SoylentNews

The Real Reason Android P Uses Gestures

posted by janrinok on Tuesday May 15 2018, @07:38AM   
from the three-is-too-much dept.

AndyTheAbsurd writes:

The reason given is:

Specifically, Google wanted to eliminate the button that lets you view all your open apps, making it easier to see your apps with a swipe.

But the underlying reason for wanting to do it comes from this quote from Dave Burke, Google's VP of engineering for Android

"Android have those three buttons at the bottom: Home, back and something else," Burke said. "And it's, it's a little too much, a little too complicated. I think of it as like walking into a room with three doors and it's like, 'which door do I go in?'"

My response to Burke would be: Well, Dave, when you walk into the room, and there's three doors, and one of them is labeled "bedroom", one of them is labeled "kitchen", and one of them is labeled "bathroom"; it's pretty easy to decide whether you're tired, hungry, or need to take a leak - so maybe you should look at having standards for labeling things.

---

Original Submission

• Standards in labeling? Standards in labeling? (Score: 3, Insightful) by bradley13 on Tuesday May 15 2018, @10:55AM (3 children)

  by bradley13 (3053) on Tuesday May 15 2018, @10:55AM (#680005) Homepage Journal

  Remember when the three symbols actually meant something? Once upon a time, for example, the home button looked like a little house. Then some overly clever designer changed it to a circle. Idiocy...

  --
  Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+1
  Insightful=1, Total=1
  Extra 'Insightful' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		3

• Re:Standards in labeling? Re:Standards in labeling? (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday May 15 2018, @11:03AM (1 child)

  by MostCynical (2589) on Tuesday May 15 2018, @11:03AM (#680007) Journal

  They got the circle from Australian Aborigines.: "campsite"

  https://image.slidesharecdn.com/ajourneydowncompatiblerevised-130124110827-phpapp01/95/aboriginal-art-10-638.jpg?cb=1359025780 [slidesharecdn.com]

  The others: possibly, from too much coke.

  --
  "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

  Parent

  • Re:Standards in labeling? (Score: 3, Informative) by bradley13 on Tuesday May 15 2018, @12:20PM

    by bradley13 (3053) on Tuesday May 15 2018, @12:20PM (#680018) Homepage Journal

    Even if true, that's irrelevant. What proportion of Android users are Aborigines?

    It just another example of designers uninterested in usability.

    --
    Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.

    Parent

• Re:Standards in labeling? (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday May 15 2018, @07:19PM

  by krishnoid (1156) on Tuesday May 15 2018, @07:19PM (#680161)

  Don't worry, they'll eventually come around full circle [youtube.com].

  Parent