Few of those panels actually displayed non-static images. Those that did were created using Macromedia Director running on large-screen Macs. From http://www.t

Few of those panels actually displayed non-static images. Those that did were created using Macromedia Director running on large-screen Macs. From http://www.trektoday.com/interviews/okuda_qa.shtml http://www.trektoday.com/interviews/okuda_qa.shtml The Okudas: The TNG panel graphics are intended to suggest something well-organized when a viewer sees them in the background of a scene. My advantage, of course, is that they are seldom seen closely, so I rarely have to take the time to figure out a panel in exact detail. As long as it looks credible on camera, I'm okay. This is extremely valuable, because it could easily require ten or fifty times as much time (and therefore labor and money) if I had to have all of the panels done in that kind of detail. The problem with actual software implementations of the style is that it requires far more than simply mimicking the colors and patterns. In order to work well, one has to analyze the tasks and the users' needs in great detail. This is something that the software industry in general does poorly, in my opinion. One also sees the same kinds of issues in things that should be well-understood, like VCR controls and TV remotes. They are all elegantly designed, but the users' needs are seldom adequately anticipated. On the show, I have the advantage that the viewer can assume that I've anticipated the crew's needs, simply because you can see how easy it is for the actors to use the controls. The users needs are seldom adequately anticipated -- that does, in fact, sound like prior art for the Galaxy Tab. I concede the point.