Did Apple fire it's UI designer?

[Richard1028]

Does anyone here actually do anything useful with their macs?

 

[zeeklancer]

Does anyone here actually do anything useful with their macs?

Umm, I coded my linux kernel driver entirely on a mac, using vmware to actually compile and test the code.

In fact, I use my mac for everything at work!

-Zeek

 

[Ropie]

I have the 2D dock too. The 3D one intrigued me for about a week but in practice it's not a nice piece of design (the dividing 'runway strip' is set to a horrible perspective) and the 2D option is much more user friendly.

 

[mrboult]

No shît. Anyone who's not using the 2D dock is just taking what's given to them. Besides, the new black context menu style on the dock looks great with the 2D dock!

I also have the 2D Dock and really agree that it looks awesome with the new dark dock menus. So much slicker!

Does anyone here actually do anything useful with their macs?

He he he. . . . it has been known.

 

[calderone]

You mean that small transparent world bubble that hovers 50 pixels above the icon, overlaps other icons, and is almost impossible to see on a photograph background? Ya that works great as a mouse over. Please dont tell me you think thats good.

Nothing about the dock is very good, but having a slight magnification makes it a lot easier to use since you never lose track of where your mouse is. The word bubble above each icon is a joke, I always forget its even there.

Keep setting up those strawmen.

 

[wankey]

Yeah good one Cald. That whine was unfounded. The real problems the dock shows to a UI designer:

- moving targets, it's centered view so adding icons to the dock moves original targets right or left. This is a huge problem and it's something you should never do when discussing UI design. That's one reason the start menu was such a success, it stayed in the same place.
- - - magnification makes this issue even worse as the target not only moves but the actual target itself changes size.
- Multiple light sources and reflections clutter up the dock with unnecessary shadows. I need to be cleaner and more to the point.
- Interaction, or rather reaction, with the Dock missing. This video outlines one of its problems: http://vimeo.com/6695160
- - - Currently selected application is a pretty annoying issue. Dock gives no indication of which application is currently focused (Windows 7 does it much better)

What should be done with the Dock:
- Make stack grid view only and make it a pseudo Finder window functionality (right clicking options, dragging files from inside the stack to another part inside the stack... currently the second you drag, the stack disappears)
- Possibly add more indications of what's going on, the focused application should have a much brighter indicator beacon. Could even have that spotlight on it.
- - - Possibly using this animation? http://vimeo.com/5416487 to get your attention rather than jumping up and down

 

[wankey]

Looks like he got them form..

http://macthemes2.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16798576

took me a while to find it, but I did!

Thanks for posting the link. Macthemes website is a good haven for UI modders.

 

[HLdan]

Umm, I coded my linux kernel driver entirely on a mac, using vmware to actually compile and test the code.

In fact, I use my mac for everything at work!

-Zeek

Um, I'm pretty sure that was a rhetorical question seeing as so many people on here do nothing but sit around being so critical of their "imperfect Macs".

 

[kasakka]

Yeah good one Cald. That whine was unfounded. The real problems the dock shows to a UI designer:

- moving targets, it's centered view so adding icons to the dock moves original targets right or left. This is a huge problem and it's something you should never do when discussing UI design. That's one reason the start menu was such a success, it stayed in the same place.
- - - magnification makes this issue even worse as the target not only moves but the actual target itself changes size.
- Multiple light sources and reflections clutter up the dock with unnecessary shadows. I need to be cleaner and more to the point.
- Interaction, or rather reaction, with the Dock missing. This video outlines one of its problems: http://vimeo.com/6695160
- - - Currently selected application is a pretty annoying issue. Dock gives no indication of which application is currently focused (Windows 7 does it much better)

What should be done with the Dock:
- Make stack grid view only and make it a pseudo Finder window functionality (right clicking options, dragging files from inside the stack to another part inside the stack... currently the second you drag, the stack disappears)
- Possibly add more indications of what's going on, the focused application should have a much brighter indicator beacon. Could even have that spotlight on it.
- - - Possibly using this animation? http://vimeo.com/5416487 to get your attention rather than jumping up and down

I agree with everything here. Especially the bouncing dock icon is annoying because you try to hit the icon even though you can click the area where it was in it's "unbouncing" state.

They should also add the option for adding dividers without using the "empty icon" hack.

 

[devburke]

What should be done with the Dock:
- Make stack grid view only and make it a pseudo Finder window functionality (right clicking options, dragging files from inside the stack to another part inside the stack... currently the second you drag, the stack disappears)
- Possibly add more indications of what's going on, the focused application should have a much brighter indicator beacon. Could even have that spotlight on it.
- - - Possibly using this animation? http://vimeo.com/5416487 to get your attention rather than jumping up and down

I really like these ideas.

 

[slicecom]

Yeah good one Cald. That whine was unfounded. The real problems the dock shows to a UI designer:

- moving targets, it's centered view so adding icons to the dock moves original targets right or left. This is a huge problem and it's something you should never do when discussing UI design. That's one reason the start menu was such a success, it stayed in the same place.
- - - magnification makes this issue even worse as the target not only moves but the actual target itself changes size.
- Multiple light sources and reflections clutter up the dock with unnecessary shadows. I need to be cleaner and more to the point.
- Interaction, or rather reaction, with the Dock missing. This video outlines one of its problems: http://vimeo.com/6695160
- - - Currently selected application is a pretty annoying issue. Dock gives no indication of which application is currently focused (Windows 7 does it much better)

What should be done with the Dock:
- Make stack grid view only and make it a pseudo Finder window functionality (right clicking options, dragging files from inside the stack to another part inside the stack... currently the second you drag, the stack disappears)
- Possibly add more indications of what's going on, the focused application should have a much brighter indicator beacon. Could even have that spotlight on it.
- - - Possibly using this animation? http://vimeo.com/5416487 to get your attention rather than jumping up and down

Wow great post! Pretty much exactly what I was trying to tell stainless about magnification. Moving targets are a huge no no in UI design and go against one of the fundamental rules.

 

[stainlessliquid]

If you set the magnification low enough then the icons wont move away from their clickable location. I never said magnification was good, but the icons need some kind of mouse over, magnification is all there is aside from that useless bubble.

Keep setting up those strawmen.

Pat yourself on the back, you managed to find a photo simple and bright enough not to obscure the bubble, clearly all photos will work since theyre all the same. Arguing for that is really quite ridiculous.