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List:       kde-look
Subject:    Re: ui contribution
From:       Alexander Di Nardo <eyyovsyr () umail ! corel ! com>
Date:       2000-04-24 20:19:08
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> Judging from reports that I get about Netscape 6.0 preview
> the new look might have the advantage you mentioned ...
> BUT it turns out that it seems to be an example
> of bad UI-design. If you look at it
> 
> http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/1734/1/screenshot1196/
> 
> you will mention that it's very hard to distinguish between
> the UI of Netscape and the webcontent as the buttons are painted
> in a very similar way most websites are painted now. This
> is confusing and slows down people a lot.

Conceptual discussion - read on if interested:

I understand how this convergence in UI design for OS and web could
throw some people off. Thought: if only the world were perfect and web
sites were easily navigable without the aid of a browser ...

Personally, I like the convergence of design styles (I can be a sucker
for slick design too); however, I do realize that it flies in the face
of the established separation between OS/apps and web content. Speaking
from experience, you upset a great many people when you mess with their
mental model of how something works (whether it was well designed or not
in the first place).

I think that this design convergence will continue, and if so there will
no doubt be screw ups along the way. It's the good possibilities that
have me thinking ... In theory, the convergence of desktop and web UI
design opens the gates for the next generation of applications. For
example, the look and feel of using a personal calender built by company
XYZ and installed on a desktop computer would be identical to XYZ's
online version. The user is empowered to choose the version that he/she
prefers.  

The biggest problem remains that while you can create a UI design
standards template for the OS, where web design is concerned ... who
makes the rules? Which or who's set of rules dominate? (FYI, I know that
in the US, the government is starting to talk about enforcing
accessibility laws on businesses using the web, but that's a new topic
for debate altogether.)

ciao,
Alex.
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