ccastgs@gitpyr.gatech.EDU (Glenn Stone) (05/19/87)
In article <763@mind.UUCP> greg@mind.UUCP (Greg Nowak) writes: >In article <312@phoenix.PRINCETON.EDU> dykimber@phoenix.UUCP (Dan Kimberg) writes: >> >>My first reaction to your example >>problem is to think in terms of the iconic interfaces that are so popular. >>It would seem that it's much easier for people to adapt to a system that makes >>some steps towards adapting to them, i.e. emulating what they already know... > >If by iconic interfaces you meant mouse-accessible menus, there's a further >step you can take. Touch-sensitive screens, combined with graphics, >seem to remove most of the computer-phobia, and solve the problem of >access for those who can't type. Right off the bat, I could't guess whether >a mouse or a TSS would be easier to use for the phobic or the physically >impaired, but I'd vote for the TSS. I agree... Mice are sometimes unfriendly, especially if there is more than one button and the buttons do different things. I saw TSS's used (in a very good fashion) at the 1982 World's Fair (Knoxville, TN) to run a menu-driven information database (essentially an overgrown dictionary and thesaurus). One used the TSS to scan at a variable speed thru the list of topics, choose a topic, and control whether the user wanted more information on the topic. (just as a side note.... TSS's are also a lot tougher than mice where a careless/abusive user is concerned.) -- Glenn Stone GGGG BITNET: ccastgs@gitvm1 ARPA: ccastgs@pyr.ocs.gatech.edu G TTTTT USnail: Georgia Tech Box 30372, Atlanta, GA 30332 GGGGT ..!{akgua|allegra|hplabs|ihnp4|seismo}!gatech!gitpyr!ccastgs T