Muthukumar Rajamani : Interaction Designer/Manager, Bangalore

Product Experience Management,User Reseach at Cisco Systems, India

CLI > GUI > CLI on GUI!?!

Update : Read Enso’s take on Why Quasi Modes are more user friendly than Modes

And now CLI gets contextually integrated with GUI!

Atleast, that’s what Jono DiCarlo from Humanized has demonstrated through Enzo.

All you need to do is press “Caps Lock” key to invoke/trigger the Command Line Interface and start keying in your commands. The good news is that any no of new commands can be written.

Some of the tasks based on commands are

  • Insert Map
  • Open in a Application
  • Calculate
  • Translate
  • Upper Case

    • See complete command list

    Since I am so used to using the ‘Caps Lock’ key to capitalize, I INITIALLY found it difficult be forced to use the “Shift” key.

    Keeping the ‘Caps Lock’ pressed all the time to type other commands is difficult and creates a state of tension.

    Think there is room to explore other design solutions to this problem. I am not sure if other keys are were usability tested and that they found this one “less difficult”

    A provision to assign short-cuts keys for the most frequently used commands can be considered.

    CLI on GUI

    Google Buzz
    Categories: Usability - User eXperience Design - Voice of the User - VOU - Web Technologies
    16 November 2007 at 01:42 - Comments
    Kingsley
    I tried enso for a bit, but I still find the CLI too tedious. I’m a bigger fan of Autohotkey and StrokeIt, a gesture based productivity tool. With strokeit, for example, I can draw a U on the screen to undo. Of course, the problem with both CLIs and gestures are that the commands are not discoverable. Autocomplete helps in the enso case, and pie menus could help with gestures.
    26 November 07 at 20:06
    Mac
    Vanakkam, I want to move into the UI side of software technology, not by the lure for money due to my design background. At the same time money and recognition is also my consideration, not to be hypocritical. I was advised by a friend to gain knowledge in Action Scripting, in addition to graphics suites like Photoshop, Corel Draw, Flash etc.,

    I want to know the reality, is the industry really green some are predicting its in nascent stage yet to develop bright future.

    I am ready to put my soul and hard work to come up, but wondering will my effort bear the fruits.

    Ungalala mudinja advise pannunga, have been searching for guidance since long time.
    30 November 07 at 08:12