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When I was a smartass computer nerd in the 80s and 90s, an eternal theme was friends and family sheepishly asking me for tech support help, and me slowly, patiently explaining to them that computers aren't scary, they're actually predictable, they won't explode or erase your data (unless you really make an effort), and they operate by simple (if somewhat arcane) rules. Edit > Cut, then click, then Edit > Paste. Save As. Use tabs, not spaces. Stuff like that. Maybe not easy, but simple, or at least consistent and learnable.

But that's not true anymore.

User interfaces lag. Text lies. Buttons don't click. Buttons don't even look like buttons! Panels pop up and obscure your workspace and you can't move or remove them -- a tiny floating x and a few horizontal lines is all you get. Mobile and web apps lose your draft text, refresh at whim, silently swallow errors, mysteriously move shit around when you're not looking, hide menus, bury options, don't respect or don't remember your chosen settings. Doing the same thing gives different results. The carefully researched PARC principles of human-computer interaction -- feedback, discoverabilty, affordances, consistency, personalization -- all that fundamental Don Norman shit -- have been completely discarded.

My tech support calls now are about me sadly explaining there's nothing I can do. Computers suck now. They run on superstition, not science. It's a real tragedy for humanity and I have no idea how to fix it.

#HCI #UX #UI #okdoomer


Put your kettles on and come learn about Cards View and how we tackle visual design! Community Office Hours start in half an hour - get the Zoom link and password in the blog post:

https://blog.thunderbird.net/2023/11/upcoming-thunderbird-community-office-hours/

#Thunderbird #OpenSource #UI


Just a friendly reminder to join us tomorrow at 18:00 UTC for our Community Office Hours all about visual design and Cards View with @micah! Find out how to join the call, hang out with the team, and learn how UI changes happen and how to get involved below!

https://blog.thunderbird.net/2023/11/upcoming-thunderbird-community-office-hours/

#Thunderbird #OpenSource #UI


Has been released Lapce v0.3.0 🎉

Lapce (IPA: /læps/) is a modern Open Source, Lightning-fast, and Powerful code editor, written in pure Rust with a UI in Floem. 🦀

#OpenSource #CodeEditor #Rust #Lapce #Floem #UI #Editor #FOSS #Developer #Experience #DX

https://github.com/lapce/lapce/releases/tag/v0.3.0


Why did my #Thunderbird (upgraded to v115.3.1) grow an empty window frame & titlebar above the menu bar? #UI #UX

I have also lost the ability to re-size columns in the message-list pane.


Quick FYI 🏁 🏎️

Prior to #GoDaddy killing my #POP #Email client access on June 2 as part of #Microsoft's mandate to force users onto its #Exchange protocol, I switched from #Outlook 2016 to #Thunderbird 114 Beta (which still connects w/ #POP3 + #OAuth2 - unsure if it's a glitch, but it works)

Thunderbird 114 Beta Portable (it's the version I'm using)
https://portableapps.com/apps/internet/thunderbird_portable/test

Since Thunderbird team is moving towards its new #Supernova #UI for Thunderbird 115, there's a mixture of old & new menus


This is solely for UK audiences I'm afraid but if you have 20 minutes and would be up for a £15 e-gift voucher (https://www.highstreetvouchers.com), would love to get your feedback on some designs for a recurring donations user journey.

WARNING: This version is hosted on usabilityhub which isn't exactly the most accessible...

Here is the link - https://usabi.li/do/66f584ee610e/a030

Anyone otherwise interested in testing out coded prototypes etc., do get in touch!

#UX #UI #UserTesting


@thunderbird, I'm enjoying the updated Thunderbird 112 Beta UI, but I was wondering if you could give us the option to disable the tab area and/or the new top menubar depending on how we configure our UI. If I choose to use the left-most vertical menubar, the other areas seem redundant and take up space. Otherwise, I like the new direction! 👍

#Email #Mail #Mozilla #Thunderbird #UI #UX #Outlook #Office #Office365 #Microsoft365 #OfficeSuite #Alternative #PIM #Tasks #Events #Calendar #Contacts


When designing #UI and #UX, consider the "Golden 8-bit Ratio".

Text was never hard to read on 8-bit systems. A single character, generally 8x8, was a large enough portion of the screen to remain legible at distance (ie TV).

The textmode ratio of 40 or 80 chars wide by 25 chars high is a standard on MANY microcomputers and terminals. On terminals, this ratio exists today.

Consider making your text at least this large. Tiny text is really, really shitty.

#gamedev


Designing for People with Dyscalculia and Low Numeracy

https://designnotes.blog.gov.uk/2022/11/28/designing-for-people-with-dyscalculia-and-low-numeracy/

#UX #UI #Dyscalculia #articles #BestPractices #design


E-Ink Design Principles for Web and Applications
... I’ve looked for existing sets of guidelines without luck, so apparently I get to draw my own line in the sand. An earlier version of this post proved popular on Mastodon, I’m expanding it here. This is a first effort and some of my suggestions may not hold up, though I hope most will. Further discussion on that point at the end of this post....
  • Persistence is free
  • Pixels are cheap
  • Paints are expensive ...
(more at link)

https://diaspora.glasswings.com/posts/638a8d10e041013afba8448a5b29e257

This is based off an earlier toot as part of a longer thread, here:

https://toot.cat/@dredmorbius/108595472904617729

I felt this needed and deserved a post-length treatment and so it has one.

I'd very much like to hear criticisms / improvements.

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Reasonable Colors is an open-source colour system for making accessible colour palettes.

It uses an intuitive system of shades to help you select colours which meet the appropriate WCAG contrast rating, even if you're mixing and matching base colours:

https://reasonable.work/colors/

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