Computers attempting to automate what you want to do.

To start this off, many who have read anything I write here will notice that I am not too fond of programs making pre-choices for me. Basically that means - any time the computer guesses what im about to do - i snicker and say - nice try -


Problem is.. it gets real tired after a while.  I'd like to ask everyone here - especially the MS gang - do your focus groups REALLY say this is what people want?  I am not lying when I say everyone I’ve talked to wants to know how to have the computer NOT assist them - to turn them off - as they use the machine in their own particular & unique way.

Personality wise, it's as if the machine is - trying too hard - like a do goody school kid - teachers pet.

I wouldn’t mention clippy ;0 - but is he not the Brand / poster child of user distain for automation?

For sure I want new users, or kids, or disabled or elderly to have an easy easy experience with computers - and for many - this Auto-guessing may be great.  On the flip-side, Wizards. Now here is where this idea seems to work.  It just really doesn’t translate very well into creative driven things like writing, drawing, making. >Do something technical you don’t know how to do? - click here - we'll help<  that stuff works - its great.

But in creative efforts - It almost pits the wits of machine against human - it's unsettling. Actually the better it gets, the more this may be come true.

I dont think Voice will help solve too much in this regard either - as you’ll just end up noticing how much your telling the computer to "not do that"

So Ill end with 2 thoughts: - 1. If it has to stay could you make it a button in Control Panel "Skill Level" - New, Intermediate, Pro - with a tab for - "Windows/Office Suggestions & Automation":

- always suggest
- never suggest
- Only suggest when you're absolutely right!  ( ha)

and 2. Computers should get better at listening to humans and following their commands - ( more cutomization & transparency for users/developers -) not the other way around?

DISCLAIMERS

- Based on experiences using -default setup / auto format in all windows & office products - the most notorious: PowerPoint  die die die - STOP MOVING MY STUFF AROUND!

- But what about Auto-complete?
  Thats semi useful - but again more often than not - what i need to get is at the bottom of the URL drop down

- But the computer will learn the more you use it
  - Trying to be creative means always looking for new ways to do things?

Actually from what I have read, Microsoft (at least some) .. consider 'wizards' a big mistake. In recent software you have seen fare less of them than you did in the Win95 times.

I think there is a very difficult balance between being automated + helpful and annoying + pissing people off.

I would have thought the focus groups make different decisions depending on the type of users within that group.

" 'wizards' a big mistake. In recent software you have seen fare less of them than you did in the Win95 times"

true - as they are mostly technical - so the less of them the better



Windows Server 2003 - that shipped with an interface thats the exact same as xphome/pro - but with all the fluff / services turned off.

Im not saying thats the way to go - but it shows ms realise people want different tiers of usability - this is a good start!

maybe that could be a setting like above - New, Int, Pro etc..

hey pop it on a slider that adds more and more fluff
as you get to 10 haha

The Visual Studio wizards are a good thing. I dunno about the ones in Office tho.

/Lars.

..even good ol' Frontpage now tries to Autocomplete code as you type..

how many times have i deleted </style>  or </class> or </script> now?


* i dont turn the defaults OFF - i use the apps as MS or Adobe or Corel ships them

if i customise something - i feel like a mac user

i prefer all for one - one for all

* thats why i want a REAL global setting somewhere - so its STANDARDISED - and the multiple personalities that are Windows Auto-whatever become ONE - and a globally CONTROLED one at that

..not yelling

Regarding auto-complete, auto-format and auto-correct, I'm with you all the way on this one Jamie! I've never met a user, a support person or a developer who doesn't hate them with venemous passion. Most people disable them as quickly as possible, the rest just swear and hit something hard when they mess up what they're doing. I suppose they appeal to non-computer literate management, who are fooled into thinking that these wretched things will make their staff more productive. I particularly hate the ones which can't be disabled permanantly through the user interface, such as the automatic table column width wrecking in Word 2000. Each newly created table has to have this property corrected. Ugh! John

Regarding wizards, I tend to disagree with you. Imagine program installation without a wizard, for example. I think Wizards hark back to the days when you felt that you were holding a conversation with the computer, one question (or one command) at a time. I think the Apple/Windows "you can do anything, anytime" interface was not only a gigantic mistake in terms of usability, it was also a technical disaster because of its huge size, its complexity and its fragility. Running more than program at the same time is highly useful, copying and pasting between them likewise, but being able to choose any option at any time (except for the ones with are greyed out but you can't figure out why) is not. All this of course is just my humble opinion, and not what most people think. John

Not all "Auto-" Features are bad. Have a look at Intellisense in the VB or C# Editor in VS.NET. That's really helpful. It's not perfect, but I don't want to write code without it anymore.

I think this kind of features are useful as long as they try to assist and not to force the user.

Agreed.. I can type 'Dou' and have it complete it to 'Double', I can also use it to research types I might want to use. It has never got under my skin for the simply fact that if you don't want to keep whatever it suggests you just keep on typing and it goes.

...to those interested - im not talking about auto complete - individually - im refering to the "personality" of the " person?" that makes these calls ( that the computer executes )

Im saying - unify the personalities of this beast! I say we coral it into control panel - "Skill Level" or some other name

computers just cant know what you are thinking - and make fools of themselves when they TRY TO