On Sun, 2006-06-04 at 00:51 -0500, Rajko M wrote:
The same dash board etc, in many cars is not without reason. One needs some data like speed and mileage to see anytime easy. If that would make you looking far from the road it would be dangerous, and that makes all dashboards looking similar. With the gear shifting manufacturers have little more freedom, but no many like to learn totally different system with every new car, so they are pretty much the same too. The same is with computer software. It doesn't look similar for some irrational reason, but because once layout is determined with how easy is to reach certain function, the other time it will be similar to comply with the way people are used to accomplish the job.
Ironically enough, Xerox basically discovered that the most efficient and broadly popular desktop interface is _not_ overlapping Windows, but tiled windows with a "tab" interface into them. Xerox has experimented with this, as well as their select licensees (e.g., Digital-Compaq) over the years, but Microsoft put an end to all shell replacements by the mid-'90s. A few Linux windowing and program environments have tried to address this, although most programs and standard windowing environments are _not_ designed for it. One idea I had awhile back was the concept of what I call the "Dynamic Viewport Context" Window Manager (DVCWM). Using OpenGL would make it a heck of a lot easier, more efficient and easier to see the "tabs" (especially if they had "depth"). For more on how the DVCWM concept differs radically from traditional window managers, as well as what it builds upon over most prior "tab" approaches, see my [re-posted] blog article h ere: http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2004/04/concept-dynamic-viewport-context.html -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ------------------------------------------------------- Illegal Immigration = "Representation Without Taxation" -- Check the headers for your unsubscription address For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the archives at http://lists.suse.com Please read the FAQs: suse-linux-e-faq@suse.com