[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       kde-look
Subject:    RE: [Fwd: Usability and open source]
From:       Magnus Ihse <d95-mih () nada ! kth ! se>
Date:       2000-01-31 22:15:49
[Download RAW message or body]

On Mon, 31 Jan 2000, Waldo Bastian wrote:

> I think Richard is right here. It's just like placing buttons at the 
> edge of the screen which makes the clickable area larger. (Not really, 
> but that is how it is perceived) Slowing down the mouse when it is 
> above a button makes the button larger: you need to move your mouse 
> further to move past it.

That maybe increases the "longitudinal" but not the "lateral" size of
the buttons. If that made any sense... :) What I'm trying to say is
this: if you have the mouse pointer below the button, and want to
press the button, you'll have to move the mouse upwards. Alright, it
might be a bit easier to hit the mouse if it slows down over the
button, since that would be equal to making the button larger *in the
direction of the mouse movement* but it won't make the button any
*wider* so you might as well go to the left or to the right of the
button.

But the only way to really find out is of course to build the system
and try it on actual users. My guess would be (based on the reasoning
above) that the effect would be that the buttons are easier to hit
than without this functionality, but not as easy as if it was
actually made larger (increasing also the width). Also, there is the
possibility of this destroying the hand-eye coordination in part. But
this might still be a better compromise than wasting valuable screen
real estate.

/Magnus

[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]