What Mac OS X Could Learn From Windows

An anonymous reader writes "It is almost unheard of to see something written about what OS X could learn from Windows but this details some good examples. And yes, it includes the right-click mouse." I find about half the suggestions compelling enough to be worth griping over, and the other half off-base, but YMMV.

Comments

Re:Nonsense

[GCP]

No, YOU just don't get it. Maybe you would if you reread what I'm responding to.

There is nothing wrong with offering a context menus as an alternative as long as you provide easy access to those functions from the main menu.

Exactly. Not only is there nothing wrong with it, it is a great plus for usability.

You seem to believe that someone here is proposing forcing users to use context menus as the only way to access functionality. Nobody is suggesting that. We're saying ALLOW users to access functionality via context menus, because it's a great way to work. Right clicking a "thing" and being immediately presented with a list of relevant operations that can be performed on that thing is a more direct approach than (left) clicking to select and then wondering which menus to go search in for functionality that may or may not be available.

The whole idea of the menu, as opposed to typing a command on a command line, was to inform users on a just in time basis of their options without requiring that they memorize lots of arcane details.

The context menu (not a right button that has whatever random functionality the app designer wants as in Win3.1 or Unix, but a right button that does just one consistent thing: "show me what I can to to this thing I'm clicking") is an improvement over basic menus. It doesn't tell you what you can do in general (or it shouldn't, as you stated). It tells you what you can do now to the thing you are clicking now.

There are plenty of context menus through out OS X and OS X apps. What you will notice is that all functionality in those context menus are also readily available through other means.

You really don't get it. Nobody is proposing designing apps so that context menus are the only way to access functionality. What we are complaining about is that there are NOT "plenty of context menus". Not even close. They are only "enough" to Mac users who don't use them.

On Windows, app designers assume two button mice and assume that legions of users will explore their app by right clicking various things to discover what can be done with them.

In contrast, on the Mac, app designers assume that most users will only be using the crippled Mac mouse, so they don't put much effort into creating useful context menus. A Windows user who is used to more direct access to functionality will want to explore the features of a Mac app by right clicking lots of things to see what can be done and waving his mouse cursor over things to see what tooltips pop up, and will discover that the UI is pretty uninformative compared to what he is used to (and this is a HUGE reversal from the state of the world in the early Mac vs. DOS or even Mac vs. Win3.1 days). Instead, he'll discover what Mac users assume everyone has to do--he'll have to dig around in the main menus to try to get a sense of the app, based on what's there and what's grayed out.

It took years for the Mac to adopt tooltips, presumably because Microsoft thought of them first and Apple has its pride. As a result, tooltips are usually less used on the Mac. In contrast, MS will gladly rip off (ahem, adopt) ANY idea that is popular with users. And the Mac clings to its crippled mouse, with the consequence that another great way for an app to show its users what to do--context menus--is at about the stage where Win95 was.

Back in the day, Mac apps (I miss you, Claris!!) ruled when it came to UI. But Apple needs to get used to the idea that great UI ideas come from everyone these days and that the market today is not the same as it was a generation ago.