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Rockbox mail archiveSubject: fwpatcher user interfacefwpatcher user interface
From: Jonas H. <rasher_at_rasher.dk>
Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2005 01:17:28 +0200 I noticed some discussion on IRC about the fwpatcher (Firmware patcher for iriver firmwares) user interface and wanted to chime in with a few suggestions and observations. The issue is how much user feedback is necessary. So I have a few suggestions as to how it could work: 0) No changes User selects a firmware file, clicks patch and the program determines the model, patches and pops up a dialog saying whether the operation succeeded or failed. Pros: - Very simple - User can do nothing wrong (the other options don't allow anything wrong to happen either, but the user might think so) Cons: - Requires the user to trust the program to do the right thing 1) Wizard-style. The user is first asked which player he has, and is then asked to select a firmware file which is then checked against a list of MD5 sums of firmwares for that player and patched. Pros: - Gives the user a sense of control - User will know that he told the program which player he has Cons: - Needlessly complicated - we can detect this automatically - Might scare the user ("Did I select the right model?") 2) More feedback dialogs The user is asked to select a firmware file. The type of firmware is then determined by checking against a list of MD5 sums of all known firmwares. This is reported back to the user in a dialog box and the file is then patched. Pros: - The user knows that the program got it right Cons: - An extra "click ok" dialog box - these should be avoided as far as possible in my opinion. (alternatively, the final confirmation could contain the model name, eliminating this problem). 3) Output log User is asked to select a firmware file. When he clicks the patch button, a log is written to a frame at the bottom of the screen. Example output: --- Determining model: H120/H140 Writing patched file: Done Checking patched file: Succes Overwrite unpatched file: Succes --- Pros: - User knows exactly what is going on - User will quickly know where an error occured - No more operations than currently Cons: - Might confuse users -- Jonas H rasher(at)rasher(dot)dk -- Watch this space _______________________________________________ http://cool.haxx.se/mailman/listinfo/rockboxReceived on 2005-07-10 Page template was last modified "Tue Sep 7 00:00:02 2021" The Rockbox Crew -- Privacy Policy |