I have for years had trouble with GUI's. For those who don't know, a GUI is a graphic user interface and is what you nearly always see these days when you open a program. I have trouble with them. I have scoured the net looking for others with my particular difficulty and have found little comment and nothing organized. So I have decided it is time for someone to speak up. This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of articles on the trouble with GUI's. Mostly it will be rants about the difficulties. If I am successful, it will also include a few solutions to the problems I describe.
The things you need to know about are hidden behind GUI's and you have to go through one two three or more buttons, menus drop-downs etc to find them, if you can find them. When you look at a GUI all that is there at the start is a few buttons, links and menus in a grey (or sometimes colorful) screen. Grey does not convey much neither does color. So where do you look for the function you need. Well you have to start going through each menu, drop-down, button and link to find it. You are likely not to recognize it when you do. It often won't have the name you expect it to have. And it may be some obscure little check box off in the corner of some obscure screen, many levels deep in your search, by which time if you actually reach that screen you may be so tired of looking at screens or just tired in general that you don't have the mental energy left over to notice it as it goes by. The number of places to look for something often makes this a gargantuan task, and then once you've found it you have to go through the same process again for the next thing. Think of having to search a disordered library without an index for a single book by having to read the title page inside every book until you come to the right one. Then consider that there may be a closet that you don't know exists with even more books. This is what I face every day when I use GUI's.
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GUI's could have indexes. Web sites often do, or they use Google. We who build GUI's can do this too.
I apologize for not writing for a while. My life has been a bit overwhelming the last couple months. I hope to start writing on a more regular basis now.
Here is a diagram of history from 1765 BC to 1935 AD. Each character is 14 years. During declines, maybe you get a revolution possibility once the previous has finally died out. The down stroke is unstoppable until forced to reverse by a decision point 2 levels up, this also drags lower level down strokes up.
================================================================================ADVANCE ===========================>|<================== DECLINE ================>|<========= AMBIGUOUS =========>|<================================ ADVANCE ================================> | | | |167 | | | | | |<------------------------ heroic age ------------------------->|<------ philosophic age ------>|<- Roman age ->|<------- canonic age --------->|<------------------------- dark age -------------------------->|<- enlightenment/renaissance ->|<-federal age->|| | | | | | | | | | 1765 1653 1541 1428 1316 1204 1092 980 868 756 643 BC 531 419 363 307 251 195 139 83 27 30.5 87 143 199 255 311 367 423 479 535 591 647 703 759 816 873 928 984 1040 1152 1264 1376 1488 1601 1713 69 1825 81 1937 2049 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | #..__ | _.#._ + _#_ | # | | + _#_ | + | _.#._ | _#_ | # | # | ''--..__ Egypt | Mesopotamia _.-' | '-._ | Greece _- | -_ | Rome/|\ | | | Germany _- | -_ | | | Arabia _.-' | '-._ | Spain_- | -_ Britain/| USA/| | ''--..__ | _.-' | '-._ | _- | -_ | / | \ | | | _- | -_ | | | _.-' | '-._ | _- | -_ | / | | /| | ''--..__ | _.-' | '-._ | _- | -_| / | \| | | _- | -_| | | _.-' | '-._ | _- | -_| / | | / | | ''-+..__ _.-' David + '+._ _- | +_ / | + | + _- | +_ + | _.-' | '+._ _- | +_ / | | / | | | ''--._.-' | | '-_- | | -/ | |\ | | _- | | -_ | | _.-' | | '-_- | | -/ | |/ | | | _.-' ''--..__ | | _- '-._ | | / -_ | | \ | Jesus_- | | -_ | | _.-' | | _- '-._ | | / -_ | |/ | | | _.-' ''--..__ | |_- '-._ | |/ -_| | \| |_- | | -_| | _.-' | |_- '-._ | |/ -_| | | | _.+' ''-+..__ _+ '+._ + +_ | + _+ _.+._ | +_ _.+' | _+ '+._ + +_ | | | _.-' | | ''--..___- | | '+._/| | -_| |\ _- | _.-' | '-._ | | -_ _.-' | | _- | | '-._/| | -/| | | _.-' | | _-''-+..__ | /'+._ | -_ | \_- | _.-' | '|._ | -__.-' | | _- | | /'|._ | /|_ | | Moses _.-' | | _- | ''--..__ | / | '-._ |167| -_|_-\ | _.-' | | '-._ | _.-'-_ | | _- | | / | '-._ | / | -_| | _.?'_ | <- decision points (?) -> + _?_ =====+===============+=> ? ==+=====>'+ ? ==> # \ _.+' + ? ==+=====>'#' -_ | | _?_ =====+===============+=> ? ==+=====>'+ ? | + | _.-' '-._ | | _- -_ | | / \ -|..__ |/ \|._ | _.-\ | | / \ | | -_ | | _- -_ | | / \ | |/ \| | | _.-' '-._ | | _- -_ | | / \ | ''-+/ \| '-' \ | | / \ | | -_ | | _- -_ | | / \ | |/ \| | | _.-' '-._ | |_- -_| |/ \| | | | \| |/ \| | -_| |_- -_| |/ \| | | | --+-------------------------------+-------------------------------+---------------+---------------#-------+-------#---+---+-------+-------+-------#---+---+---+---+---------------+-------------------------------+---------------+---------------+-------+-------+---+---+-------+ | | '-._ _- | | -_ /| |\ /| |\ | |\ /| |\ | | -_ _- | | -_ /| |\ /| |\ | | | '-._ _- | | -_ / | | \ /| |\ | | \ / | | \ | | -_ _- | | -_ / | | \ /| |\ | | | '-._ _- | | -_ / | | \ / | | \ | | \ / | | \ | | -_ _- | | -_ / | | \ / | | \ | | | '-._ _- | | -_ / | | \ / | | \ | | \ / | | \ | | -_ _- | | -_ / | | \ / | | \ | | | '-._ | | -/ | | / | | \| | \ / | | \ | | -_ _- | | -/ | | / | | \| | | _- '-._ | | / -_ | | /\ | | \| | \ / | | \ | | -_ _- | | / -_ | | /\ | | \| | | _- '-._ | | / -_| | / \| | | | \ / | | \| | -_ _- | | / -_| | / \| | | | | R 'X | R X | R X | X | R | | X | R | | R X | R X | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ! | | | 1765 1653 1541 1428 1316 1204 1092 980 924 868 812 756 699 643 587 531 475 419 363 307 251 195 139 83 27 30.5 87 143 199 255 311 367 423 479 535 591 647 703 759 816 873 928 984 1040 1152 1264 1376 1488 1601 1713 69 1825 81 1937 2049
============================================= ADVANCE ============================================== industrial age ------------------>|<----- holocaust age --------->||<- j ->| | | | | | | 1881 1909 1937 1951 1965 1979 1993 00 2007 14 2021 28 2035 42 2049 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | _.#._ + _#_ + # | | | _.-' | '-._ | _- | -_ | /| | | | _.-' | '-._ | _- | -_ | / | | | | _.-' | '-._ | _- | -_| / | | | | _.-' | '+._ _- | +_ / | | | | _.-' | | '-_- | | -/ | | | | _.-' | | _- '-._ | | / -_ | | | | _.-' | |_- '-._ | |/ -_| | | _.+' | _+ '+._ + +_ | + _.+ | | _- | | '-._/| | -_| | _.-' | | _- | | /'|._ | | _.-' | | _- | | / | '-._ | _.-'-_| | | _?_ =====+=============> | ? ==+=====>'#'_ | +_ | | _- -_ | | / \ | | '-._ | -_ | | _- -_ | | / \ | | | '-._ -_ | |_- -_| |/ \| | | | '-._ --+---------------+---------------#-------+-------+-------+-------#---+---+---+---#-+-+-+-#+++#+##+ | _- | | -_ /| |\ | | | | _- | | -_ / | | \ | | | | _- | | -_ / | | \ | | | | _- | | -_ / | + \ | | | | _- | | -/ | | \ | | | | _- | | / -_ | | \ | | | | _- | | / -_| | \| | | | ! | | ! X + ! X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1881 1909 1937 1951 1965 1979 1993 00 2007 14 2021 28 2035 42 2049
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