Bert Freudenberg <bert at isg.cs.uni-magdeburg.de> wrote:
	Rectangular windows are the result of "programmer's aesthetic". It's the
	most straight-forward thing to do. Adding roundness makes the interface
	just a tad friendlier. 
	
I have this mental picture of DEATH asking the jeweller "Is this diamond
friendly?" and the jeweller saying "I personally would go to bed with it."
(misquoted from memory of Reaper Man).

When you're talking about things that people can bump into (doors, for
example), rounded corners are _kinder_ than sharp ones (my three-year-old
could testify to that).  But I am somewhat at a loss to understand what
"friendly" can mean when applied to rounded corners on a text window.

To make three obvious points:
(a) they reduce the amount of screen area available for content presentation
(b) they create confusion in users' minds as to whether the transparent
    "gusset" is part of the window or part of the background, which decreases
    the area of the screen to which they can confidently point.  This is
    particularly bad as the corners are particularly nice places to point.
(c) when a window is mostly covered by another window, the rounded corners
    reduce the visible area of the window underneath, making it harder to
    notice and to grab.

I've been using Squeak rounded windows since I first downloaded 3.0.1.
But recently, I've switched them back to the "square" look.  They USED
to serve a purpose, reminding me that I was in Morphic rather than MVC.
These days that's not something I need to know.

I have tried to think of some way in which round corners on a screen could
be "friendly", and the only reading I can come up with is "gives <speaker>
a warm fuzzy feeling".  The only books we have in our house (and we have a
LOT of books) with rounded corners are ones intended for very small human
beings.  Perhaps rounded corners tap into warm memories of childhood?

	Regarding "amateurism" in the context of rounded windows (I
	agree that most other visual aspects of Squeak's GUI are at best
	"amateurish"): The two most recent major GUIs both have rounded
	window corners.  I'm sure they pay a lot for professional
	designers.  On a related note, Macs have had rounded screen
	corners for ages, but surely not for any usability reason.

I have vigorously refused to have MacOS 9 installed on my Mac.  At least up
until MacOS 8.6, the rounded corners of the _screen_ were not reflected in
rounded _window_ corners.  (And the rounded screen corners always had me
looking for the CRT controls to "fix" this obvious "warping".)  Never
underestimate the ability of the computer industry to copy bad ideas
enthusiastically.  Never overestimate the abilities of highly paid experts,
either.  (For example, the Maori TV channel that's being set up paid some
"experts" to find them a CEO.  The one they found pleased them well, until
they discovered that his credentials were (allegedly) faked...)

It's a bit like democracy.  The voters are NOT experts on "what is the right
thing for this country to do".  But they ARE experts on "have recent policies
been hurting ME".  Any Squeak user can speak with unchallengable authority
on whether he or she finds some aspect of the interface helpful/usable/&c,
and not all the experts in the world can naysay it; BUT by the same token,
"it works for me" is never a good enough argument for saying "everyone
should do the same", and if human interface people are happy to give us
advice, we should at least listen.