[Testing] [olpc-nz] Testing summary - Auckland New Zealand, 29 May 2010

[Gary C Martin]

Hi Mikus,

Just wanted to say thanks for the feedback, and yes, UI latency issues are real tender subject... The trick (I hope) with a replacement fullscreen dialogue is that it doesn't need to do any of the actual activity start-up process which is what I understand is the delay for the pulse window appearing, and then the duration it then pulses for. A full screen dialogue 'should' be making no more dbus requests than the current pop-up palette, it's just a different UI technique for the same information. I hope such a change would help resolve:

1) confusion many have between start new, and resume by making that choice explicit and of equal value
2) avoid the whole insta pop-up vs. delayed hover palette vs. right click vs. left click debates
3) avoid the need for cursor dexterity to use a current palette
4) the additional screen real-estate may allow an extra feature (I'm thinking "Start shared", ideal for chat etc)

Thanks again for your feedback, Christian has some nice mock-ups (he's still working on so not posted anywhere yet) – I imaging we'll be having another design #sugar-meeting this weekend to bounce the concept around a little more if you wanted to attend.

Regards,
--Gary

On 1 Jun 2010, at 00:02, Mikus Grinbergs wrote:

>> Thanks, that's a good point to raise. Christian and I had quick #sugar-meeting on Saturday about
>> some ongoing design plans to improve the resume/start behaviour. It's roughly a full screen
>> dialogue (like the control panel and naming dialogues) that appear when an activity is clicked,
>> and provides the features currently found in the hover home palettes. It's one solution to the,
>> "if I click will it resume a previous session, or start new?"
>> 
>> Perhaps with this extra space it might be possible to introduce a way
>> to 'start shared' for new activities.
> 
> Please consider:
> 
> Palettes may require dexterity to use - but they *already* allow the
> user to select between 'start anew' and 'resume'.
> 
> My experience with "full screen" is that they take WAY TOO LONG to open
> with F11-on-XO -- for instance the wait between clicking on an icon in
> Home View and seeing the "launching" full screen is often one second -
> and occasionally it's been more like five seconds.
> 
> The advantage of the palette is that "what is happening" is visible
> throughout -- the user has to hover (or left click) first, before the
> palette opens -- and subsequently when the user clicks within a palette
> that entry's highlight disappears instantly;  whereas ANY interval
> whatsoever after the triggering action for invoking full screen leaves
> the user dangling "in purgatory" until that expected screen appears.
> 
> 
> Also, while simplifying user controls is wonderful for when things go as
> expected, the user is left helpless when they do not.  In this case,
> suppose the user indicates 'start shared' - and the Activity starts, but
> doesn't share. What is the user expected to do - write a problem ticket?
> [I was thinking of a "try again to share" capability.]
> 
> 
> mikus
> 
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