Explore BrainMass

Explore BrainMass

    User Interface

    Anything that an average user (not necessarily a tech-savvy person) types into or clicks around that causes a program to act in response is a user interface. In general, the goal of any decent user interface should be to provide an effective, intuitive means for a user to achieve their objectives within a program without having to worry about the underlying mechanics. There are many philosophical ideas surrounding more specific ways to construct a successful user interface.

    A user interface could be anything from an OS to the controls for a crane, but all user interfaces revolve around a cycle of input from the user and feedback from the program. It can include both hard- and software components and, on a computer, be either textual like the terminal or a full-blown graphical user interface (GUI, pronounced 'gooey') like that of Microsoft Word. New development initiatives are even looking toward tactile user interfaces that respond to bending or folding in certain ways, and that heat up or poke the user as means of feedback.

    a crane

    Key concepts in designing a user interface include:

    • minimizing useless or incorrect output
    • de-cluttering the options and menus
    • allowing the user both access to the state of the system (consider how you can review the text of a Word document as you write by scrolling, or with the crane example, simply look out the windshield at the position of the machine) as well as control over it
    • help options available
    • good performance, not one weighed down by a necessarily heavy graphical component
    • intuitive or easy-to-learn tools
    • real-time feedback (as little lag as possible)
    • avoiding features known to annoy users like automatically playing music, pop ups or patronizing 'advice mascots'

    microsoft's paperclip mascot to help use Word

    Clippy, a Microsoft initiative to help users with Word, was almost universally hated.


    Icon photo credit Intel Free Press

    © BrainMass Inc. brainmass.com May 29, 2020, 9:15 pm ad1c9bdddf

    BrainMass Solutions Available for Instant Download

    Why we should or should not use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

    Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), a multi-featured specification for HTML, offers designers an expedient, powerful method to control the formatting and layout of Web pages. Research the current level of support for style sheets by leading browsers and the current W3C recommendations for style sheet usage. Create a report summarizin

    ASPX (Phone Book Application: GUI)

    (Phone Book Application: GUI) Create the user interface for the Phone Book application. The design for the two pages for this application is displayed in Fig. 29.25. in the attachment a) Creating an ASP. NET web application. Create an ASP.NET web application project in the C: Si mpl yVB2008 directory, and name it Phone Book.

    Design a website to support students based on the guidelines of Webmonkey.

    The goal of your project is to use the "information architectures" process to put together the best design you can. You may interpret the phrase "support students in the BSITM Program" in whatever ways seem most appropriate to you. After all, you've just been through the program; what would you have considered to be a helpful an

    Databases for Business Intelligence


    Internet Phone and PBX

    An interesting emerging market is using Internet phone and a company's high speed LAN to replace the same company's PBX. Write a (one page report) on this issue. Cover the following questions in your report: a. What is a PBX? b. Consider a call between a user in the company and another user out of the company who is connec

    Session Initiation Protocol

    Write a one page report on SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and how SIP is currently being used when providing the interface between the user and an application. With Scholarly Referencing.

    A systems life cycle chart

    Prepare and submit a system life cycle chart, utilizing MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or MS Visio. The chart must include detailed descriptions of the activities performed in each of the following areas: Assessment Plan Analysis Design Implementation Evaluation

    Creating a Mortgage Calculator in Java


    SOA Architecture.

    A report to describe the different layers of SOA and the need for each layer. Examples of three Web services. An annotated diagram showing the layers. A brief description of the purpose of each layer.

    Use Case Modeling

    Could you please help me with the following project?: Develop a Use Case Model. Include Use Cases for: 1. Creating a new, named Presentation 2. Adding a new Slide to the Presentation 3. Selecting a Design for the Presentation 4. Adding Text and Graphics to a Slide 5. Animating Text or Graphics to appear on a Slide

    Relational Data Model (Case 2)

    Install DB2 Express-C, create the SAMPLE database, and validate your installation, following the detailed installation instructions in Chapter 3 of the DB2 book. Write a short paper describing the following: Your experience with the installation. Open the Control Center and the SAMPLE database, make screen shots of the datab


    Discuss the benefits and limitations of the model-view-controller (MVC) principle. Identify one way in which MVC helps software designers create better code, and one way in which it deters them.

    Client-Server Network

    When executing a application program, on a Client-Server Network, : a) the application executes from the Client b) the application executes from the Server c) the application executes from both the Server and the Client d) the application executes from neither the Server nor the Client e) depends on the topology

    AJAX, Web 2.0, SOAP, XML and CSS

    How does AJAX influence a Web Developer? What is the relationship between Web 2.0, SOAP, and XML? How might Cascading Style Sheets be adapted to include dynamic content? Please explain these in immense detail with real world examples if possible.

    Creating a User Interface

    Chris and Pat Aquino own a successful ISP (Internet Service Provider) and want to expand their business to host an Internet auction site. The auction site will let sellers offer items for sale, such as antiques, first-edition books, vintage dolls, coins, art, stamps, glass bottles, autographs, and sports memorabilia. After a sel

    Data Integrity in Databases

    WHat is data integrity in terms of databases. Why is this concept important, and what can you do to make sure integrity is enforced? APA format

    Database questions

    1. Explain the interactions among end user, data, information, and decision making. 2.Suppose you are a DBA staff member. What data dimensions would you describe to top-level managers to obtain their support for the data administration function? 3. How and why did database management systems become the organizational data ma

    ADO.NET Technology: Advantages and Disadvantages

    Your company currently has several databases and several database management applications to manage the data, including Access, Microsoft SQL, and Oracle. Your supervisor would like you to develop an application to access and manage all these databases through one Visual Basic program using ADO.NET technology. Investigate ADO.NE

    Cisco Network Configuration...

    Given the physical topology in the attachment, state the proper syntax needed to configure the routers and the computers included in the topology. Please see the attachment for the full question. Sample Configuration: router#config t router(config)#int fa0/0 router(config-if)#ip add router(con

    VB Net Mortgage Problem

    Please help write a program with a GUI in VB.Net (not Web based). Make it so that the user can input the amount and term of the mortgage as well as the interest rate. Make it possible to display amounts of mortgage payments with the user's inputs. Allow the user to loop back and enter new data or quit. Insert comments to documen

    Network Outage questions

    Any help that can be given would be greatly appreciated. When there is a network outage, how do companies determine the network boundary? Would you rely on the IXC or LEC to locate, identify and fix the problem? Would you hire a dedicated technician to maintain your WAN interfaces?

