On Tuesday 08 November 2005 02:42 am, Guillaume Laurent wrote:
> Stephan Binner wrote:
> > User levels don't work, see previous discussions. Citing such
> > reports as argumentation for it is poor and doesn't change this
> > fact.
>
> The options/actions bloat problem is still real, though.

Today I had my first encounter with Microsoft Office 2003. I was 
absolutely horrified by the interface, Outlook in particular.

Two points are relevant to this discussion. First, the Outlook interface 
has got to be one of the most complicated UI I have ever seen, 
rivalling even xfig. I counted 64 operable controls on the main window, 
and that was with the message pain hidden! I can only conclude that if 
Microsoft can get and keep a monopoly with its horrible interfaces, 
then perhaps usability isn't the overriding concern in the users' minds 
like the pundits keep telling us.

Second, I really, really, really, truly and desperately wanted to get 
rid of the "message groups" feature in Outlook, but I found no way to 
do it with its options dialog. The minimalized (yet still complex) 
configuration didn't have the one switch I wanted. I realize that many 
people here say that configuration dialogs are horribly evil things, 
but meanwhile I'm suffering mental anguish because I can't turn off 
Microsoft stupidity. Surely a balance can be struck?

-- 
David Johnson
___________________
http://www.usermode.org