Basic usability that has stood the test of time

One of the first Delphi programs I wrote way back in 1996 was a general purpose menu that didn’t close when you’d picked an item. Some people would call this a program launcher but because it was always available I used mine for a lot more. Every computer I’ve had since has used this as my main start point.

Looking at the screen shots below you’ll see the basic tree structure … but then it gets a bit fancy. As just described clicking on a heading opens or closes it: Very simple and obvious. Now programs or documents can be dragged from say Windows explorer onto the heading for permanency or run with a double click. Then it gets interesting…

Screenshot

• Coloured shapes are used for immediate recognition. This is used all day every day so they become familiar landmarks – even if they are abstract.
• Special blobs are used for special purposes
  • Keyhole password protected and encrypted tree. Under this heading are my passwords etc.
  • Spark is a URL
  • Hand is a local directory
  • Play button is a timer. I work freelance and charge by the minute so this is essential
  • Bell Alarm Not shown
• Various textures are available to relieve the monotony of looking at the same thing month after month. Just for the sake of it I implemented a transparent window. (In the illustration the parrots are the wallpaper.) Coupled with this is the 3-d effects of different border shading.
• If the menu is 90% overlaid by other windows it appears on the taskbar for convenience of getting it back.

So not only does the Sticky menu have cool features but it is one of those tools that is indispensable once you’ve tried it. So if it is so brilliant, why doesn’t everyone use it? Because most people will put up with an awful user experience because they don’t know any better.

Nowadays when a lot more is done on the web there’s a related issue. I collect bookmarks all the time but find difficulty organising them. I suspect that what a lot of people would like is a home page that can be edited with ‘bookmarks’ on the fly. As it is I have to jump into my editor hack some HTML then test. OK for me but beyond the ordinary person.

1. Ask if you’d like to try it out. It only works on Windows and because it has grown from small beginnings when I was first getting to grips with Delphi it isn’t really designed for general release. On the other hand if you think it might be worth rewriting from scratch in whatever system you like then that sounds like a good idea to me.

Firefox only : See here for installing

Normally you can use the excellent Adblock plus to get rid of adverts but two days ago two sites I use The inquirer and New Scientist started putting an advert page before their real content. This meant you had to click on another link to get through.

So I’ve written a tiny Greasemonkey1 script you can use to automatically click you straight through to the actual content.

I expect Adblock Plus will soon be updated to include this functionality in which case I’ll remove this script. Also, if you find the script would be useful but can’t get involved with Greasemonkey (not really a pain) then I may turn it into a proper add-on.

1. Greasemonkey is an add-on for Firefox that allows you to hack web pages inside your browser. For example to discover where a ‘click here’ link goes and ‘click’ it automatically which is exactly what this script does. Get it here

There’s a new version of my Firefox add-on that makes the BBC radio schedules readable. On the 1st October the BBC changed their format to add in even more confusion. This broke some of the functionality in my adapter.

To upgrade you have to uninstall the add-in via the tools menu, then reinstall from here. It takes longer to describe than do.

When composing a message for your answering machine please have a think about some basics:

• Can people identify it is you properly. They expect a surreal message on mine. Some people are known by different names to different people. In this case you have to be very careful that the timbre of your voice and style of speaking comes through.
• If you’re suggesting another phone number then give it out once but VERY SLOWLY. It is no good rattling it off quickly twice. My mum has just had this – she can’t write very fast so it was useless.
• How many people continue to fail at basic communication! Speak clearly and don’t record your message with lots of background noise.

When leaving a message please remember these very simple rules

• Say who you are. Make it clear. Time after time mystery people say things like “it’s me …” or “Brian here” when it could be one of five Brians. Only yesterday ????? called from ???? Duh!
• Say what time, and possibly day, you called. This saves a lot of unnecessary chasing when the issue has already been solved via another channel.
• If leaving a phone number speak it very slowly once. The listener can always rewind the tape.
• Say what action you want me to take.

Come on people. This level of communication skill is very simple to master – and very annoying when you don’t.

It appears that NASA have $4M for prize competitions but not enough competition ideas. Well at least they’ve come clean and said so; inviting ideas for challenges. I’ve fixed that for them here. The challenge starts from wondering along these lines.

What struck me about the submission form was that there was no place to put the description of the challenge. You had to say how it would be measured etc. but no space for the core matter. So they’d given it to somebody to try then… Presumably not. A bit of a poor show when you’re asking for ideas to miss out the “what is your idea” bit.

Here’s a very simple idea: Create a club for people with 14th and 15th century buildings. Typically owners and occupiers are proud of their building, detective work and structural discoveries. When they come across interesting items they enjoy sharing them. If they want advice or some expert knowledge then the club might be able to help by putting people in touch and having a directory of respected experts. Taking good care of a bit of heritage, even if it isn’t listed, is a serious responsibility for which mutual assistance would be welcome. Between them the members of the club would have a lot of experience dealing with practical, legal and financial problems which would be an important resource.

So for usefulness of calling on group experience, and the pleasure of sharing and discussing with similar house owners, this club could be a real benefit.

What work, by whom, contains, amongst other things, speak-your-weight machines being trained to sing the Hallelujah Chorus?

What we are always forgetting in East Anglia is that there are lots of people just on the other side of the water who are dying for a weekend of wonderful East Anglian pubs and ale interesting ale. Something should be done to invite beer tourists.
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Is your computer little more than an electronic heap of documents? has anyone ever shown you how to organise your files properly? This article explains essential file system organisation and how to make it happen.

The basic theory is simple you have four different types of file on the computer

Programs – Archive – Current – Temporary

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