Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

UI Improvement Suggestions from a user interface designer!

The Home Screen:
This needs to be redone. I would much prefer to see a modular space like igoogle.com implementation. Each module is defined in usable areas and layout options can be selected for each applet. ie full module or collapsed
Maybe even a tab structure that can be filled with application shortcuts or mini versions of the apps.

Screen Off Feature:
There needs to be an easy way to turn the screen off and locking it but not turning off the device. I would follow the iPhone usability for this feature, where the power button turns the screen off and when you hold it down you turn the device off.

Finger Vs. Stylus:
The finger usability should not compromise the stylus input. This can be address by using input size comparison. If you are using the stylus the input size and pressure is concentrated in a smaller area and if you are using a finger the input are is much larger and should enable a response system for finger use. i.e. if you were to click on a button with a stylus it should respond normally and if you are using your finger it should maybe get magnified first or some kind of alert to tell the user that they are currently on a specific icon or interface. I’m going to use the iPhone again for example; their implementation of they touch keyboard does this excellently!

I dunno if theres any Maemo Developers here but I hope they are watching! And if you have any other ideas please post it here.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Begone Heathen,

Ui designers should stick to the iPhone/iPod touch!

Heh, just kidding. I guess there's at least us two here now, unlike the hoard of sysadmins :)

I've already posted my first impressions a month or so back, and I still feel the pain on the issues I presented (lack of good scroll, and not having a good way to zoom a local area of the interface in particular).

I think there are a lot of folks who want the home screen redesigned (including me), but I am not so on board with the device locking method. I like the two button approach that the device takes, since it is easy to remember and mirrors the unlock method (and doesn't happen by accident in one's pant's pocket). I do see a problem for some users with the buttons, since there seems to be some room for error on hitting the right sequence.

I would differ on the 'finger vs stylus' issue. In a device of this size, the finger needs to do the work. If there are niche apps that need stylus input, then that is fine, but for an internet tablet, there is nothing that should ever prevent finger usage scenario. My preferred solution is to use a magnifying glass approach to screen areas that have more than one input near the finger tap, using further user input for disambiguation. In essence, if the finger tap cannot be easily defined based on the controls near the finger input, then a magnified area of the screen at the finger touch should be presented to allow the user to define which control they were trying to use. Done in a fluid way, and with a general 'finger-up to activate controls' approach, this shouldn't slow down users where the disambiguation isn't needed, and help users where controls are crunched together.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

This already exists, it's called soft power off mode. It was broken in a recent update and wont be fix until the (probably) the next, though.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Concrete suggestions should be raised in bugs.maemo.org, not here.

For example, my own thoughts on scrolling consistency are in bug #2564.

On my N810 sliding the lock switch immediately dims the screen and locks it, presumably doing the two-finger lock on an N800 is exactly the same.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Weird. Soft power-off still works for me with 50-2. This inconsistent bug situation is very mystifying! And frustrating. All I've seen so far are 2 random crashes... none of the things others are reporting.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

How does one invoke this soft power off mode on the N800?

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Briefly press the power button and release.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

If I briefly press my power button, I get the Device mode menu which doesn't have anything in it that says "soft power off". If I press longer than briefly it shut the N800 completely off. Am I missing something here?

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Ok, my mistake. I was thinking of offline mode, sorry.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Yes.

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...3&postcount=20

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

NO, NO, NO. There needs to be a way to lock things in place, but I like being able to put applets wherever I want on the screen. And tabs? Yuck.

On the N800, this is a short press of the power button followed by a press of the select button (middle of the directional pad). To take it out of this mode is the same button combo. I know some are experiencing a bug in OS2008 where this doesn't work, but it does for me (and always worked in OS2007).

Well, OS2007 had that and frankly, it didn't work well. Hitting the menu icon with my thumb almost always brought up the tiny stylus menu that was too small to use with my thumb. Same with text fields and the keyboard. In truth, this is something even the iPhone doesn't do. The iPhone says to you, "Use your finger, no stylus." I agree this would be nice, but apparently being able to tell the difference between stylus and finger is more complicated than we imagine, and Nokia (and Microsoft and maybe Apple) is apparently still working on it.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Ok, I have the comprehensive solution for the applet location issue.

1. locking/unlocking needs to be restored. I recommend that a Press-and-Hold click mode be added to applets that brings up a customary "right click" context menu with lock/unlock functions. Of course, press-and-hold needs to be distinguished from short clicks just as it is for other purposes. This should solve the accidental jostling of applets on tablet awakening.

2. As for positioning, the solution is simple: take a page from Adobe Illustrator and provide grids and guidelines. Specifically, once a user begins dragging an applet around the screen, a temporary grid appears against the background image. Display-spanning guidelines appear on key applet edges when they are aligned with other applets, for snapping into place. Taken further, the grid and related settings could even be configurable via the desktop menu.

feedback?

EDIT: bug located at https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2639

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Sounds good - it would be nice if applet-coders would be forced to use sizes corresponding with that grid as well, it bothers me that the minimal sizes of stuff in a column often differ by a few pixels. Makes it look messy.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

hey, if the applet graphics were VECTOR-based, then they could be made easily scalable with no distortion...

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Wow, thank you, I have asked this a few times in other posts. BTW, I happen to have "Linux in a Nutshell", a good book. I used to refer to it all the time when creating swap files and editing the fstab in the old days.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Sure you don't have some magical internal release? It was fixed (according to bug #2400, but the hotfix hasn't made it to a public release.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

LIke I said, I had a brainfart and was thinking offline mode. Sorry! :o

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Hi, Texrat -

I'd suggest a tweak to your #1 - put the context menu on unoccupied areas of the desktop. This is familiar W!#&@ws behavior (for us low-class consumer users). That will leave each applet free to have its own context menu if desired. It should also be on the pulldown menu.

#2 - Grid lines might be a bit rich. How about a simple "snap to grid" option next to lock/unlock (again, a la W!#&@ws)?

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Not to fault you, AFlegg, but a bug tracking system is the worst possible way to create and document a cohesive interface design. (alright, that may be a little hyperbolic, so TexRat don't feel the need to jump in, I'm aware of it :p )

The design needs to happen up front (hopefully with good user research to inform the design), not as an afterthought.

I have been looking into ways that I can contribute to Maemo and the ITT community, but sending my UI recommendations into a bug tracking system is not one that I am willing to accept.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Peronsally, I'd like to see some liberal (and user controlled) use of alpha blends and transistions when inside of applications and going from screen to screen.

I'd like to see the browser adapt a "view entire page" mode that gives a zoomed out version of the page similar to Opera Mini/Nokia Web.

A toggable stylus/finger UI control that would effect *everything.* This should be an API that's usable across all applications.

Some adaptation of "page flow" in apps such as the photo gallery (when going from picutre to picture) or in the music player ("when scrolling from artist to artist in the playlist) - things are just too abrupt system wide.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

I agree; and don't worry: I'm full of faults, one or two more won't make much difference ;-)

Agreed again, but we are where we are.

Fair enough. Personally, I've raised one or two of mine there (e.g. #2564), but I'm not a user experience designer, by any stretch of the imagination.

My point was that we can rant, critique, criticise, redesign all we want in the ITT forums: but it won't necessarily do any good. ragnar occasionally pops up here, but this isn't a Nokia feedback channel.

If Bugzilla's not appropriate, how about on the maemo-developers list?

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Hi all.

Bugzilla is a good place for bugs, i.e. deficiencies and errors in the current implementation. It's not such a good place for future improvement ideas, because it's harder for us to comment on anything that is coming in the future and ... Well, in general it doesn't really suit the tool. Issues like the scrolling are very wide and touch many areas of the UI. It's hard to even set a bug as "fixed" or "assigned" in that case.

For instance what Sean once wrote, a blog entry about his criticisms and improvement ideas is a rather nice format, at least when there a finite number of such postings. :) I believe that mostly everybody here has read his well written blog entry. Especially if your blog posts itself to planet.maemo.org. Commenting to our UI blog also works in at least reaching the real designers. Maemo-developers reaches OSSO developers, but not the UI designers.

I personally try to follow discussions here, but ... Well, like everyone in our team, I'm a designer with a lot of things to do, so hopefully it is understandable that our real work has higher priority. :)

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Ragnar, thanks for clearing it up all together! I was going to jump in earlier but I didn't want to get burn cause it wasn't my intension to start a bug list, rather a list of possible improvements for next versions or upgrades.

Just out of curiosity... are you one of the designers for maemo OS? If so where does the community concerns fall in your priority list?

The reason I ask is, as a designer myself I must think of the users of my product, UI issues should be a higher priority to a non-crashing bug! I still must give credit to maemo platform as it is prolly one of the most stable micro OS around! Still though improvements can still be made. And it is my hope that forums and discussions such as this one can help the development of a product that everyone can use and love.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Hi Spidy. I'm a member of the Maemo UI interaction design team, so yes.

Naturally we try to serve the interests of our current and future user base. Community concerns is a rather wide topic: there are UI concerns, SW development concerns etc. Where UI issues fall in the range of suitable improvements to the device UI, they certainly fall into our priority list. The process of how new features and upgrades get selected and developed is a rather complicated one, and I don't want to get into the specifics of how that works. We play our part, but there are many other players also involved, together we try to make the best decisions.

As has been publicly discussed of being "part 3 of 5", "broadening the range of target users" etc., what the current UI and OS represents is... How should I put it, on the path of going towards what we would feel being the right UI for such a device and software platform. To take one example, what has been possible with the current UI has been limited with the current (GTK) toolkit selection. Applications like Canola are a good example of what more could be done with the UI design when we would have access to a more ... shall we say graphics-oriented toolkit.

But yes, for us serving the users is as high on the priority list as it can be. :)

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

ragnar;
Thanks for your thoughtful (and well worded given your position on the UI team) reply.

Would it be a stretch to say that the UI would have seen more development if the tools were there? If that is the case, I'm very hopeful for a considerable uptick in what comes to the table in future updates to the platform as it seems that in the past year that the attention to Linux-driven MIDs has made for some active development in tools for this space.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

I'll be glad to see a way to have shortcuts to folders located on media cards.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

Hi. By tools do you refer to SW development tools, UI development tools, tools as in improvements to the (GTK) toolkit?

Well, whichever :), I think the development tools and the quality of the development environment has most impact on the quantity and quality of 3rd party applications available for the platform. With great tools it is easier to produce application and the quality, both SW- and UI-wise is generally better.

Naturally tool availability and quality has also some impact internally, but I would say that their biggest effect is on the community/3rd party developer side. And the attention and improvements to that area will have a positive effect especially there.

Re: Suggestions for User Interface Improvements
 

In terms of tools, I am thinking more along the lines of UI tools.
Let me ask this: I am not a developer, but have great interest in UI/UX development as its happening on the tablet; besides here, is there anyone that I can talk to that can give me insight as to what happened and is happening in regards to this area.

IMO, it would be better of me to make opinions of such an area of use if I knew better what has already gone into things. And my experience in web design might be a differening perspective that can point things out a bit differently than what may has already been considered.

----
That all being said, I was at lunch today half-sick and catching up on the Apple keynote and the IT was great. For such a browsing related task, it really did shine well. And much of what UI improvements could come in handy, more or less came out when I was using it in this element, rather than using it in other means (laptop replacement for instance).

If the browser/browsing is the central task to the tablet, then maybe the UI needs to reflect that and bring more aspects of what it means to browse the net "fuller" as a part of the offering. In this way, it won't be as compared to other devices, as its niche as an advanced browsing device will push it to be what Nokia and others want it to be perceived as.