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As a long term mac user (really long term, I'm on my 5th and 6th machines and they've all been macs if I've paid for them and I tend to work them into the ground. First mac I bought in the last millennium!) I find a mix of icons and words works best for me: I actually tend to have my menus display words and icons and although I recognise all the icons and use them when I'm really familiar with them (like in my mail app for example) words are good for new and unfamiliar things. That said, some of it is positional too - changing icon sizes and/or removing the text confuses that muscle memory or whatever of where the button and slows me down. And just to really add confusion I use keyboard shortcuts a lot too - at least most of those have remained in the new viewer.

But on another level you're quite right. Not with liking windoze of course (j/k) but ideally you want options for icons, icons + text, text only, and despite the received wisdom that "everyone reads sans-serif better" you want to give options for Serif and SS fonts because there's a significant minority of people (including me) that read serif fonts much more efficiently than sans fonts, even on screen, and there is a proportion of dyslexic users that find serif fonts relatively legible, ss significantly worse.

One size really doesn't fit all - it may do OK in small groups, but as groups get bigger, and particularly as the range of cultures you're working with increases, more choices to let the users decide how to interact becomes more and more critical. Something that a lot of educators outside HE at least are used to, with the drive to differentiated learning, even if they don't think to apply it to software design very often. Hopefully that will follow suit soon!

El.

On 11 Mar 2010, at 13:39, Childs, Mark wrote:

I think one of the big differences in wiring that leads to how people react differently to interfaces is the text v. symbols difference. I found the drop-down menus of the old viewer far easier to read than the icons in the new one. I find that clicking on all the pictures on the call-up box to find my inventory (why a suitcase?) is slower than clicking on the word on the toolbar, which actually has the word "inventory" spelled out. I find windows far easier to use than the mac interface for the same reason, the toolbar has actual words across the bottom rather than a mass of icons. Still i am someone who drove half way to Manchester airport when I wanted to go to Manchester because I overlooked the picture of the aeroplane on the roadsigns (it wouldn't be too hard to use the word "airport" if it's a goddamn airport). Maybe it is something to do with being blue-skinned after all.
 
My plea, though, to anyone out there designing interfaces is to remember us pre post-literate people when being all trendy and creative. Not everyone goes all gooey over GUIs.
 
m.

From: For anyone working in education with an interest in virtual worlds on behalf of Penny Roberts
Sent: Wed 10/03/2010 11:40
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VIRTUALWORLDS] Monthly Meet in SL

> The other concern is that deinstalling the new viewer also
> removes any logged chat.
>

(Been on leave so just catching up.)  The new viewer also creates some
new folders in your inventory which are still there, but useless, when
you use the old viewer.  As these are marked as system folders it is
impossible to remove them and some contain "stuff" which adds to your
inventory account.

I know that a lot of people find the new viewer more intuitive but I
must be hardwired differently (*) because I find it less so.  This isn't
as a result of being used to the old interface/style, I've made such
jumps before in other software with no problems.  The old viewer was
illogical in some areas but the new one is even less logical (or at
least it doesn't fit *my* logic or way of working).

Penny
(*).. and not just because I'm a cyan skinned, purple haired alien....

Access the list, archives and filestore via the web on http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/VIRTUALWORLDS

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Access the list, archives and filestore via the web on http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/VIRTUALWORLDS