Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Hires GUI 'Design Guru'
overpayd writes "ZDnet is reporting that Microsoft has hired 'user interface guru' Bill Buxton to work as a senior researcher. Will this move help focus the design teams for Vista, Office, etc? From the article: 'My sense is that Microsoft is in transition from an engineering-led company to as much a design-led company ... There are more designers at Microsoft on any single team as there were, not too long ago, in the entire company. It's a wonderful change.'"
I thought good "computer-human interaction" has always been the main attraction of Microsoft products... so why is it anything new that they should be leaning towards the design side of things?
(I can't find his website)
If it's people like you judging whether his website is hard to use or not then I wouldn't worry, cos if you can't find it WHEN THE LINK IS RIGHT THERE IN THE SLASHDOT SUMMARY then you have some inbuilt usability issues within yourself, and no amount of design is going to fix them
I just assumed it was so good that I didn't understand it;-)
'My sense is that Microsoft is in transition from an engineering-led company to as much a design-led company'
Good. Now that they've got the engineering programs solved, having created what everyone agrees is the most solid and bug-free operating system on the market, they can start trying to catch up to Linux in ease-of-use and UI flashiness.
xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
Letting the user do this invariably leads to yellow text over a bright magenta background. I'm not sure why it happens that way, but for some reason, it usually does.
...he is a human-machine interaction guru.
So he's an expert in robosex, eh?
Be a real patriot: Question authority. Think for yourself. Formulate your own conclusions.
"[...] his own page, which was linked to from the article, states that he will be working at Microsoft Research."
Well, then, Mr. Buxton, let me be the first person to welcome you to Apple.
(Sorry. Couldn't resist.)
He speaks very much of design and how to make proper GUIs. In fact he actually teaches design at his university.
To quote Bill Buxton:
"Not only should you get the design right, but more importantly, you should get the right design."
Apparently he also speaks very much of clichés...
No no, he was hired for Microsoft's next Windows release - Windows 2014, codename Windows "Hang on, we're coming..."
Excuse my speling.
Making The Bar Project
Thats it! Im catching the next Pimpmobile out of here!
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson