GNOME Shell 2.91.90 released

Posted Feb 28, 2011 11:04 UTC (Mon) by nye (subscriber, #51576)
In reply to: GNOME Shell 2.91.90 released by fb
Parent article: GNOME Shell 2.91.90 released

>how many _non IT-professionals_ do you know that uses minimize in their desktop's workflow? (most people I know do)

Actually my experience is that a good proportion of people don't use minimize, and often don't understand the difference between minimize and close, because they lack the mental model that is required to grasp the concept.

GNOME Shell 2.91.90 released

Posted Mar 5, 2011 22:53 UTC (Sat) by jzbiciak (guest, #5246) [Link] (1 responses)

For some reason, your comment immediately reminded me of this.

Is that really how we ought to be designing user interfaces for adults? Assume they lack the neuroplasticity to learn a new idea?

GNOME Shell 2.91.90 released

Posted Mar 22, 2011 16:46 UTC (Tue) by nye (subscriber, #51576) [Link]

>Is that really how we ought to be designing user interfaces for adults? Assume they lack the neuroplasticity to learn a new idea?

Well, my last few years have been spent as a sysadmin, slowly eroding all hope and faith in humanity culminating in a total breakdown last year followed by the prescription of powerful antidepressants, so my perception is doubtless skewed, but my take-home observation is 'yes'. A significant minority - if not the majority - of adults indeed lack the neuroplasticity to learn a new idea, or to take an old idea and apply it in new contexts. They also lack the ability to reason, read, count, produce coherent sentences, and work cooperatively. Frankly, I'm amazed that some of the people I support can manage to feed themselves.