3D engine uses in a no-nonsense GUI (was: XO Gen 1.5)

[Hal Murray]

> One can use a 3D accelerator to greatly improve human factors in the
> GUI. Smooth transitions in the GUI are vital to reducing the user's
> sense of disorientation and confusion. This isn't just an issue for
> less-clueful users; you might not realize it but poor transitions are
> forcing needless mental effort that eats up a tiny bit of time here, a
> tiny bit of time there... and it all adds up. You may feel it in
> frustration even if you don't spot the cause. 


> Without the 3D engine, animations are a painful compromise. They are
> slow, jerky, and CPU consuming. Imagine if the frame could slide into
> view with fast perfectly smooth motion and almost no CPU use. Think
> how much more usable Sugar would be. 

I'm far from a UI wizard, but I think I understand a lot of the perception 
issues and/or I'd like to learn more.

I've always thought of "slide into view" as annoying.  I have to wait around 
for the thing I want to look at to finish dancing.

Is there a good book or paper discussing this area?  Does one of Tufte's 
books cover this stuff?




-- 
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's.  I hate spam.