Unification

To Form a Singular by Removing or Reconciling Differences.

Unification - Summary

Because computer system configuration is almost universal, and because user gestures are largely the same, and because all applications and operating systems chiefly use the same commands; interaction with interfaces shouldn’t be have large variances.

Unification - Summary

So unification in the interface should occur because the interface should contain commands and transformations users will need.

Unification - Summary

This will end the need for menus, drag and drop, file names and applications. Everything the user needs will be in a unified interface.

Unification

“Interface design should be such that any objects that look the same are the same.”

“The cognitive differences among the applications lie in how the selections are presented and how the user can operate them.”

Unification

“From the users point of view there should not be and there is no need for there to be any distinction between operating system operations and application operations.”

Unification

“The syntax we use for commands should not keep us from putting spaces or return in them.”

Unification

“Use of conventions not in accord with our natural-language conventions helps make computers feel unfriendly. We must bend the machine to work the way we do rather than change our language conventions to suit what is easiest to program.”

Unification

“The interface should require that you explicitly delete text and not delete it as a side effect from another action.”

“The elimination of side effects should be one of the goals of any designer of humane interfaces.”

Unification

“If marketing could be kept from screaming too loudly, I would not design an interface with drag-and-drop in text.”

A side-mounted button.

Unification

Transparent error message box. – Modeless with an efficiency of 1.

Unification

“The content of a text file is its own best file name.”

Unification

LEAP

“To type six keystrokes takes less time than to drag an icon.”

Unification

Search and Find and Patterns.

“The same sequence of characters should be typed the same way; you should have to use one method here and another method there.”

Unification

“A program should interact with you on the basis of the smallest meaningful unit of input.” (character by character, not line by line.)

Unification

“In larger texts, a search can proceed circularly not only through the local document but also afterward in automatically expanding domains up to and including the entire Internet.”

Unification

“The sloth of the GID in text pointing is exacerbated in the case of having to point to off-page locations.”

Unification

“Very often, you can complete a cursor move with LEAP faster than you can move your hands from the keyboard to the mouse.”

Unification

Applications Abolished. “The present structure of computer software,

consisting of an operating system under which application programs execute, is inherently modal. This implies that for an interface to be non-modal, an approach that does not include in their present form is required.”

Unification

“Instead of providing application programs, software vendors will provide command sets that offer a collection of related operations.”

Unification

“Vendors, not necessarily the vendors of application command sets, will supply the transformers.”

Unification

Applications as visitors.“Change the screen settings and run the

program without comment and reset the settings when exiting.”

Don’t change the screen settings.

Unification – Finale

What we can use.– Commonality has given us standardization,

unification could help good interfaces.– Current aggravations in interfaces can seem like

defects – Calculator and desktop – Stop making everything special – filenames.

Unification – Finale

Where we can cast doubt.– Application vendors sell just commands?– Are menus filenames and wildcards just text?– Consumer mindset.– How much searching is this guy doing?