Sunday, September 16, 2007

html and double click

This weekend, I spent a total of 10 hours doing Web Publishing class homework. After I'd finished the homework, I used the tutorials to make myself a new website. The new CoachDANNY.net was done entirely in a text editor. No fancy-shmanshy FrontPage or DreamWeaver to help me. My website will change each week, so check back every Monday or Tuesday, and you'll probably see something different.

All this talk about html brought me to another thought: How stupid is double clicking?

I've installed Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux (DSL) a few times. I've noticed that both distributions require only a single click on the desktop. I thought, "How freaking genius!"

Have you ever noticed that the entire internet requires only a single click? Actually, some people haven't noticed that, and they get double charged on orders over the internet. And, older people or people with motor skill problems have difficult with the whole double click thing.

Now in Windows uses the double click for a purpose. You select an icon with a single click. Or, you can click and hold, drag and drop with a single click. Double clicking an icon makes that icon do something, like bring up the program to present it. Double clicking on a "text.doc" file will bring up Microsoft Word, or OpenOffice.org, or some word processing program your computer uses. Single clicking on the icon will only highlight the icon.

Okay, so that's fine and dandy. Now we know you need to double click to open an icon in Windows. Or in Mac OS X. Cool.

Oh, but then there's that start button. Should you double click the start button? Nope. Not necessary. And then there's the menu bars (File, Edit, View....). Single click on those too.

Okay, so double click on some things, single click on others, right click to...

Oh yeah, we forgot to mention the whole right click thing. Sorry iBook/MacBook users. Then again, they can't right click.

And we wonder why some people are confused and frustrated with computers.

Even the Linux Desktops of Gnome, KDE, and XFCE are guilty. I know how it works, but for someone who's never used a computer it can be confusing. I understand the functionality of the double click, but I question if it's really necessary anymore. Puppy Linux and DSL don't need it. But, they do need the right click.

Anyway, single click here to see my new website.

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