[Sigia-l] The 3 Factors of I/A

[Listera]

"Peter Merholz" wrote:

> For the longest time, software was very task-agnostic --
> it's just a tool with innumerable features that you can fiddle with. I mean,
> how can a word processor know what task you're trying to accomplish?

If it had a slightly higher IQ than MS Word, it would. :-)

One step up from WPs, many design oriented apps have had context-sensitive
toolbars, palettes, menus, etc: create a textbox and only tools/functions
that are appropriate to text editing would be available; change to a picture
box and the tools change accordingly.

This is even more pronounced in a category of software that's among the most
difficult to learn: 3D/post. If you look at apps from Maya, Discreet and
Quantel, you'll see this. For cheaper thrills, try SketchUp and follow how
the app automagically aids the designer when creating shapes, connecting
surfaces, etc. I've used similar approaches in software design for smaller,
internal apps focused on well-delineated tasks.

Ziya
Nullius in Verba