Another issue worth considering in the context of location based
navigation is 'maturity of technology'. With a standard 56 k modem..I
suppose it is difficult to display graphic rich ambiences'. Image maps as
such is an avoidable practice coz of the often incoherent standards in
establishing the identity of the objects in the image map that would be
links.

With the advancement in cable modems and ADSL , I guess we have a better
scope for using metaphor rich navigation systems./

Coneti
HCI specialist
CitiGroup

Carolyn Snyder wrote:

> A couple years ago, we worked on an prototype for a web-based
> distance learning product. In the original prototype, users had
> avatars that could move through the virtual building into the
> virtual classroom, look at bulletin boards, etc. Different info was
> available in different places. But in testing, this idea did
> indeed prove to be clunky, and actually got in the way of the primary
> objective of the interface - providing an instructor-led learning
> experience for professional adults. The designers took out all the
> 3D video-game-like stuff, and usability improved.
>
> I agree that we don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater
> and say that all location-based navigation is bad. I'm thinking that
> part of the question of appropriateness depends partly on whether
> you're talking about information or interaction. If information, it
> depends on the extent to which that information has a commonly
> accepted location-based structure in the real world (most of the
> time, it probably doesn't, which is why location-based navigation
> metaphors may not work well).
>
> $.02,
>
> Carolyn
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