[OT] "The Condescending UI" (was: Do we need Win95/98/Me support?)

[Nick Sabalausky]

"Steven Schveighoffer" <schveiguy at yahoo.com> wrote in message 
news:op.v8l0jzrdeav7ka at localhost.localdomain...
> On Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:59:46 -0500, Nick Sabalausky <a at a.a> wrote:
>
>> "Walter Bright" <newshound2 at digitalmars.com> wrote in message
>
>>> Ever since the industry helpfully stopped labeling switches with "on" 
>>> and
>>> "off" my usual technique is to flip it back and forth until it goes on. 
>>> Is
>>> it really progress to change from a system where 99% of the world knows
>>> what it means to one where 2% know?
>>
>> I'd say more like "from 99% to 90%". And those who do know can read it 
>> more
>> easily, at a further distance, with worse eyesight, in worse lighting
>> conditions, at a breifer glance, etc.
>
> This has nothing to do with it.  They could have come up with a *million* 
> better choices.
>
> Couple that with the fact that:
>
> a) you usually want something on or off.  If it's already in the desired 
> state, you can usually tell without looking at the switch.
> b) It's far more mentally taxing to read/understand the symbols, remember 
> how they apply to circuits, then determine whether it's on or off, than it 
> is to simply start flipping switches until you get the desired result.
>

So symbols are bad because they chose the wrong symbol?

> I think you'd be better off without *any* symbols, or with only a single 
> symbol indicating 'on'.
>

I think we'll have to disagree on it...

> For my money, the *best* on off switch is the lighted pushbutton, which 
> has the two symbols combined.  I know that it's a power button, and if I 
> see no light, I know it's off.
>

Until the light burns out (granted, less of an issue with LEDs).

Also, I *hate* how thanks to modern electronics *everything* in the goddamn 
room has to be lit up like a fucking tree. And they keep making the damn 
things brighter, and brighter, and BRIGHTER...Shit, the light on the USB HDD 
enclosue I just got is so bright it genuinely *hurts* my eyes just to look 
at it. I had to tape tiny pieces of paper over it just to make it tolerable. 
And it's still brighter than I'd like. But I don't want to totally obscure 
it because then I can't see when it's active.

I want *less* lights. Much, much *much* less. Not more.

> And the WORST on/off design ever (mandated by regulation, I believe) is to 
> have a light turn *ON* when something is off.  For example, my TV 
> helpfully has an LED that turns on when it's off, presumably to let me 
> know that it's connected to power.
>

I *HATE* those "off" lights. I've started to just tape over the fucking 
things with black electrical tape.