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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: robg on Nov 09, '07 12:15:30PM

The poll of which you speak shows (as of today) that 39% prefer the 3D dock, and 36% prefer the 2D dock. I'd call that a tie -- we're talking about a difference of 165 votes.

What that says to me is that Apple should offer users a choice between the two, as it's clear that nearly as many people (at least here on hints) prefer the 2D dock over the 3D dock.

And I have no resistance to change -- when change means new features that add value. I do, however, have a huge resistance to useless, CPU-sucking, no-value-add changes that are made for the sake of graphics alone. I have yet to hear one good explanation for translucent menus, translucent menu bars, 3D warping backgrounds or the 3D dock other than "we think it's cool."

For those of us who *don't* think it's cool, it would be really nice to have the option to not use those "features."

-rob.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: Padriac on Nov 09, '07 02:24:56PM
http://sigchi.org/chi97/proceedings/paper/nt.htm

Moral: if you find something aesthetically pleasing, you will find it more usable.

So if you hate the Time Machine background you should change it because you'll then find Time Machine more useful. But if somebody finds the Time Machine background "Cool" and appealing, they will find Time Machine MORE usable because of that. Just as you subconsciously hate Time Machine because of the graphics and all that CPU they waste (seriously Rob? Computers primarily do nothing but waste cycles all day, so what's the harm in using a truly insignificant amount for aesthetics?)

I'd wager the number of people impressed by the warping background outnumber those who despise it, and as such the space background (ON AVERAGE) is a better universal choice than the "ugly" white background. This also highlights my point about not making evaluative statements about how you hate this or that change: it's too subjective to hold true for everybody, so why bother? Your aesthetic opinion is not everybody's.

This also highlights another important fact:
Looking cool *is* a worthwhile goal as long is the benefits outweigh the costs. If a visual change greatly improves your opinion of the interface element even if it slightly decreasing its usability, then the visual change is valid and worthwhile. This fact consistently blows die-hard, command-line-or-death types as they simply refuse to believe it. But if people use Time Machine more just because they find it "pretty" then the space background has more than justified itself.

So there: now you can't say you've never heard of a justification for the warping background. And I know for a fact you've been given reasons as to how the new Dock does improve some aspects of its use (admittedly it also introduces some new problems, but it's not like there's absolutely no justification for it, whether Apple intended it or not).

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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: robg on Nov 09, '07 03:46:45PM

I was given reasons why someone *thinks* the new dock is better. None of those reasons, however, stood up to any sort of scientific logic.

As for the TM interface: I don't want a white background. I want a nice, static, non-moving, functional background that doesn't take my eyes off the very windows I'm trying to look at.

I would be fine with vortex.png if it just sat there. Really. All I want is the option to disable all this stuff. And yes, on a mini, the CPU suckage is very noticeable. Flying "back in time" through the pages of TM is a jerky, ugly proposition. Why? Because half my machine's horsepower is being used to render meaningless imagery.

What's wrong with giving users choice?

-rob.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: makip on Nov 12, '07 01:32:49PM

I was reading this particular thread and I just got to thinking..

I really appreciate what Apple has done with Time Machine. Regular backups and a version control system is very important, and I think the significance of this new feature would have been lost and possibly ignored my many users if Apple didn't go with this metaphor and special effects. Its scope really captures the attention of users who aren't tech savvy and may not have bothered enabling a feature they may otherwise see as a waste of disk space.

Having said that, I also prefer to disable gratuitous effects. It gets in the way of my workflow and I will probably look for a way to do so with Time Machine when I upgrade. Apple needn't offer a choice on everything (it would get complicated) but simple choices like this are common sense.

ps- Padriac, wasting CPU cycles on many seemingly small things does add up. Even if you dont feel the impact on system performance as a portable user you do still chew through your battery faster.



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