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Re: Systemsettings
by jame on Monday 30/Jul/2007, @21:06
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I didn't code any of this or greatly follow it's creation, but my interpretation is that the System Settings changes were motivated by a very rare situation. That being: usability is not the primary concern of a computer settings editor, discoverability is.
High usability apps are usually somewhat difficult to learn (look at any professional tool and how many shortcuts it has that aren't obvious, most of the Adobe suite comes to mind). The general settings for a desktop are very rarely edited, so having it not done in the exact minimum time-frame is not a large overall penalty.
In real use, a settings editor is only used periodically and often when it is being used it is being used by a first-time user, or at least by a user who has never done what he is looking to do before. You usually only have to touch a specific setting once or twice before it's right, not every few days.
Because of this, a 'well designed' settings editor might be a little cumbersome to an experienced user, because the improvements to discoverability slow them down. I think that's the main reason that, when the interface is improved overall, this particular tool can take what many see as a back-step.
So, keep in mind not only how much the changes effect you, and also how much the changes will affect inexperienced users, as they're the ones most affected by the interface of this module. |
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