unless it gets so
big that it is no longer recognizable as a button. Some people
complain about very small buttons being hard to hit with the mouse.
Also, very small buttons can sometimes be mistaken for punctuation
marks (periods), or bad pixels in a screen.
A fair amount of research has been done on the psychological
motivations in button-size choices. Apparently it's possible to tell
a lot about a hypercard programmer just from her/his choices when
creating buttons in stacks. The relative size and placements of the
buttons, as well as the uses of buttons, are taken into account.
At one college in the northeast a teacher saw a hypercard stack
created by a student with suspiciously sized buttons and reported it
to the school psychologist. The student was brought in for an
interview, and subsequently institutionalized. Student and faculty
groups protested, siting the chilling effect on campus hypercard
innovation. The college president, however, insisted that the
safety of others at the school was more important than any
"so-called right to privacy surrounding button-sizes in Hybercard
(sic) stacks". A student group is currently circulating a petition
calling the president's resignation.
As far as the age-old belief that "larger buttons are better": this is
really nothing more than a myth. Surveys have found that the way
a button is used is far more important than its size. So all you
hypercard programmers out there, don't feel insecure if your stacks
have small buttons.
-andrew
<running and ducking :-)>kehr@felix.UUCP (Shirley Kehr) (10/19/89)
In article <ALMS.89Oct17171411@brazil.cambridge.apple.com> alms@cambridge.apple.com (Andrew L. M. Shalit) writes:
<A fair amount of research has been done on the psychological
<motivations in button-size choices. Apparently it's possible to tell
<a lot about a hypercard programmer just from her/his choices when
<creating buttons in stacks. The relative size and placements of the
<buttons, as well as the uses of buttons, are taken into account.
<At one college in the northeast a teacher saw a hypercard stack
<created by a student with suspiciously sized buttons and reported it
<to the school psychologist. The student was brought in for an
<interview, and subsequently institutionalized. Student and faculty
<groups protested, siting the chilling effect on campus hypercard
<innovation. The college president, however, insisted that the
<safety of others at the school was more important than any
<"so-called right to privacy surrounding button-sizes in Hybercard
<(sic) stacks". A student group is currently circulating a petition
<calling the president's resignation.
< -andrew
< <running and ducking :-)>
Hey, that was great. You should check into a job with MacWorld if Steven
Levy ever leaves.
Shirley