One Size Fits All

Hang on to your hats! This post rambles quite a bit. Several different things are bouncing around in my head. I want them out because it hurts. I need some softer ideas. Seriously though, some common thread underpins all of these ideas. I just can't see it yet. So we'll lay out the ideas and see what coalesces.

New Interfaces

The few technical sites I visit recently posted articles about Canonical's introduction of their Unity interface. Canonical makes Ubuntu Linux. Unity competes with the upcoming GNOME shell. I don't know the technical details (those articles seem very short on specifics). Either way, it means that over the next year my user interface will change.

I've played with GNOME Do for several months now. And I love it. GNOME Do runs an application with 1 to 3 keystrokes. Much faster than hitting a tiny menu item with a mouse. My brain subconsciously translates between what I want to do and the program needed to do it. GNOME Do encourages this behavior. It works like I work.

Docky complements GNOME Do. GNOME Do replaces the GNOME menus. Docky replaces the rest of the GNOME panel. Without the menu, GNOME's panel only provides a place for some status indicators. Docky, as installed by Ubuntu, didn't have the necessary pieces.

Google to the rescue! I found a site (and forgot to write down the address) that explained how to upgrade Docky. Poof! Docky now sports the indicators I use. So Docky replaces the GNOME panel. It's only the second day - and I love it! With GNOME Do, Docky helps move the interface out of the way.

Good for the Goose

As far as I can tell, Docky and GNOME Do are the direction of the GNOME project. Unity (Canonical's beast) takes a different approach. They take over the entire screen. You focus on the one application currently running. My wife uses their Unity interface on her netbook.

Honestly, I think she would hate GNOME Do and Docky. Her life revolves around our toddler, home schooling, and keeping the house clean (thanks to the aforementioned toddler). The computer doesn't play that much of a role. It makes no sense spending a lot of time building the translation paths between what she wants to do and the program that does it. Unity works the way she uses a computer.

So what does this mean? I don't know yet. First, Break All the Rules espouses the idea that people have different talents. A talent comes from the wiring in our brain. You cannot learn a new talent. You learn how to apply your talents. My wife has different talents that I. Do our talents affect how we use the computer?

If so, then one size cannot fit all. Different people will use the interface in different ways. How well does you interface adapt? And how does one create interfaces usable by the widest possible audience?