Defending the liberal tradition in history, science, and philosophy.
Sun is working on a hot new user interface called Looking Glass. Check it out. At first it didn't sound interesting but the more I look at the screen shots the more cool it seems. The video demo is especially impressive.
And the best part is, it's open source. Hee! I can't wait.
(Via my buddy Ed Wagner.)
A note on our important Editorial Policy.
Or you could buy something for Dean from his WISH LIST!
Celia Farber
Music, Movies, Books, and Etc.
Questioning the HIV/AIDS establishment
|
Dean's World uses and recommends:
Scroogle Search
Your donations also make Dean's World possible.
Or you could buy something for Dean from his WISH LIST!
Expect Microsoft to miss the point of the exercise. You can also expect Apple and Microsoft to come out with something much like it for their next generation of operating systems.
It could mean a change in how user interfaces are viewed in the business. Itstead of being something that comes with the OS, the user interface may become an item that comes separate. You'll get the manufacturer's OS with your new machine plus a basic interface, with a jazzier interface as an option.
Different interfaces for different people in the household. Different interfaces for different tasks. A sheet of foolscap for word processing for example.
Tons you could do with this idea.
So thanks, once again, for bringing it to my attention.
The single greatest benefit MS has brought to the computing public (which by now is damned near everyone) is standardization of-- interface is the wrong word, but something like it...
If I double click on an .exe, I damned well expect that exe to run. If I highlight some text and hit Crtl^C, I expect it to copy Ctrl^P will paste. If I hit the right click button, I expect a context menu to pop up...
The biggest problem with open source is that in most cases there is no body saying “this is how it will be”-- so you end up with a thousand forks that don’t make a dinner set (er, work well together, but the metaphor demanded extending)...
Now, if Sun wants to say “we are going to do _this_, and then give you the tools to extend it”, I’m all for that. But “open source” does not necessarily mean “better user experience”, which the PR man was basically saying...
Having said all that; I’ve been thinking about the UI in the same manner as both Dean and mythusmage in the last few months. I hope like hell that project looking glass succeeds. The toys they just showed looked like a lot of fun to play with...
Bells and whistles are fine, but functionality is where it matters. The question here is: does the "looking glass" UI provide any extra functionality?
After 20 years of "next great breakthrough[s]," call me skeptical... :)
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.