UI preferences are so personal it makes my head spin. We have almost had global nuclear wars over arguments about text editor choices, let alone actually interesting UI aspects.

> On 2020-09-19, at 4:47 PM, Chris Muller <asqueaker at gmail.com> wrote:
>  For example, imagine the power of having EVERY PIXEL on your desktop being ready for ANY INPUT, regardless of window z-ordering, simply by moving pointer there and pressing a mouse or keyboard button.
> 

Here you see, we differ. It's likely partly due to growing up using RISC OS and the original ST-80 UI (similar but not the same, which makes for 'interesting' habit/reflexes) where basically the keyboard focus was set by clicking in a text field and mouse focus what where ever the cursor sat. RISC OS permits windows to be active (for mouse or keyboard) at any point in the Z stack but you do still have to click in that text field. Very-old ST-80 MVC was mouse focus within the active window and IIRC keyboard focus in the text view under the mouse. 

I *think* I remember work at PPS to actually formalise some idea of a text focus for ObjectWorks 4.0 - but that's so long ago who knows if I'm right. The thing that would drive me nuts  - and I have experience of trying to use a workstation set up that way in the past - is the keyboard focus sliding around as the mouse drifts across because of the cable being stiff or pulled by gravity etc. Yes, ok, a bluetooth mouse wouldn't usually do that but half the time they don't do *anything* right.

Similarly I really, really, dislike the 'menu button selects a list item' thing that we currently have (and that Apple do, too) because I want the damn thing I selected to be selected until I actually select something else. Grrrrr. Damn; this is all reminding me how much I miss arguing UI with Jef Raskin.


tim
--
tim Rowledge; tim at rowledge.org; http://www.rowledge.org/tim
You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive in Silicon Valley