Peeve Farm

g r o t t o 1 1

Peeve Farm
Breeding peeves for show, not just to keep as pets

Brian Tiemann
Silicon Valley-based purveyor of a confusing mixture of Apple punditry and political bile.

btman at grotto11 dot com

Read These Too:

InstaPundit
USS Clueless
James Lileks
Little Green Footballs
As the Apple Turns
Entropicana
Cold Fury
Capitalist Lion
Red Letter Day
Eric S. Raymond
Tal G in Jerusalem
Secular Islam
Aziz Poonawalla
Corsair the Rational Pirate
.clue
Ravishing Light
Rosenblog
Cartago Delenda Est

« ? Blogging Brians # »

Book Plugs:

Buy 'em and I get
money. I think.
BSD Mall

Amazon Honor System

1/24/2005 -  1/26/2005
1/17/2005 -  1/23/2005
1/10/2005 -  1/16/2005
  1/3/2005 -   1/9/2005
12/27/2004 -   1/2/2004
12/20/2004 - 12/26/2004
12/13/2004 - 12/19/2004
12/6/2004 - 12/12/2004
11/29/2004 -  12/5/2004
11/22/2004 - 11/28/2004
11/15/2004 - 11/21/2004
11/8/2004 - 11/14/2004
11/1/2004 -  11/7/2004
10/25/2004 - 10/31/2004
10/18/2004 - 10/24/2004
10/11/2004 - 10/17/2004
10/4/2004 - 10/10/2004
9/27/2004 -  10/3/2004
9/20/2004 -  9/26/2004
9/13/2004 -  9/19/2004
  9/6/2004 -  9/12/2004
8/30/2004 -   9/5/2004
8/23/2004 -  8/29/2004
8/16/2004 -  8/22/2004
  8/9/2004 -  8/15/2004
  8/2/2004 -   8/8/2004
7/26/2004 -   8/1/2004
7/19/2004 -  7/25/2004
7/12/2004 -  7/18/2004
  7/5/2004 -  7/11/2004
6/28/2004 -   7/4/2004
6/21/2004 -  6/27/2004
6/14/2004 -  6/20/2004
  6/7/2004 -  6/13/2004
5/31/2004 -   6/6/2004
5/24/2004 -  5/30/2004
5/17/2004 -  5/23/2004
5/10/2004 -  5/16/2004
  5/3/2004 -   5/9/2004
4/26/2004 -   5/2/2004
4/19/2004 -  4/25/2004
4/12/2004 -  4/18/2004
  4/5/2004 -  4/11/2004
3/29/2004 -   4/4/2004
3/22/2004 -  3/28/2004
3/15/2004 -  3/21/2004
  3/8/2004 -  3/14/2004
  3/1/2004 -   3/7/2004
2/23/2004 -  2/29/2004
2/16/2004 -  2/22/2004
  2/9/2004 -  2/15/2004
  2/2/2004 -   2/8/2004
1/26/2004 -   2/1/2004
1/19/2004 -  1/25/2004
1/12/2004 -  1/18/2004
  1/5/2004 -  1/11/2004
12/29/2003 -   1/4/2004
12/22/2003 - 12/28/2003
12/15/2003 - 12/21/2003
12/8/2003 - 12/14/2003
12/1/2003 -  12/7/2003
11/24/2003 - 11/30/2003
11/17/2003 - 11/23/2003
11/10/2003 - 11/16/2003
11/3/2003 -  11/9/2003
10/27/2003 -  11/2/2003
10/20/2003 - 10/26/2003
10/13/2003 - 10/19/2003
10/6/2003 - 10/12/2003
9/29/2003 -  10/5/2003
9/22/2003 -  9/28/2003
9/15/2003 -  9/21/2003
  9/8/2003 -  9/14/2003
  9/1/2003 -   9/7/2003
8/25/2003 -  8/31/2003
8/18/2003 -  8/24/2003
8/11/2003 -  8/17/2003
  8/4/2003 -  8/10/2003
7/28/2003 -   8/3/2003
7/21/2003 -  7/27/2003
7/14/2003 -  7/20/2003
  7/7/2003 -  7/13/2003
6/30/2003 -   7/6/2003
6/23/2003 -  6/29/2003
6/16/2003 -  6/22/2003
  6/9/2003 -  6/15/2003
  6/2/2003 -   6/8/2003
5/26/2003 -   6/1/2003
5/19/2003 -  5/25/2003
5/12/2003 -  5/18/2003
  5/5/2003 -  5/11/2003
4/28/2003 -   5/4/2003
4/21/2003 -  4/27/2003
4/14/2003 -  4/20/2003
  4/7/2003 -  4/13/2003
3/31/2003 -   4/6/2003
3/24/2003 -  3/30/2003
3/17/2003 -  3/23/2003
3/10/2003 -  3/16/2003
  3/3/2003 -   3/9/2003
2/24/2003 -   3/2/2003
2/17/2003 -  2/23/2003
2/10/2003 -  2/16/2003
  2/3/2003 -   2/9/2003
1/27/2003 -   2/2/2003
1/20/2003 -  1/26/2003
1/13/2003 -  1/19/2003
  1/6/2003 -  1/12/2003
12/30/2002 -   1/5/2003
12/23/2002 - 12/29/2002
12/16/2002 - 12/22/2002
12/9/2002 - 12/15/2002
12/2/2002 -  12/8/2002
11/25/2002 -  12/1/2002
11/18/2002 - 11/24/2002
11/11/2002 - 11/17/2002
11/4/2002 - 11/10/2002
10/28/2002 -  11/3/2002
10/21/2002 - 10/27/2002
10/14/2002 - 10/20/2002
10/7/2002 - 10/13/2002
9/30/2002 -  10/6/2002
9/23/2002 -  9/29/2002
9/16/2002 -  9/22/2002
  9/9/2002 -  9/15/2002
  9/2/2002 -   9/8/2002
8/26/2002 -   9/1/2002
8/19/2002 -  8/25/2002
8/12/2002 -  8/18/2002
  8/5/2002 -  8/11/2002
7/29/2002 -   8/4/2002
7/22/2002 -  7/28/2002
7/15/2002 -  7/21/2002
  7/8/2002 -  7/14/2002
  7/1/2002 -   7/7/2002
6/24/2002 -  6/30/2002
6/17/2002 -  6/23/2002
6/10/2002 -  6/16/2002
  6/3/2002 -   6/9/2002
5/27/2002 -   6/2/2002
5/20/2002 -  5/26/2002
5/13/2002 -  5/19/2002
  5/6/2002 -  5/12/2002
4/29/2002 -   5/5/2002
4/22/2002 -  4/28/2002
4/15/2002 -  4/21/2002
  4/8/2002 -  4/14/2002
  4/1/2002 -   4/7/2002
3/25/2002 -  3/31/2002
3/18/2002 -  3/24/2002
3/11/2002 -  3/17/2002
  3/4/2002 -  3/10/2002
2/25/2002 -   3/3/2002
2/18/2002 -  2/24/2002
2/11/2002 -  2/17/2002
  2/4/2002 -  2/10/2002
1/28/2002 -   2/3/2002
1/21/2002 -  1/27/2002
1/14/2002 -  1/20/2002
  1/7/2002 -  1/13/2002
12/31/2001 -   1/6/2002
12/24/2001 - 12/30/2001
12/17/2001 - 12/23/2001

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

19:23 - If you get lost, zoom out to gain perspective
http://slashdot.org/articles/05/01/26/1338224.shtml?tid=189

(top)

Here's to the crazy ones, eh?

Jef Raskin, the self-styled "Father of the Macintosh" (who was actually forced out of Apple by Jobs early on, before having any significant impact on Mac design), has just secured $2 million in venture capital funding to develop the UI ideas that got him kicked out in the first place: a "Humane Interface" in which everything we hate about modern computers is done away with... and everything we love about them, too.

Raskin's interface (demonstrated in this zoom-centric Flash file) apparently amounts to converting your computer into a giant monospaced word processor. Everything's keyboard commands. He wants people to learn to use specialized "command sets", entered using customized keyboards, instead of the mouse, because�as we all know�modern computer functionality is all about modal manipulation of text, not those silly Jobs-induced hallucinations of "music" and "images". (Raskin doesn't like the iPod, surprise surprise. Too "showbiz".)

In reading the various documents linked from this page and the Slashdot commenters (and commenters on his book at Amazon), all I can think is how there are all these diligent UI designers out there trying their hardest to come up with ways to make computers easier to use for the blind, illiterate, uneducated, or otherwise limited user. The approaches everyone keeps coming up with involve more use of GUI, easily understandable icons and pictographs, and so on. Why do you suppose that is? Maybe because a UI that's entirely text-based and command-line driven is utterly unusable to anyone who can't interact efficiently with text. Even someone who's just a lousy typist would be crippled by this interface, which is like taking the excellent LaunchBar idea and extending it until it's the entire computer. What's great as a supporting navigation system in keyboard-literate, alphanumeric societies is not a panacea for all computing tasks. Think how well it would do in, say, China (where most of the population is functionally illiterate and the rest use a typography system fundamentally incompatible with ours, and by extension, Raskin's).

The man seems to have trouble with basic technical concepts, such as when he explains that "There has never been any technical reason for a computer to take more than a few seconds to begin operation when it is turned on". Editorial reviewers take up the chant, agreeing heartily: "So why then does Windows (or Linux!) take so darn long to start up? The PalmPilot is on instantly, as is your cell phone. But for some reason, we tolerate the computer taking a few eons to start. (And until consumers complain about it, things won't change.)" Yeah, or until computers start having as few physical devices to initialize and load drivers for as the Palm Pilot, or something. Really�geez. Claims like this are embarrassing, or ought to be.

I mean, yes, I applaud the desire to rethink some of our foregone conclusions in computing; it would be nice to see some breaking down of the unnecessary barriers between things like "Applications" and "Documents", as Slashdot commenter TotalWimp says:

I've been asked on several occasions to help people find their missing documents. Naturally I've asked them "where did you last see it?" A surpisingly common answer is, "it's in Word."

I would ask them some more questions and they'd show me "exactly where it is" by clicking Open from the File menu of word and showing me "where the doument should be"..." right there in word."

Sometimes they'd show me the list of recently opened documents hanging right off the file menu "in Word."

...But this guy looks like just the kind whose vision is sufficiently unmoored in reality to make him dangerous. He can sell an idea, clearly, and he has enough sane concepts in his book to win converts. But I don't think people are really thinking the ideas of modern computing through any more than Raskin is, and are following his lead in simply ignoring any aspect of computer usage�like navigating your music, or Photoshopping, or using the Web�that doesn't fit into his 1979 vision.

"Ratboy":

Raskin is "the man" for UI?

In a word; no.

And, if you don't believe me, check out the Canon Cat. Really.
Post Mac, and has NOTHING that is on your standard UI list. Big (BIG) flop.

Check out Raskins ramblings -- boils down to "The UI should be vi; and people will love it". Especially, vi with dedicated function keys.

In a sense, he *is* right. It would be a better UI. But, he *is* very wrong; people will *not* love it. So its a non-starter.

But now he's got $2 million to play with, so maybe we'll see a real prototype soon. Personally, I look forward to it: I hope he brings it fully to fruition. That way, people will see exactly how easy it really is to do all the things we've become accustomed to in his Humane Interface: not very. Until that happens, though, we have Raskin's word to go on, and his salesmanship, and the false sense of sanity into which he lulls the reader with patently solid theories and appeals to common sense. That's where he springs his trap; and without a concrete interactive demo to see what he's really proposing, I don't think anyone really realizes how debilitating it would be.

But we'll see, right?

Via Kris.