Start with a short user story. ( e.g. kbd focus) (from refactoring morphic thread)

Chris Muller chris at funkyobjects.org
Tue Dec 19 03:45:01 UTC 2006


Bill Schwab wrote:

> Not necessarily!  Aside from keyboard navigation, the focus might
have
moved programmatically (I'm not _completely_ opposed to UI
innovations<g>).  Beyond that, it matters not why the user moved the
mouse; the point is that many users do not want the focus to follow it.

Sometimes the user moves the mouse of "muscle memory" to get the cursor
out of the way of reading what is being typed; other times, the blasted
cable presses against the coffee cup and moves the mouse.  Punishing a
touch-typist for this kind of thing is not a ride up in the market.

Great points, thanks.  Certainly, also, focus preferences are affected
by the type of input device being used.  I do 99% of my Squeaking on a
laptop with TrackPoint and TouchPad, neither of which is susceptible to
accidental mouse movements.  Further, these devices allow my hands to
remain at the home row and still quickly point at any object I want.

I'm really interested in this topic because, as I've been experimenting
with my experimental naked-objects framework, Maui, which insists on
mouseOver for focus, I've been appreciating it more and more.

> Punishing a
> touch-typist for this kind of thing is not a ride up in the market.\\

Well, the rewards for a touch typist are that it better allows
"two-handed" interfaces.  One hand on the mouse, the other on the
keyboard.  Point, keystroke.  Point, keystroke.  Point, keystroke. 
Three things just got done with just six gestures.

Yes, it does require one to "calm down" with the mouse, but this comes
naturally once the power of pointing sinks in.  Its worth a few moments
of thought anyway, even if our cerebellums "muscle memory" have little
hope of being reprogrammed.  :)

Regards..




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