What is your favorite GUI? This is coming at you in the written form and so you may not be aware of that last word. Perhaps your eyes just glossed over the word. I know, I’ve done it when reading. The acronym GUI is pronounced “gooey”. It stands for “graphical user interface”. The term refers to the symbols you see when you use your computer or try to find a phone number on your cell phone.
GUI’s are not limited to computer screens. This topic is actually my wife’s rant. It began when we purchased a car together years ago. I don’t recall the exact situation and so I’ll make one up. She was looking for the controls for the windshield wipers. She searched in vain. Sure enough, there was a little wedge of a circle with a line across it. As I pondered the picture I could see how it could be confusing.
My first vehicle was a 1969 GMC pickup. Four on the floor with a straight six. It was great. Every control knob had a label. There were no symbols. It was all words. At night very few of them lit up. You had to remember that the temperature control was below the vent slider. Compare that to the Pontiac van I once owned. All the dials and controls were in that cool “racing orange” glow that only Pontiac has. Gone were the words and in were the symbols.
Now there is a new trend in vehicles. It’s starting in the luxury vehicles and coming down. In the centre is a touch sensitive screen. Tap a box (labeled, symbolized, or both) and the screen allows you to control the radio (or other entertainment option). Touch another area and the whole thing becomes a map showing directions. There definitely is a fashion sense that invades how we interact with our devices. I’ve always wondered if there was any definite decision made whether sliders, knobs or buttons were best for choosing radio stations. Or are touch screens are more “native” to our way of thinking. I always thought the cars that displayed the speedometer on the windshield were ultracool. I don’t see that option around anymore. Are we ready for the Knight 2000 car that interacts with the driver through voice?
Perhaps we should go back to the 1982 Charger where the temperature controls were on the left hand side of the steering wheel instead of in the centre console. It sure saved on arguments during long trips.
