(long) Transparent IDE elements and other problems

[Frank Leahy]

On Sunday, March 28, 2004, at 03:52  AM, 
use-revolution-request at lists.runrev.com wrote:

> From: j <j at clsdesignassociates.com>
> Subject: Re: (long) Transparent IDE elements and other problems
> To: How to use Revolution <use-revolution at lists.runrev.com>
> Message-ID:
> 	<83DE9BFA-804A-11D8-B610-000393989F4E at clsdesignassociates.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
>
>> If you're trying to move 50 images of scenery (all with blue sky let
>> say) from the back of an album of 500 images in front of the images of
>> trains (say they're all very dark), even the smallest size, where you
>> can't pick out any features, has its uses.
>
> True, it's just there are better ways of implementing the software's
> interface for this use.  We can list specific, exceptional instances to
> justify nearly every design option, no matter how silly (for example,
> assigning keystroke mnemonics to every menu item and button); that
> doesn't mean they are good interface design choices for the target
> audience.
>
> J.
>

It's certainly possibly to make bad UI decisions in programs (lord 
knows I have in the past...), but I'm not sure having very small 
thumbnails is one of them.  I'm interested though that this issue 
triggered your "it smells like a bad UI decision" bit.  Mind if I ask a 
couple of questions?

1) If you were designing iPhoto or an equivalent, what is the min size 
that you would have specified for thumbnails and why?

2) In the case of selecting and moving a big batch of thumbnails as I 
mentioned above, would you have decided it wasn't important (and 
therefore not support it), or would you come up with another way to do 
it?

3) And maybe the most telling question of all, do you have large number 
of photographs on your computer, and if so what program do you use to 
organize them?

-- Frank