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I've been using computers too long to be able to "see" them through the eyes of a new user. But being user-friendly doesn't mean making every single feature use

I've been using computers too long to be able to "see" them through the eyes of a new user. But being user-friendly doesn't mean making every single feature user friendly or discoverable through visual manipulation. It means making the most common tasks user friendly and discoverable. The vast majority of users can be productive on macos without ever using a single keyboard shortcut. I think macos does this better than pretty much any other desktop OS. Granted the bar isn't very high.

pxc 4y ago
> being user-friendly doesn't mean making every single feature user friendly or discoverable through [using the software] Why not? > The vast majority of users can be productive on macos without ever using a single keyboard shortcut. If you're not using keyboard shortcuts you definitely do not have flow. Again, why should the standard be so minimal ('can eventually complete a task') and not involve efficiency, fluidity, joy, mastery, etc.? It's not hard to do better when you leverage searches that simultaneously expose functionality and alternative ways to invoke it (e.g., keybinds, menu paths, app names, etc.). The example that blew my mind is Emacs with a nice fuzzy filtering search like you get pre-configured with Spacemacs or Doom, but macOS also has two great examples built in: Spotlight and the global app menu search.
lostlogin 4y ago
> The vast majority of users can be productive on macos without ever using a single keyboard shortcut. I'd be interested to know what portion of users use copy/paste.
- jacobsenscott 4y ago
  Me too. I'm sure a lot, but I bet not all. But copy paste shortcuts can be discovered via direct ui manipulation - you click the edit menu and it shows the keyboard shortcuts. I actually copy/past with a right click nearly as often as with a keyboard shortcut. But I guess right click could be considered a "hidden" feature.

pxc 4y ago

> being user-friendly doesn't mean making every single feature user friendly or discoverable through [using the software] Why not? > The vast majority of users can be productive on macos without ever using a single keyboard shortcut. If you're not using keyboard shortcuts you definitely do not have flow. Again, why should the standard be so minimal ('can eventually complete a task') and not involve efficiency, fluidity, joy, mastery, etc.? It's not hard to do better when you leverage searches that simultaneously expose functionality and alternative ways to invoke it (e.g., keybinds, menu paths, app names, etc.). The example that blew my mind is Emacs with a nice fuzzy filtering search like you get pre-configured with Spacemacs or Doom, but macOS also has two great examples built in: Spotlight and the global app menu search.

lostlogin 4y ago

> The vast majority of users can be productive on macos without ever using a single keyboard shortcut. I'd be interested to know what portion of users use copy/paste.

jacobsenscott 4y ago
Me too. I'm sure a lot, but I bet not all. But copy paste shortcuts can be discovered via direct ui manipulation - you click the edit menu and it shows the keyboard shortcuts. I actually copy/past with a right click nearly as often as with a keyboard shortcut. But I guess right click could be considered a "hidden" feature.