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Abstract

Don Gentner / Jakob Nielson: The Anti-Mac Interface. In: Communications of the ACM. August 1996, Vol. 39, N°8.

Introduction

Alternative Interfaces
- human interface is stuck, very little innovation in interface design anymore
- user has settled on the WIMP (windows, icons, menus, pointer) model
- violating basic assumptions as useful mental exercise to find new concepts
- article explores possible types of interfaces that could result in such a violation
- focus on Macintosh interface as prime example of current interface paradigm
Macintosh Design
- designed for naive users without any previous computer experience
- targeted at a narrow range of applications (office work, entertainment, multimedia)
- weak computational resources (computer with 128KB RAM, 400KB storage device, printer)
- supported by poor communication channels (screen, keyboard, mouse)

Human Interface Design Principles

based on fundamental principles of human-computer interaction
how do these principles limit the computer-human interface?

Metaphors from familiar non-computer world
- computer files represented as documents in paper folders placed on desktop
- files deleted by dragging them to the trash can
- trying to overcome the limitations of the desktop metaphor (rooms, buildings, village)
- automobiles have developed their own interfaces without metaphors based on horses
Problems with Metaphors
- target domain has features not in the source domain (e.g. replace command in text editor)
- source domain has features not in the target domain (e.g. marking of typewriters)
- some features exist in both domains but work differently (e.g. white space as character)
Trash Can Metaphor
- single-trash-can metaphor has led to a system that fails to meet user's needs
- to avoid the confusion of multiple trash cans in the interface, all trash cans are combined
- when user empties the trash to create room on a floppy disk, both trash cans are deleted
- this is a limitation that does not serve the user's real needs
Desktop Metaphor
- save training time by taking advantage of having learned to operate a traditional office
- next generation of users will make their learning investments with computers
Direct Manipulation
- users interact directly with objects in the interface (e.g. drag and drop a document)
- user cannot group a related series of basic actions into one high-level action
See-and-Point
- users interact with computer by pointing at the objects they see on the screen
- we have lost all power of language, and cannot talk about objects that are not visible (yet)
- utilize more of the power of language to communicate more precisely
Consistency
- difficult to apply in real situation with wide array of conflicting things
- learning will be reduced if objects with similar function always look / behave alike
- in real life we have a wide range of appearances and they can still be easily recognizable
WYSIWYG
- what you see is what you get > document on the screen will look the same when printed
- problem that it is usually equivalent to WYSIATI (what you see is all there is)
- WYSIWYG document only shows final printed representation, not the user's intentions
- Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) preserves semantic meaning
- might be useful to have a different representation when preparing the document
- electronic information should be modularized and enabled to link to backup information
User Control
- many situations where we do not want to be in control > delegate to machines
- even if control is desirable, full control is becoming impossible with networked computers
Feedback and Dialog
- computer interface should provide the user with clear and immediate feedback on actions
- delegation of sequence of activities to an agent or encapsulated in a script
- then there is no longer a need for detailed and continuous feedback
Forgiveness
- user actions should generally be reversible and users should be warned of data loss
- computer needs to build a deeper model of our intentions and history
Perceived Stability
- elements in the computer interface should not be changed without user's involvement
- but dividing control between the user and the computer or networked computers
- stability can be boring
Aesthetic Integrity
- graphic design of the interface should be simple, clean, and consistent
- if computers could communicate with richer language, look would be less important
- richness can increase usability by making it easier to distinguish
Modelessness
- computer interface should not have distinct modes that restrict the user's actions
- users should be able to perform any task at any time
- problem of modelessness > user cannot cope with everything at once

Anti-Mac Interface

Central Role of Language
- language lets us refer to things not immediately present, potential actions
- encapsulate complex groups of objects or actions and refer to them with single name
- ability to deal with imprecise language will increase the computer's flexibility
- command line interfaces have some of the advantages of language
- command line interfaces have rich syntactic structure to form complex commands
- but only a limited number of commands and cannot tolerate synonyms, misspellings
Richer Internal Representation of Objects
- current interfaces have access to very little information about the used objects
- the only information about a file may be its name, size, and modification date,
- the type of data it contains, and the application that created it
- but it could include its authors, topic matter, keyword, importance, relations
More Expressive Interface
- richer internal representation of objects will allow more intelligent interpretation
- but it will also be reflected in a more expressive interface with external representation
- variety adds visual interest and helps us quickly to locate e.g. books in a shelve
Expert Users
- think about trade-offs between ease of learning and power in new interfaces
Shared Control
- computer-based agents have not yet progressed beyond simple tasks
- users still need to determine the balance of control in their environment

Conclusions

Macintosh interface as a starting point for considering future needs of user interfaces
outlines are impractical with the current state of computers and software
language understanding is still in its infancy
interface designers need to start work for the next generation of computers

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 #*designed for naive users without any previous computer experience
 #*targeted at a narrow range of applications (office work, entertainment, multimedia)
-#*weak computational resouces (computer with 128KB RAM, 400KB storage device, printer)
+#*weak computational resources (computer with 128KB RAM, 400KB storage device, printer)
 #*supported by poor communication channels (screen, keyboard, mouse)
 ====Human Interface Design Principles====
-#*based on fundamental principles of human-computer interaction
+*based on fundamental principles of human-computer interaction
-#*how do these principles limit the computer-human interface?
+*how do these principles limit the computer-human interface?
-#Metaphors with familiar noncomputer world
+#Metaphors from familiar non-computer world
 #*computer files represented as documents in paper folders placed on desktop
 #*files deleted by dragging them to the trash can
 #*trying to overcome the limitations of the desktop metaphor (rooms, buildings, village)
 #*automobiles have developed their own interfaces without metaphors based on horses
-#Three classic Problems with Metaphors
+#Problems with Metaphors
 #*target domain has features not in the source domain (e.g. replace command in text editor)
 #*source domain has features not in the target domain (e.g. marking of typewriters)
 #*some features exist in both domains but work differently (e.g. white space as character)
 #Trash Can Metaphor
+#*single-trash-can metaphor has led to a system that fails to meet user's needs
+#*to avoid the confusion of multiple trash cans in the interface, all trash cans are combined
+#*when user empties the trash to create room on a floppy disk, both trash cans are deleted
+#*this is a limitation that does not serve the user's real needs
+#Desktop Metaphor
+#*save training time by taking advantage of having learned to operate a traditional office
+#*next generation of users will make their learning investments with computers
+#Direct Manipulation
+#*users interact directly with objects in the interface (e.g. drag and drop a document)
+#*user cannot group a related series of basic actions into one high-level action
+#See-and-Point
+#*users interact with computer by pointing at the objects they see on the screen
+#*we have lost all power of language, and cannot talk about objects that are not visible (yet)
+#*utilize more of the power of language to communicate more precisely
+#Consistency
+#*difficult to apply in real situation with wide array of conflicting things
+#*learning will be reduced if objects with similar function always look / behave alike
+#*in real life we have a wide range of appearances and they can still be easily recognizable
+#WYSIWYG
+#*what you see is what you get > document on the screen will look the same when printed
+#*problem that it is usually equivalent to WYSIATI (what you see is all there is)
+#*WYSIWYG document only shows final printed representation, not the user's intentions
+#*Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) preserves semantic meaning
+#*might be useful to have a different representation when preparing the document
+#*electronic information should be modularized and enabled to link to backup information
+#User Control
+#*many situations where we do not want to be in control > delegate to machines
+#*even if control is desirable, full control is becoming impossible with networked computers
+#Feedback and Dialog
+#*computer interface should provide the user with clear and immediate feedback on actions
+#*delegation of sequence of activities to an agent or encapsulated in a script
+#*then there is no longer a need for detailed and continuous feedback
+#Forgiveness
+#*user actions should generally be reversible and users should be warned of data loss
+#*computer needs to build a deeper model of our intentions and history
+#Perceived Stability
+#*elements in the computer interface should not be changed without user's involvement
+#*but dividing control between the user and the computer or networked computers
+#*stability can be boring
+#Aesthetic Integrity
+#*graphic design of the interface should be simple, clean, and consistent
+#*if computers could communicate with richer language, look would be less important
+#*richness can increase usability by making it easier to distinguish
+#Modelessness
+#*computer interface should not have distinct modes that restrict the user's actions
+#*users should be able to perform any task at any time
+#*problem of modelessness > user cannot cope with everything at once
+====Anti-Mac Interface====
+#Central Role of Language
+#*language lets us refer to things not immediately present, potential actions
+#*encapsulate complex groups of objects or actions and refer to them with single name
+#*ability to deal with imprecise language will increase the computer's flexibility
+#*command line interfaces have some of the advantages of language
+#*command line interfaces have rich syntactic structure to form complex commands
+#*but only a limited number of commands and cannot tolerate synonyms, misspellings
+#Richer Internal Representation of Objects
+#*current interfaces have access to very little information about the used objects
+#*the only information about a file may be its name, size, and modification date,
+#*the type of data it contains, and the application that created it
+#*but it could include its authors, topic matter, keyword, importance, relations
+#More Expressive Interface
+#*richer internal representation of objects will allow more intelligent interpretation
+#*but it will also be reflected in a more expressive interface with external representation
+#*variety adds visual interest and helps us quickly to locate e.g. books in a shelve
+#Expert Users
+#*think about trade-offs between ease of learning and power in new interfaces
+#Shared Control
+#*computer-based agents have not yet progressed beyond simple tasks
+#*users still need to determine the balance of control in their environment
+====Conclusions====
+*Macintosh interface as a starting point for considering future needs of user interfaces
+*outlines are impractical with the current state of computers and software
+*language understanding is still in its infancy
+*interface designers need to start work for the next generation of computers