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ACM SIGCHI WWW Human Factors (Open Discussion)

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"ACM SIGCHI WWW Human Factors (Open Discussion)" <[log in to unmask]>
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derek bambach <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 8 Jul 1999 09:05:38 -0400
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At 08:14 PM 7/6/99 +1000, celia wrote:
>I'm building a web app that contains a time display, and I want to
>know whether it should be displayed as a clockface or a digital
>display. Apart from the obvious implementation issues, does anyone
>know of any studies about whether humans can read digits faster than
>clockfaces, or vice versa?
>


is speed really the issue? (why does *everything* in the computer world
have to be designed to be "faster" - is that the primary mesure of value
these days?). in any event, i'd pick aesthetic considerations over the
dubious notion of precision. the fact is, people overwhelmingly choose
analog clocks for just about every need (with the possible exception of a
bedside alarm clock, because those big red numbers are easy to read with
your blurry morning vision). ask salespeople in any clock or watch store.
most styles are analog and most sales are analog. that's what people like
(the only people i ever see who consistently wear digital watches are
computer/hard science people and maybe pilots).

as for precision, well - it depends on if the web clock you're designing is
going to base it's time on the end user's computer clock setting. if so,
you can't guarantee any degree of precision anyway, so go with the aesthetic.

derekj


---------------------------------------------------------------
derek h. bambach                    [log in to unmask]
interface architect                            404.812.6767

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