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Alan Horkan wrote: > Okay so we have Novell and Sun in one corner using a more Microsoft style > layout. In the other corner we have Ubuntu and others [2] who (mostly) > accept the current default layout. > Do we need to reconsider? Hi Alan As someone who is comfortable with Windows, and uses Ubuntu, I have to say that I like the top menu bar. It's clear, clean and easy-to-use. However, usability testing counts for more than opinions. If real people in real situations are having trouble, the menu needs to be seriously examined. Semiotics would suggest that the placement of the menu at the top of the screen is not fitting psychologically. The 'top' is generally understood to be ideological in Western cultures, with the left area being given to known information, the right to new information, and the bottom to data with less priority or the status of predictability (much the same as the left). Perhaps a semiotic examination might lead to great insights with regards optimal placement zones for interactive objects. - From the perspective of traditional semiotics it would make sense to have ideological data like application names and/or documentation names at the top, but to have predictable active objects on the left of the screen. The middle and right of the screen should contain new information like dynamic user data (desktop?). Shane - -- Shane Martin Coughlan e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] m: +447773180107 w: www.shaneland.co.uk - --- Projects: http://mobility.opendawn.com http://gem.opendawn.com http://enigmail.mozdev.org http://www.winpt.org - --- Organisations: http://www.fsfeurope.org http://www.fsf.org http://www.labour.org.uk http://www.opensourceacademy.gov.uk - --- OpenPGP: http://www.shaneland.co.uk/personalpages/shane/files/publickey.asc -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.4-svn4127: (MingW32) iQCVAwUBRGN9tNwG3M95JPpzAQj0fQQAr1cA7zrMnIePMsiaPrFDDmsQ2ERgwRaQ s022yaj9eGFlXXBehtvCtBh3vWW8GShJMmPILOfkO1Cm1GcneJnnKGVNxQ61jUpR vcXCDIfxglO6uXBFNNBjJU6ari5nKxZck6OGJEsHaG/LuV9ovTeL3Ej6gaVKWj+1 jaFZtdT8f8U= =EPZL -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ Usability mailing list [email protected] http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/usability
