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Such an underrated computer. I think, "The Humane Interface" needs to be standard reading for anyone that designs computers or consumer electronics and ZUIs wer

Such an underrated computer. I think, "The Humane Interface" needs to be standard reading for anyone that designs computers or consumer electronics and ZUIs were such a good idea-- I wish there was a way to, "ZUIify" my Mac desktop so I could just have a massive, "nexus" of, "zoomimable" desktop spaces. I still don't understand why, "universal/forever undo" isn't a standard feature of modern computers. Perhaps in the future we'll see more of Jef's ideas put into practice.

jfengel 5y ago
I reviewed "The Human Interface" in a late manuscript stage, and was amused to note that it arrived to me as a double-spaced Courier with hand-drawn illustrations. That was a bit unexpected from a man who was instrumental in creating modern WYSIWYG interfaces. But of course, it's the right format for the job. He didn't need to format or illustrate it; the publisher had professionals for that. He needed to do the easy thing that got the content to those professionals. And yeah, the book absolutely changed my life. Or at least the way I design UI. I'm sorry ZUIs didn't take off. I incorporated them into things I was doing, but users didn't especially respond to them, so I stopped.
jbm 5y ago
The Humane Interface is amazing. I managed to build a consulting deal as a single 20-something dev in Tokyo in part due to being able to explain concepts I had learned in the Humane Interface. Even if I don't necessarily agree with everything in it, it gives a meaningful vantage point from which to offer constructive criticism of an interface. (Even just the advice about about avoiding modality was extremely helpful.)
- nextos 5y ago
  This is interesting. Can you elaborate more on what had you learned? BTW, there's a Canon Cat emulator that runs on the browser at: https://archive.org/details/canoncat https://archive.org/details/canoncat
totetsu 5y ago
Prezi's interactive presentations seem quite zui like. I'd feel a bit embarrassingly out of date to use one now though.
- throwaway4good 5y ago
  Miro (miro.com) is another example of a zui that is in common use.

jfengel 5y ago

I reviewed "The Human Interface" in a late manuscript stage, and was amused to note that it arrived to me as a double-spaced Courier with hand-drawn illustrations. That was a bit unexpected from a man who was instrumental in creating modern WYSIWYG interfaces. But of course, it's the right format for the job. He didn't need to format or illustrate it; the publisher had professionals for that. He needed to do the easy thing that got the content to those professionals. And yeah, the book absolutely changed my life. Or at least the way I design UI. I'm sorry ZUIs didn't take off. I incorporated them into things I was doing, but users didn't especially respond to them, so I stopped.

jbm 5y ago

The Humane Interface is amazing. I managed to build a consulting deal as a single 20-something dev in Tokyo in part due to being able to explain concepts I had learned in the Humane Interface. Even if I don't necessarily agree with everything in it, it gives a meaningful vantage point from which to offer constructive criticism of an interface. (Even just the advice about about avoiding modality was extremely helpful.)

nextos 5y ago
This is interesting. Can you elaborate more on what had you learned? BTW, there's a Canon Cat emulator that runs on the browser at: https://archive.org/details/canoncat https://archive.org/details/canoncat

totetsu 5y ago

Prezi's interactive presentations seem quite zui like. I'd feel a bit embarrassingly out of date to use one now though.

throwaway4good 5y ago
Miro (miro.com) is another example of a zui that is in common use.