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| August
99 |
Highlights
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| Earlier
News |
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Swing by Matt Robinson and Pavel
Vorobiev should be shipping toward the end of August. This is
the book to which I contributed the component usability advice
in the form of UI Guidelines on usage. The Guidelines are
inserted throughout the text.
The main book has a working title
of "Swing by Example". This tells you much more
about it. It teaches more advanced Swing programming using
worked examples. Its a big book - over 1000 pages though it
would be a lot smaller if the source code wasn't listed in
full. |
Personally, I don't make any money
from sales of the book. I did the contributions as publicity for
this website. The publisher has promised to list me as contributor
and give the reference to UIDesign.net . If you are interested in
Swing/JFC, you can get it at Amazon.com
The book also features a contribution
from my ex-colleague
James
Tan, who produced the Grid Bag Layout example, which
would otherwise have been missing from the chapter on Layout
Managers.
Matt Robinson also writes a column
for the Swing Connection
http://www.theswingconnection.com
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Software for Use, is a new book from
Larry Constantine and Lucy Lockwood. Together they have formed a
consultancy business to offer services related to better systems
design. Their new methodology called "Usage Centered Design"
[ Note the subtle wording here], incorporates Use Cases in a way
that hasn't been seen before.
To promote their business and
facilitate debate on the technique, they have started a new
website http://www.foruse.com
. Find out for yourself whether this new approach can help you.
Check it out. |
Tree Component
A few months ago, I opened a
discussion on the use and usability of Tree Components in UI
Design. This month I present the results of that discusion
which took place on comp.human-factors as well as on the
discussion list at UIDesign.net.
So not really a White Paper -
more a simple report and usability advice.
Tree
Component Usage Guidelines
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Architect Designed
No one would dream of
constructing a large building without an architect. With
smaller buildings, the tag "Architect Designed"
communicates a certain quality and thought to the design. This
Month's IMHO
takes a look at what "Architect Designed" could mean
for software.
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Links
This month I have also sought to
consolidate the links page which has had a serious overhaul.
Check it out for yourself here.
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To Err is Human
As a follow up to last month's
news article of helicopter interfaces, you might like to
follow the story at Computer
Weekly.
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Keyboard Rage
Since writing last month's news
article on stress related illness due to bad software design
and computer interfaces. I have read that UK Usability
consultants, Systems Concepts, believe that existing EU laws
on Health and Safety already protect the consumer and employee
against such injury. It would appear that we are only awaiting
some disgruntled former civil servant to bring a test case and
then the floodgates might open.
Scare Mongering! Perhaps...
Read more at System Concepts web
site. http://www.system-concepts.com
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This edition has been a little
lightweight. No proper White Paper. White Papers will return
in September with another Pattern.
UIDesign.net is about to take a
holiday in the South Pacific so the September edition might be
delayed. Check back around end of September when I will also
be reviewing Software for Use by Larry
Constantine and Lucy Lockwood.
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| And
Finally ... |
by Tung
Ing Chik |
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It is alleged that Sun are denying
rumours that Scott McNeally has hired a private detective to find
his marbles. It is believed that McNeally misplaced the marbles
after reports leaked out that Sun are developing an "Alternative
Desktop Environment" to rival existing Windows systems. The
new ADE is said to be based on Swing/JFC and run under unix.
An IBM spokeman asked to comment
said, "We lost the battle for the desktop!"
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