Comments on: New NetNewsWire Beta

By: alexking.org: Blog

alexking.org: Blog — Fri, 12 Dec 2003 17:06:33 +0000

Flexible Width DesignsMatt comments on the apparent death of flexible width designs. Flexible width designs seem to work well in web applications (tasks for example), but on my web site I’ve chosen to use a fixed width.

Frankly, the biggest knock I have against flexi…

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 18 Jun 2003 14:20:23 +0000

I know, I know - I feel bad for those poor suckers and their 3 pane views.
Thanks Brent, for taking the time to consider the ideas and come here and comment.

By: Brent Simmons

Brent Simmons — Wed, 18 Jun 2003 02:37:07 +0000

I’m not sure a drop-down with just two items is quite right. An icon that changes state might be better. (It doesn’t even have to be in the toolbar, actually. It doesn’t have to be that large.)

Though you don’t use the three-pane view, millions of people do, and I have to think about them. If NetNewsWire is like Outlook, Mail, Mailsmith, Emailer, and on and on then it’s like something they already know how to use.

About collapsing unread items as you move away — I’ll consider it. It makes sense as an option.

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 18 Jun 2003 01:53:44 +0000

one more thing… to me having the items collapsed is kind of the same thing as them turning from bold to normal in the headline pane as you read them. It is a visual confirmation that they are read. This being the case, I’d like to have them collapse when I move to the next item.

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 18 Jun 2003 01:51:26 +0000

Perhaps a drop down instead of an icon is more appropriate to change the view.

I don’t use the 3 pane view in email apps either (never have cared for it) so I missed that parallel. To me, it is a bit more clear becuase the title is connected to the content instead of in another pane. No biggie.

By: Brent Simmons

Brent Simmons — Tue, 17 Jun 2003 23:43:05 +0000

Thanks, Alex. A few replies:

About an icon on the toolbar: sounds like a good idea. The *only* hard part about that is the icon itself.

I’m considering an option to collapse entries when you leave a subscription.

I’ll definitely do an easier shortcut for collapsing all read items.

I won’t make it the default view, since most new users would find it confusing. Part of the deal with NetNewsWire is that it’s like an email app, you don’t really have much new stuff to learn when you try it. The Combined View might be off-putting for new users were it the default.