Left-handed scrollbars (was: Re: Look and Feel)

[oberhage]

Hello,

just to refresh the memory a little bit (it can be all found in
previous postings in this (I believe so) and NeXT-Groups (I know so!):

Apart from the points already made with the respect to left-handed
scrollbars, there's this one, I didn't see as of now:

Often windows of an application are larger/broader than the content
in them. Now when you move a window out to the right of the workspace
a little bit, you're quite often capable of reading/getting all of the
information. But now try scrolling the text down: You first have to
move the window to the left until the scrollbar appears, scroll up or
down, and the (possibly) move it back to its original position.


Another thing (regarding keyboard, mouse (, and scroll-wheel)): any really
good GUI should be fully controllable by just one(!) of the elements,
keyboard or mouse. In this respect, NEXTSTEP/OPENSTEP was/is not a good
example, as you can't use every aspect of it without a mouse, while
MS-Windows can handle that. I'm pretty confident that the reason of NS/OS
being like that lies with Steve Jobs, as he often tries to force things on
people, here having to use the mouse (, as was the case with like the missing
function keys on the NeXT-keyboards).

Why didn't Apple also use left-handed scroll-bars?: Now at least one
reason (I heard so personally in an Apple-event discussion, when Apple
didn't even have MacOS X (server) ready!) was, that they had to cope
with the (then) three application-types: classic (running in the emulator),
carbon, and cocoa. For the first two it would have been impossible, I was
told, to put the scroll-bar to the left, especially for classic-applications,
and thus one didn't even (officially) give the user the choice of putting
the scrollbar left (where possible) or right to maintain a 'consistent look'.


This should just remind you, that many things at companies aren't done for
the good of the users, but for internal concerns. Another such topic is if you
violate 'look-and-feel'-"IP" (position of scrollbars, placement of buttons
to minimize, enlarge, and close applications and so on). Apple - at least at
some time - was notorious for taking legal actions with respect of 'look-and-
feel'.


With the text above and from previous postings, I certainly don't have to
emphasize, that I am a person who likes the NS/OS look a lot for very
different reasons, and thus want to keep it. Hey, I'm writing this from an
OPENSTEP-machine. And I also do think that 'modern' isn't a good thing 'per
se', but has to prove itself to be 'better'.  Otherwise I would choose a
conservative approach.

But as 'better' sometimes may not be an objective thing (inspite of all the
points one can give pro or contra), but a personal taste, I am all for choice,
where it doesn't break a concept, so this is what I plead for! Just don't
forget, that this comes with a pricetag, too: sometimes choice requires
careful thinking (which is always a good thing!) ahead, to e.g. look out,
that the windows/applications close button never gets directly above the
scrollbar and thus is used by coincidence.

Greetings,
 Ruediger Oberhage
-- 
H.-R. Oberhage
Mail: Univ. Duisburg-Essen      E-Mail: oberhage@Uni-Essen.DE
      Fachbereich Physik                ruediger@Theo-Phys.Uni-Essen.DE
      Campus Essen, S05 V07 E88
      Universitaetsstrasse 5    Phone:  (+49) 201 / 183-2493
      45141 Essen, Germany      FAX:    (+49) 201 / 183-4578