[Sigia-l] Mac mail packages

[Stewart Dean]

>From: Listera <listera at rcn.com>
>To: SIGIA-L <sigia-l at asis.org>
>Subject: Re: [Sigia-l] Mac mail packages
>Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 23:02:34 -0400
>
>A.F. Cossham:
> > I just want smaller building blocks so they can be assembled the way I 
>want.
>
>That may be. But the vast majority of users of commercial (email) software
>just have no ability or willingness to assemble their own apps.

Again I feel you've got the wrong angle on this. I would say it's not 
building an app, it's being allowed to use an app in the way the user wants, 
not in the way the people who made it descided.  I enjoy using apps that 
provide a powerful tool set but are not overly perscriptive on how you use 
that tool set. A bad example of an app that is perscriptive is Omnigraffle, 
for example, something hopefuly some folks here will be familar. If you want 
to use the 'smarts' of the program you have to work in a certain way, one 
that doesnt fit with the way I work. Even drawing lines between boxes means 
you either have to use weird key combinations or spend time setting up 
magnets.

To give an application that has multiple uses that is increasingly becoming 
flexible there is a music application called 'Ableton Live' that has a 
wonderful user interface and can be used as a recording/mixing environment, 
a DJing tool, a quick and fast improvasation tool  or even a live instrument 
to handle different parts live on stage. It does this by providing an 
environment into which to work that allows all these tasks.

Application design can also be seen in what I refered to as top down or 
bottom up design. For example the latest version of office that I linked to 
is potentialy going to be much about top down deisgn, allowing users to do 
things the microsoft way but hide customisation and prevent those that know 
what they want to do doing it. I hope I'm wrong and that it also speeds up 
these tasks.  It's task version of 'known item' in terms of information 
browsing.

Other examples of top down design are 'wizards' - which often severaly break 
if the user wants to divert from the path set.

Allowing a clean and barrier free path from new user (the term novice user 
embodies the wrong mindset), casual user and constant user is the biggest 
challenge of any app. The feilds of 3D modeling and in music creation, in my 
veiw, throw up some of the most interesting solutions to application design 
and ways of working. In both cases when a new need is thrown up the program 
can be expanded to allow a new effect or new way of shaping things to be 
available.

So in my view there is a sweet spot between a perscriptive workflow based 
application and a total open environment like the ones you mentioned.

Cheers

Stewart Dean