Article Idea:
In the beginning: UI Widgets
Having done some research over the years, as a desire to get back to the roots of what we do (at least in the User Interaction side) I have found it surprisingly hard to find anything about the original UI widgets that we all take for granted within our various OS’s.
It would be nice to understand some this history and to see some of the conceptual work done in creating what have become the building blocks of software based interaction.
I’m sure we all know the fables, history and maybe some of the stories to Xerox Park and Apple in relation to this topic – but who made the modern UI Widgets and what was the thinking
Want to see this idea turned into a story?
6 people said yes. | 0 people said no.
Christina Wodtke
537 Reputation points
Posted 2006/01/23 @ 18:03PM with
I agree—we have many folks on the web talking about why they did this or that… but too little from the originators.
Christina Wodtke
537 Reputation points
Posted 2006/01/23 @ 20:41PM with
btw, WHO POSTED THIS? A bug let it slide through with no author.
Richard Marsh
0 Reputation points
Posted 2006/01/30 @ 06:39AM with
Hi there, I posted this, after visiting this site daily for a long time I hadn’t actually realised I wasn’t registered, lol. Hope the suggestion is well recieved :)
Richard Marsh
0 Reputation points
Posted 2006/01/30 @ 06:49AM with
Some of the components we see such as the check box, input text field, text field area (assumption) show obvious links between digital interaction and traditional paper forms, but what about other components such as radio buttons, combo boxes, scrollbars, even to the point of buttons (stateful and non) .. well this is the start of something .. so if anyone is interested .. vote now … :)
tarzun b
0 Reputation points
Posted 2006/01/31 @ 09:54AM with
It is interesting to consider (and possibly long over due) whether these widgets we have taken for granted should or could be re-evaluated from the ground up again, given what they are required to do today. Often when a tool is built for a requirement, that tool can only be extended for a certain number or requirement itterations before it purpose exceeds it’s ability to perform it’s required tasks. Perhaps we should also talk about whether these widgets should continue to be reused from their historical root widgets at all?