A user interface without mouse clicks?

[Aristos Queue]

Take a look at this:

http://dontclick.it/

There are some interesting aspects to this UI.

Thoughts?

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QUOTE(Aristos Queue @ Jan 15 2008, 12:17 PM)

Thoughts?

It's a bit dizzy , with unsolicited answer to some question!

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QUOTE(Aristos Queue @ Jan 15 2008, 12:17 PM)

Take a look at this:

http://dontclick.it/

There are some interesting aspects to this UI.

Thoughts?

First thoughts....

It makes me feel like my mouse buton is stuck.

Forget about mouse-over to figure out what is under that thingy, you are going there if you like it or not.

Ben

[crelf]

QUOTE(Aristos Queue @ Jan 15 2008, 12:17 PM)

There are some interesting aspects to this UI.

The "mousewrap" frightens me.

I'm all for UI design changes that map more closely into human nature - the problem is differentiating our conditioning with computers, UIs and input devices over the years from nature - the only way to get around this is to use computer virgins. That said, it takes a lot of research to determine real intuitiveness, and filtering out nurturing ain't easy. For example: when looking for someone in a crowd do you search, find and then engage, or do you search, find, select and then engage?

[TG]

QUOTE(Aristos Queue @ Jan 15 2008, 05:17 PM)

Take a look at this:

http://dontclick.it/

There are some interesting aspects to this UI.

Thoughts?

Even though I found it initially confusing I appreciate that the 'world' is realizing the drawbacks to mouse clicking.

I been clicking over 20 yrs now and believe me it actually hurts to click now.

Id also like to see visual panning based on eye or head movement.

[rpursley]

It would have been nice if they added a little delay (half second or so) of no mouse motion before popping anything up the mouse is hovering over. Then it might be interesting to use.

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QUOTE(rpursley @ Jan 15 2008, 01:41 PM)

It would have been nice if they added a little delay (half second or so) of no mouse motion before popping anything up the mouse is hovering over. Then it might be interesting to use.

Even if there were a delay, it would make me nervous. Imagine if the GUI was designed such that without moving the mouse, it kept onpening lower level screens until (without any effort on the users part) the ..... confirm order button is floated over for too long. It would be like the monthly book club "If you do not respond we will assume you want this book."

Give me a click, left-eye-blink, left-foot-tap, whatever, that allows me to DO SOMETHING to indicate my selection.

Ben

[gmart]

What does it mean to commit with this type of UI? Does a commit happen when you enter a zone around an area? What if I didn't want that to mean commit? I think the "instant action" behavior would probably lead to confusion and frustration. What if moving over a graph caused a hardware action? I think there is still the need to click an object to convey the message that the user wants an action to occur.

[TobyD]

QUOTE(Aristos Queue @ Jan 15 2008, 09:17 AM)

Take a look at this:

http://dontclick.it/

There are some interesting aspects to this UI.

Thoughts?

It reminds me of the optional feature that has been available in windows for years that automatically selects the active window based on which window you mouse-over. The first time I saw the feature I thought it sounded like a good idea, but after a couple hours of using it it was making me crazy.

QUOTE(rpursley @ Jan 15 2008, 10:41 AM)

It would have been nice if they added a little delay (half second or so) of no mouse motion before popping anything up the mouse is hovering over. Then it might be interesting to use.

I agree with this. Make it work similar to context help in LabVIEW. If your cursor remains in the same place for a moment, the context help changes to show whatever your cursor is pointing to, but you can then move your cursor to the context help window without having to chart an unobstructed course.

I think the best user interface will continue to include "the click" for a while though. Think about trying to wire your VIs by touching your cursor to a terminal on one VI and then dragging a path to another VI all without clicking. Talk about spaghetti code - nobody can accurately drag a straight line of any distance and we all know how well auto wiring works.

[crelf]

QUOTE(gmart @ Jan 15 2008, 02:00 PM)

What does it mean to commit with this type of UI? Does a commit happen when you enter a zone around an area? What if I didn't want that to mean commit? I think the "instant action" behavior would probably lead to confusion and frustration. What if moving over a graph caused a hardware action? I think there is still the need to click an object to convey the message that the user wants an action to occur.

Well, their UI means that you can do what you're after. The way they've set it up means that soft commits (one's that you can eaily back out of, so it's really more of a "select" than a "commit") can be backed out of by moving the mouse out of the active area again, whereas hard commits (if you played with the interface for long enough, it asks you a question on whether you're okay with not clicking) require a "select" then a "commit" (by moving the mouse into the "yes" or "no" selection area and then moving into the "confirm" area). Confusing for us already comfortable with the way UIs work? Absolutely. Confusing for those new to computers? I'm not so sure.

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QUOTE(crelf @ Jan 15 2008, 02:33 PM)

Well, their UI means that you can do what you're after. The way they've set it up means that soft commits (one's that you can eaily back out of, so it's really more of a "select" than a "commit") can be backed out of by moving the mouse out of the active area again, whereas hard commits (if you played with the interface for long enough, it asks you a question on whether you're okay with not clicking) require a "select" then a "commit" (by moving the mouse into the "yes" or "no" selection area and then moving into the "confirm" area). Confusing for us already comfortable with the way UIs work? Absolutely. Confusing for those new to computers? I'm not so sure.

But with new users we can just tell them not to click "Yes" if they have any questions. What we say for this type of GUI, "Just don't touch the mouse."?

Ben

[eaolson]

QUOTE(Aristos Queue @ Jan 15 2008, 11:17 AM)

There are some interesting aspects to this UI.

Thoughts?

I read Joel Spolsky's User Interface Design for Programmers not long ago. As I recall, one of his pointers is to realize that mouse action is imprecise. Not everyone's hands are as steady as everyone else's.

I also don't like the fad of every sub-menu swooshing into view and then swooshing away when I'm done with it. (Macs, I'm looking at you.) It's disorienting, unnecessary, and time is spent waiting for the menu to finish animating into position.

One thing I really didn't like about that example site is that it wasn't always clear what was a control and what wasn't. Sometime's I would put the mouse over some text that didn't look frobbable, and something else would smoothly animate into view.

The LabVIEW pop-up palette acts this way and I often find it annoying. Right click to pop-up the palette. Look through palette options. "No, wait, I didn't want that one and now the sub menu is blocking the option I really do want." So now I have to move the mouse off to the side, wait for the sub menu to disappear, select the correct sub menu, and repeat.

[crelf]

QUOTE(neB @ Jan 15 2008, 02:49 PM)

But with new users we can just tell them not to click "Yes" if they have any questions. What we say for this type of GUI, "Just don't touch the mouse."?

No - that's crazy talk, and I think you're missing the point: they are suggesting that the definition of "commit" change.What we're currently used to:

• select = mouse over the item
  
• commit = click on the item
  

What they're suggesting:

• select = mouse over the item
  
• commit = mouse over the item next to it labelled "commit"
  

I'm not saying that what they're suggesting is wrong or right, nor that's it's better or worse, but I'm certainly always open to new UI ideas, whether that's components or patterns.QUOTE(eaolson @ Jan 15 2008, 02:55 PM)

I also don't like the fad of every sub-menu

swooshing

into view and then

swooshing

away when I'm done with it. (Macs, I'm looking at you.) It's disorienting, unnecessary, and time is spent waiting for the menu to finish animating into position.

So you're not an auto-tool user, are you?

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QUOTE(crelf @ Jan 15 2008, 03:12 PM)

No - that's crazy talk, ...

Hi Chris,

"Crazy talk" is part of any good brainstorming session. I am just trying to contribute.

Ben

[eaolson]

QUOTE(crelf @ Jan 15 2008, 02:12 PM)

So you're not an auto-tool user, are you?

Actually, I am. Yes, it took a bit of getting used to and when I need to go back to the Paint tool, I can never remember what combination of Shift, Alt, or Ctrl it is, but it works really well.

That being said, if the auto-tool took two seconds for the current tool to fade away and another two seconds for the next tool to fade into view, that feature would quickly get folded, spindled, and mutilated.

I'm just saying that good graphic design does not good UI make. (Can you say "Genie effect?")

[crelf]

QUOTE(neB @ Jan 15 2008, 03:19 PM)

"Crazy talk" is part of any good brainstorming session. I am just trying to contribute.

It's not only part of it, it's often the best part! ...and I'm not trying to stiffle your contribution, but that doesn't mean I need to agree with it. What I don't agree is that telling a user "Just don't touch the mouse" doesn't seem at all productive.

[jzoller]

QUOTE(TG @ Jan 15 2008, 11:23 AM)

...

Id also like to see visual panning based on eye or head movement.

...

Buy a Wii? http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/ , scroll to the bottom project.

(Apologies if you've seen it before...)

Joe Z.

[crelf]

QUOTE(jzoller @ Jan 15 2008, 07:00 PM)

Buy a Wii?

[Mark Balla]

The concept is something to think about but it is much too limited in a 2D space. If this idea was moved to a 3D world then it would be much more usable.

I think the wii demo is what we are going to see more of in the future. Better interface through hardware enhanced by software.

[Norm Kirchner]

Ahh but what about in the 5-d relm . You are all far too limited by your governments mind controlling policies on prostitution and historical records.

[Gabi1]

cool, this UI, yet very disturbing.

how does one go 'back' in this environment? overall i like it as a curiose, but would hate programs that would even think of doing something without me telling them to do so (that is why i hate MS word so much).

[crelf]

QUOTE(Gabi1 @ Jan 16 2008, 11:37 AM)

how does one go 'back' in this environment?

Just mouse-leave the item that's opened.

QUOTE(Gabi1 @ Jan 16 2008, 11:37 AM)

overall i like it as a curiose, but would hate programs that would even think of doing something without me telling them to do so

I agree, but that's not what this is doing - you're telling it to do something by mousing-over it, rather than clicking on it.

...although this brings up an intersting issue: mouse hardware can be unpredicatable (especially those little touch-pad thingies) - when working on a laptop, then can whiz off to one side with no warning, and I don't think this no-clicking environment would be good in that case.

[Justin Goeres]

I've been too busy to contribute in-line with the discussion, so I've saved up a few random shells to lob into the arena, right about.... now.

QUOTE(crelf @ Jan 15 2008, 11:19 AM)

For example: when looking for someone in a crowd do you search, find and then engage, or do you search, find, select and then engage?

In the case of the link AQ posted, I think it's more like "search, find, rub your hands over every other person in the crowd between you and your target, and then engage."

I think the good old point-click metaphor works well because a lot of human-object interaction really can be broken into phases of select (point) and engage (click). I do that with doors, I do that with my car, I do that with my pen & paper, etc. Sometimes the demarcation between those acts is muddy, but there are very few things in real life that behave like the example interface. That's part of the reason I found it highly unpleasant to use.

Another reason I didn't like it was because in the example interface, there are several instances where after you target something (which also selects it) your target moves. This is one of my biggest pet peeves about interface design. Windows is frequently guilty of it, and of course the beloved Flash that powers the web is the leading offender (hat tip to eaolson: graphic design != good UI). In the case of the example interface, that can leave the user in a situation where (in a poorly designed interface) they might be trapped, having made a mistake and unable to move their mouse in any way that doesn't cause more bad things to happen. Yuck. :thumbdown:

QUOTE(TobyD @ Jan 15 2008, 12:08 PM)

It reminds me of the optional feature that has been available in windows for years that automatically selects the active window based on which window you mouse-over. The first time I saw the feature I thought it sounded like a good idea, but after a couple hours of using it it was making me crazy.

The first place I saw that was in X11 on the old Unix systems at college. I always assumed it originated there. Some of the CS people loved it.

QUOTE(TobyD @ Jan 15 2008, 12:08 PM)

I agree with this. Make it work similar to context help in LabVIEW. If your cursor remains in the same place for a moment, the context help changes to show whatever your cursor is pointing to, but you can then move your cursor to the context help window without having to chart an unobstructed course.

Actually, I think the Context Help mouseover behavior is too sensitive. On my screen, if I point to something in the bottom-left, but the Context Help is in the top-right, I can't move my mouse fast enough to hit the Detailed Help link before the Help window updates on something I frobbed over (h/t eaolson again) on my way across the screen. Which reminds me, I think there should be a key command for Open Detailed Help for Whatever is in the Context Help Right Now.

QUOTE(eaolson @ Jan 15 2008, 12:55 PM)

I also don't like the fad of every sub-menu

swooshing

into view and then

swooshing

away when I'm done with it. (Macs, I'm looking at you.) It's disorienting, unnecessary, and time is spent waiting for the menu to finish animating into position.

I think Windows is equally guilty of this. And motion in an interface can be a great thing. The genie effect in Mac OS X may be overdone, but the core concept of animating the window minimizing into the dock gives a sense of space to the UI. It's as if you folded up a piece of paper and set it aside on your desk or something. Smooth scrolling in web browsers and word processors is another good example -- if you hit PageUp or PageDown it's hard to track the line you were reading if the screen just jumps.

QUOTE(eaolson @ Jan 15 2008, 12:55 PM)

One thing I really didn't like about that example site is that it wasn't always clear what was a control and what wasn't. Sometime's I would put the mouse over some text that didn't look frobbable, and something else would smoothly animate into view.

I had the same experience. While I'm generally down on the concept they're presenting, I think I'm even more down on it because their implementation doesn't really work all that well on it's own.

QUOTE(Norm Kirchner @ Jan 16 2008, 09:29 AM)

Ahh but what about in the 5-d relm . You are all far too limited by your governments mind controlling policies on prostitution and historical records.

"I consider the state 7 the 'highest'."

5-d would only be good enough for....wait for it....99.7% of your users.

[Yair]

QUOTE(Justin Goeres @ Jan 16 2008, 07:34 PM)

Actually, I think the Context Help mouseover behavior is too sensitive.

I must agree, although it seems to have gotten somewhat better in recent versions.

QUOTE

I think there should be a key command for

Open Detailed Help for Whatever is in the Context Help Right Now

.

Well, not exactly equivalent, but I always found the right click -> Help combo to be convenient.

[TobyD]

QUOTE(Justin Goeres @ Jan 16 2008, 09:34 AM)

Actually, I think the Context Help mouseover behavior is too sensitive. On my screen, if I point to something in the bottom-left, but the Context Help is in the top-right, I can't move my mouse fast enough to hit the Detailed Help link before the Help window updates on something I frobbed over (h/t eaolson again) on my way across the screen.

I don't see this. As long as I don't rest my cursor on something for too long, I can move my mouse all day and the context help window does not change. The delay is set just right so that I can comfortable scroll to the Detailed Help link without the contents of the window changing, but I don't have to wait an unreasonable amount of time for the window to populate with whatever I'm hovering on. My monitor is 1920x1200 so I have quite a bit of real estate to cover. Perhaps I use a faster mouse speed setting than you?