Re: [boost] Reason for Java's Success

From: Joel de Guzman (joel_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-09-30 13:43:43

Suman Cherukuri wrote:
> 
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: boost-bounces_at_[hidden] [mailto:boost-bounces_at_[hidden]]
>>On Behalf Of Bo Persson
>>Sent: Friday, September 30, 2005 10:59 AM
>>To: boost_at_[hidden]
>>Subject: Re: [boost] Reason for Java's Success
>>
>>
>>"Joel de Guzman" <joel_at_[hidden]> skrev i meddelandet
>>news:dhjj0q$fq2$1_at_sea.gmane.org...
>>
>>>David Abrahams wrote:
> 
> [snip]
> 
>>>Understood. I apologize for my tone. Still, I simply do not buy
>>>this "comfortable with the existing standards" thing. OS vendors,
>>>including MS, change the L&F all the time. People adjust quickly
>>>unless the L&F is too alien.
>>
>>No. When I moved from win 95 to XP, I expected the applications to
>>look like XP applications. Those that had the old look-and-feel felt
>>really old and were soon replaced.
>>
>>For people using only one platform, there is no requirement what so
>>ever to have an application look the same on Windows, Linux, OSX, and
>>Palm OS. There is a requirement that all programs look and behave
>>similar to each other, for the specific platform.
>>
>>
>>Bo Persson
> 
> 
> I agree with Bo.  In my experience, the majority of complaints I got from my
> customers about Java UI is its "different" look on Windows.  Java UI looks
> the same on all platforms and it's acceptable by a VERY few people, mostly
> in the IT department where they maintain different platforms.  But for an
> average user of the application, they are comfortable with the L&F of the
> machine they use daily and needless to say, most of them are Windows boxes.
> 
> If Boost UI can adapt to the native L&F it'd be more useful and will be
> widely accepted.  If we decide on one UI for any and all the platforms, we
> may face a lot of challenges in acceptance.

Coming from a Mac background, I used to believe that. Now, I dare
say that that way of thinking is passe. Sure, one can opt for
consistency. But DON'T force it! There are those who do not
agree with the thinking that "you can have any color as long
as it is black" anymore. That's the model T way of thinking IMHO.

Cheers,
-- 
Joel de Guzman
http://www.boost-consulting.com
http://spirit.sf.net