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Yeah whoops. I'm ill and my brain isn't thinking very well.

I think you've hit it right there. every time Apple commits an interface nono, they seem to have done it nicely. It could be done a lot worse, but they can get away with it. It's still wrong but it's better than what it could be.

MS just seemed to treat the interface like its own public billboard. Slaps crap all-over the place and hopes it will attract buyers, which it will.

Interfaces that really piss me off are cellphones, but thats another story entirely.

Where was I, oh yes, Vista's interface sucks. That's the short version. The long version is that it really sucks. If you want the complete rundown, it will take me 5 days to compile and would fit in a 50 page pdf.

No that's not true. They have their uses in interface design. However, they can't be relied on as the only visual guide.
The sound icon in OS X has the coresponding mark on the keyboard and in system prefs. If it was the only reference to the symbol it would be very bad.

Either way, Vista's UI is poorly designed, planed and implemented.

Also, I wish there was a Troll button sometimes...

Edit: Goodbye loyal thread! May you rest in peace at the hands of The Cynic, king of the MAF Trolls.

Last edited by reece_james (2006-09-07 8:24 am)

reece_james wrote:

http://homepage.mac.com/oatmeal/MAF/maxes/troll.gif

Vista has a completly unfriendly and unintuitive UI. It took me 5 minutes to find the new window 'menu option' in IE. I know the shortcut , but if it takes me that long then what's the average user going to do? The menu structures have disapeared for some reason. No idea why, they just have. Anyone who uses a computer by looking through teh menus is in for a rather rude shock. Icons are a nono.

Holding down a combo of option and alt (or something along those lines) makes the menubar reappear as long as you hold them.  I did it once by accident.

reece_james wrote:

That's kinda my point. Most important interface components are hidden by some obscure key command or behind some irrelevant icon. It's just plain wrong!

I agree, but I don't really care.  In a browser (like IE) the file menu is basically for saving/opening/printing webpages.  I don't do any of those on my PC.  Why save a page for reference on my PC when I do that on my mac? (And not risk saving spyware or something...) And there is nothing on this earth that will convince me to even try getting my printer(s) working with Windows XP/Vista.  Windows 98 was the last windows release I would try doing that with, because it had AppleTalk support. (XP does not...)

My PC is for games, and compiling stuff for windows.  That's it.

reece_james wrote:

That's kinda my point. Most important interface components are hidden by some obscure key command or behind some irrelevant icon. It's just plain wrong!

Like clicking the start/windows menu to see most important interface components?

Internet browser, email client, commonly used applications, networked machines, the control panel, your documents directory, et al.  The usual suspects are all present and accounted for.  What exactly do you consider to be "most important interface components" to be that aren't already there?

Please enlighten me.

I'm sorry, that didn't seem to really be an answer to my question.

Try again?

What exactly do you think is missing?

Cynic knock off the jerkiness, please. It's beyond a joke. Why do you insist on trying to (and succeeding) in winding me up over UI design?

reece_james wrote:

Cynic knock off the jerkiness, please. It's beyond a joke.

PM it.

reece_james wrote:

Why do you insist on trying to (and succeeding) in winding me up over UI design?

All I was doing was trying to get past the in your long-winded posts and get to whatever point you were trying to make.

Seriously.  If you have a problem with that, I suggest you learn how to use the PM system right about now.

Then again, OS X doesn't constitute the majority of internet users' operating system selection.

DudetheCreator wrote:

I just wish they'd stop the system from sucking memory.  At any one time, Windows XP can use 200 to 400 megs of my RAM.  But (according to Activity Monitor) only 100megs of ram is wired to the Mac OS X system.

When I tried Vista PB2 and preRC1 I was initially appalled by the RAM usage - over 700 MB just to boot the OS seemed a bit much. After a few hours of use and some tweaking I came to terms with it. Vista still grabs over 700 MB in the first few minutes after booting but eventually settles down to 300-350 MB, with 400-500 MB used while doing most stuff. I don't mind this. I have a gig of RAM and if Vista actually uses it I am all for it. RAM is faster than a hard drive, so cache away Vista.

Vista does use more RAM than XP to do the same things, that is for sure - I'd say about double, on average. But Halo 2 will not want any of my RAM. Vista's RAM use may be a problem for gamers, I guess they will find out. For my media center type needs Vista Ultimate was quite comfortable with 1 gig.