domo@riddle.UUCP (Dominic Dunlop) (01/11/89)
[Goodness knows where follow-ups should be posted. My guess is above.] In article <590@dms.UUCP> albaugh@dms.UUCP (Mike Albaugh) writes: >From article <2117@van-bc.UUCP>, by sl@van-bc.UUCP (Stuart Lynne): >> ... the cost of developing the programs for the >> Macintosh is higher due to developing the user interface. > And re-develop it for every system release.... :-) >> >> The primary advantage of the Mac interface is it's uniformity across >> applications, ease of use for non computer literate users and fast learning >> curve. >... Soon after you get up to speed, you try somthing just a little out of >the ordinary and hit a brick wall (like a function that _only_ has a short-cut >(no menu item) or one that is hidden three menues deep in a strange place. What developers are supposed to do is RTFM. I've got 200 pounds (UK retail, not weight) of _Inside Macintosh_, _User Interface Guidelines_ and more sitting on my bookshelf and looking rather prettier than (say) the SVID, but have I read them? Have I hell! The volume of the tracts one is supposed to read and inwardly digest in order to become a true Mac accolyte is just too great for me, and, I suspect, for most others -- including those who get to develop Macintosh applications. However, I do know that _User Interface Guidelines_ specifically counsels against short-cut-only options, and against menus nested more deeply than two layers. I'd also give Apple high marks for authoring their own religious materials from day one. Wouldn't it have been nice if Microsoft had given pointers to the features of OS/2 when MS-DOS first appeared? Wouldn't it have been nice if future VGA compatibility had been discussed when the EGA came out? _Inside Macintosh_ has always given ``dos and don'ts'' regarding the writing of applications able to grow with the Mac -- although there have been some surprises along the way, meaning that even the most conscientious developer is likely to get bitten once in a while. And besides, if your competitor brings out a spiffy new release using every feature in the latest 256k ROM (or whatever), you'd better do the same. But, the less conscientious the developer, the more often bitten. When Apple itself is shipping Hypercard, a product unable to do much with large screens, and ignorant of colour and grey-scales (although it is clever with half-tones), one begins to suspect that the problem may be widespread... -- Dominic Dunlop domo@sphinx.co.uk domo@riddle.uucp