Ins and outs

[steve messimer]

Richard

>  As you will by now be aware, I am particularly interested
>in usability - specifically for non-computer types, and to
>that end made rather over-the-top tool bars for both RR &
>MC, and then went to one particular extreme with my thesis.


>  I do believe that far too little attention is paid to the
>end-user experience and wonder if now is not the time to
>start a use-list specifically dedicated to this - and keep
>the current - MC and RR lists for xTalk related matters
>only. The nature of RR/MC readily lends itself to the rapid
>development of a wide variety of user interfaces  - and,
>owing to the cross-platform nature of RR/MC, is, to my
>mind, one of the better RADs for UI development and
>experimentation.

I have been interested in this since Hypercard first appeared on the market.
On first glance rapid educational development using xTalk seemed the way to
go.  But what I found at least was that from scratch development of useful
educational applications could take months.  Part of the problem ( and there
are many others besides is that higher order development tools were not
available ) To build these was very time consuming. Now if you are an
instructor at any level time is not a commodity that is available in great
supply.  I started working on preceptortools  back in the late 80's. While
it was never a commercial success I think that some of the ideas still have
merit.

If you have never looked at it you are welcome to do so by going to my
website which is still up and running. http://www.messimercomputing.com

I would welcome the opportunity to participate in a dialog regarding methods
of improving the usability of development environments for educational
purposes.

Regards,

Steve Messimer, PA