I don't think that having many chooses make a system more unusable. In fact I have evidence of the opposite.
Here is the story.
For my system I don't have a mouse but a track ball. For those of you how don't have a track ball I can tell you that. 1) It safe desk space. 2) It is softer for your hand to work with. 3) It don't let you aim you cursor as precise as a mouse.
due to condition 3. I found that all the e themes included in my distro. Had way to many small buttons, which made them hard to use with a track ball.
But on themes.org I found a nice theme that make my life with a track ball easier.
So, that I had a chose actually made the system usable.
I think the real problem is information overload. But it can be solve using information hiding.
E's themes is a good example of this. There is a lot of configurations but you only have to care about choosing one theme.
I also considering writing what you could call a GUI warper.
I should works like this. The applications expose there interface (maybe CORBA) Then the warper use the interface specifications to render a interface.
The render should be a loadable module so you can change interface like you change themes in enlightenment.
This means that the GUI can change free from the apps.
If you get a idea for a breakthrough user interface you just write a render module. Then all apps, uses your new user interface.
I think that if you can test a new user interface across all your applications without a rewrite. Then a highly usable interface will evolve more quickly.
A interface for disabled people or other special cases is just another module, not a complete redesign of all your apps.
This reminds me of the pulse radio technology. Measured before on slashdot.org and FreakTech Maybe they have combined the pulse radio technology in a power grid modem. The companies claim of gigabit/s is far faster that the europaen experiments, whish have transferee speed around megabit/s. Knud
But as always what search engine to use depend on what you are looking for.
Use it, if you are looking for the best page on a specific subject.
Google ranks page by links pointing to them. Where link form high ranking pages weights more.
This means that link from yahoo have more weight.
While this wasn't a problem with the Stanford version, it sometime seams to be a problem now.
Another thing is that you used to be able to make searches like link:www.lycos.com link:www.infoseek.com to find all the pages which have links to both lycos and infoseek. This was very useful, but it has been removed.:-(
When searching with yahoo you get your results categoriesed. This means that if you feels like dancing and search for samba you can find some dance sites.
But yahoos weak points is small size and sometimes bad categories.
That is yahoo don't have a category for blue cheese and sometime categories have to many links.
This is this type of problems I try to solve in Aeiwi. It is not that big only 150000 links but I hope to update it to 250000 links soon.
Here is some links: Time domain is at http://www.time-domain.com/technology.html take a look at Inficom also, they have made a ultra sensitive receiver. http://www.inficom.com/
Slashdot Mirror
There have already
be one convicted in Denmark.
For linking to mp3.
He were convicted becours
the web page were
inviting to crimes.
(coping copyrighted music).
Knud
I like to know when the following things will be possible.
1) In E-term I like to have a picture as background, but I also
like the picture to be 50% transplant.
2) In Gnome I like to have a gtk theme which is
transplant, not just showing the background but also
the windows placed behind.
3) In Gnome I like to be able to place a picture
in the background on every gnome apps. (Like in E-term)
I know from the E page that imlib 2.0 are RGBA based.
So, would this make 1 and 2 possible?
I think there is a way to code around the lake of documentation
for GNU/Linux.
Something like the open directory.
A website where it were possible assign as editor on a open document.
Then on every document it should be possible for the visitors to
leave comments and suggestions which the editor use to update the document.
All the documents should then ordered in a directory like Yahoo or Aeiwi
so they are easy to navigate and browse.
So, if you like to code, what about coding this ??
Hey, I love slashdot. :-)
I were just giving some feedback so that it will stay great.
Last I checked there were no filter named
No bussins news.
if compaq develops some great new technology I would
like to know it.
Who runnes the company, how mush the stock cost, e.t.c.
Is just not my interes.
I have 2 websites and I would love some critique.
http://sunsite.auc.dk/FreakTech/
http://www.aeiwi.com/
Hi.
One of the reasons that I read slashdot is
that technology/business news ration is very high.
Other news site seems to thing that technology news
is just business news for the high tech industry!
So, this is not the type of news I like to see slashdot.
Knud
I have been thinking about usability lately.
I don't think that having many chooses make a system more unusable.
In fact I have evidence of the opposite.
Here is the story.
For my system I don't have a mouse but a track ball.
For those of you how don't have a track ball I
can tell you that.
1) It safe desk space.
2) It is softer for your hand to work with.
3) It don't let you aim you cursor as precise as a mouse.
due to condition 3.
I found that all the e themes included in my distro.
Had way to many small buttons, which made them hard to use
with a track ball.
But on themes.org I found a nice theme that make
my life with a track ball easier.
So, that I had a chose actually made the system usable.
I think the real problem is information overload.
But it can be solve using information hiding.
E's themes is a good example of this.
There is a lot of configurations but
you only have to care about choosing one theme.
I also considering writing what you could call a GUI warper.
I should works like this.
The applications expose there interface (maybe CORBA)
Then the warper use the interface specifications to render a interface.
The render should be a loadable module so you can change interface like
you change themes in enlightenment.
This means that the GUI can change free from the apps.
If you get a idea for a breakthrough user interface
you just write a render module.
Then all apps, uses your new user interface.
I think that if you can test a new user interface
across all your applications without a rewrite.
Then a highly usable interface will evolve more quickly.
A interface for disabled people or other special cases is just another module,
not a complete redesign of all your apps.
But right now all this is only ideas.
Knud
The search by reduction, sound similar to the concept
Aeiwi is based on.
Aeiwi have a unique interface that allows users to add more search
terms until they have a manageable number of results.
Knud
Check out FreakTech I think your find a link to silicon needle
device you talk about + a some more.
This is not true.
Google don't build on Kleinberg's HITS technique.
Let me try to explain.
Google start with assign every page p a rank r[p].
Then assign a weight to every link w[p][q] form page p to page q.
something like this
w[p][q]=k+r[p]/(#link on p);
then recompute the rank like
r[p]=sum(w[s][p],s={every page with links to p})
repeat to convergence.
This is how google works as far as I can remember.
I read the paper before they was remove form Stanford's server.
While Kleinberg HITS algorithm goes like this.
It assign a authority a[p] and hub h[p] rank to each page.
start by make a guess for the authority ranking.
and the calculate h[p]
h[p]=sum(a[s],s={every page p have links to});
the recalculate a[p]
a[p]=sum(h[s],s={every page which have links to page p});
repeat to convergence.
I think it is easier to spam HITS than google becourse it use the hub structure.
I am currently working with a modification to HITS that will solve the problem(I think).
By the way check out my own search engine at Aeiwi
It is not a ranking engine as Google and HITS, but a automatic generated
directory.
This reminds me of the pulse radio technology.
Measured before on slashdot.org and FreakTech
Maybe they have combined the pulse radio technology in a power grid modem.
The companies claim of gigabit/s is far faster that the europaen experiments, whish have transferee speed around megabit/s.
Knud
Hi all.
:-(
I think google is a great search engine.
But as always what search engine to use depend on what
you are looking for.
Use it, if you are looking for the best page on a specific subject.
Google ranks page by links pointing to them.
Where link form high ranking pages weights more.
This means that link from yahoo have more weight.
While this wasn't a problem with the Stanford version,
it sometime seams to be a problem now.
Another thing is that you used to be able to make searches
like
link:www.lycos.com link:www.infoseek.com
to find all the pages which have links to both
lycos and infoseek.
This was very useful, but it has been removed.
When searching with yahoo you get
your results categoriesed.
This means that if you feels like
dancing and search for samba you can find some dance sites.
But yahoos weak points is small size
and sometimes bad categories.
That is yahoo don't have a category for blue cheese and
sometime categories have to many links.
This is this type of problems I try to
solve in Aeiwi.
It is not that big only 150000 links
but I hope to update it to 250000 links soon.
So, stop by and take a look.
Knud
Here is some links:
Time domain is at
http://www.time-domain.com/technology.html
take a look at Inficom also,
they have made a ultra sensitive receiver.
http://www.inficom.com/