So far everybody in this thread is talking about an idea with hints to other software. But most everything I have read here is wishful thinking in the sense of "if it was better". Please don't think that I see the GUIs of BIAB and RealBand as the absolute optimum. I already have said that I wish that those two and all other PGMusic programs should have the same look and feel. I don't think that the Adobe suite has the best of all GUIs available, but the GUIs are very similar; they have the same look and feel despite their totally different functionalities. What I read is: "It should be better." That is o.k. but not quantizeable.
So I read this interesting thread with one thought in mind: "Where's the beef?"
What would you think a great GUI for BIAB should look like?
Could you provide a sample GUI?
Maybe others of the great minds in this forum then have constructive ideas to hint PGMusic to develop the greater than Great GUI.
Guido
Well, first of all, users of a GUI may not be knowledgeable enough to provide the direction for fixing it nor should they be expected to, even though their opinion that it needs updating may be perfectly valid!
Great GUI design requires,
- a team with experience in creating modern GUI
- in-depth study of GUI standards
- detailed analysis of current GUI trends
- a critical look at the shortcomings of your current GUI
- thorough review of similar (and even dissimilar) products in the marketplace
- extensive testing with user groups
- and probably more I have not thought of!
This is NOT a trivial task nor one that could come about as one of the "50 New Features in 201X"!!
PG has the problem/opportunity of having a seriously outdated GUI. To redesign it properly would likely require a comprehensive re-write from the ground up. And given the age of the code base I seriously doubt that there is any separation of code and data within the underlying structure (yes, I know data like RealTracks are external but I am referring to how it is wired up under the hood.) So it is doubtful they could retain much of their existing code except for low-level stuff like RT handling.
So, that is some of the "beef"!
And here is a good starting point for locating the rest of the burger!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_interface_guidelineshttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspxhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dn688966.aspxhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ff657751%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/OSXHIGuidelines/index.htmlhttp://www.nngroup.com/http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/guide/graphical-user-interface-design-developing-usable-and-accessible-collection"The Windows Interface. An Application Design Guide" (1987, ISBN 1-55615-439-9)
"Human Interface Guidelines: The Apple Desktop Interface" (1987, ISBN 0-201-17753-6)
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