Totoliciu Denis Dan wrote: > We are surrounded by graphics and user interfaces, > starting from electronic devices and continuing with > software. > Operating systems have support for interesting user > interfaces features, but none of them seem to be used. > > We often face applications having static user > interfaces. The interesting thing is that companies > have everything needed to build up dynamic user > interactive applications. There may be several reasons > why they are not doing this, though this is not my > concern. > > As a counter-attack to this, I have done a little > demonstration application. It has a dynamic user > interface and demonstrates in a simple fashion that > user interfaces can be more attractive than the good > old rectangular windows that we see each day. > > You can view a demonstration at the following link > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woOkqx3KDUM > > I hope that my work will light ideas in people's minds.
Problems with applications like that: 1) While it looks "cool" for a couple minutes, you are moving UI controls around. This makes it difficult/frustrating to select items with the mouse. 2) Blind or visually impaired users will likely be unable to use any application that uses such a design. 3) The motion is incredibly distracting for ADD/ADHD users. 4) Multilingual support would be a nightmare. 5) It will likely continuously chug CPU. 6) Many users prefer rectangles. When monitors start using round resolutions, then people might consider something other than rectangles. 7) Some of us prefer our rectangles to consume every available pixel of screen space (i.e. maximized windows). 8) Non-rectangular regions in Windows have traditionally had "jaggies" along the border edge (i.e. no border transparency/blending - the whole window can be translucent in some versions of Windows but not just the border). 9) The average user would get confused/lost. Themes/skins have been around for a long time. A non-rectangular application is going to be out of place since it isn't "the norm". Thus most apps. are not custom skinned/themed to help provide UI consistency. -- Thomas Hruska CubicleSoft President Ph: 517-803-4197 *NEW* MyTaskFocus 1.1 Get on task. Stay on task. http://www.CubicleSoft.com/MyTaskFocus/
