Facebook Plunges Again
Tumblr 101: Tips And Tricks To Get Started
OpenOffice.Org demos ribbon-style UI prototype
A few days ago, OpenOffice.Org's Renaissance Project introduced a new prototype UI. Predictably, the similarity to Microsoft's Ribbon did not go unnoticed by commenters. "The Office ribbon sucks. Please don't copy it," reads one reply.
It's important to note that this is just a prototype. As OOO's Frank Loehmann notes in his post, "We just want to be able to test the interaction. Content of the toolbars and the group labeling are subject to change. They show just what can be done in this prototype. This allows us to create UX tests that can be run with current OOo and
the prototypes."
If you want to try out the new interface yourself, there's a Java Web Start version of Impress with the new UI applied that you can test.
Personally, I've become a fan of ribbon-style interfaces. It took a little while for them to grow on me, but that's to be expected with such a major change. The only thing I don't like is the amount of vertical real estate they take up on widescreen monitors. Even that isn't a big problem, since most apps allow you to minimize or hide the ribbon with a hotkey.
What do you think of the prototype? Is it a misstep or a step in the right direction?
It's important to note that this is just a prototype. As OOO's Frank Loehmann notes in his post, "We just want to be able to test the interaction. Content of the toolbars and the group labeling are subject to change. They show just what can be done in this prototype. This allows us to create UX tests that can be run with current OOo and
the prototypes."
If you want to try out the new interface yourself, there's a Java Web Start version of Impress with the new UI applied that you can test.
Personally, I've become a fan of ribbon-style interfaces. It took a little while for them to grow on me, but that's to be expected with such a major change. The only thing I don't like is the amount of vertical real estate they take up on widescreen monitors. Even that isn't a big problem, since most apps allow you to minimize or hide the ribbon with a hotkey.
What do you think of the prototype? Is it a misstep or a step in the right direction?
Comments
22
Subscribe to commentsFauzanSep 10th 2009 9:11AM
I've loved the ribbon interface since i first saw it. It made everything at University SO much easier, especially the features to input fractions, etc. OpenOffice is THE BEST office software around, but one thing i constantly Google is if they'll implement the ribbon into it. I think it should be included, but there should also be the option for people to choose from the menu's if they want the 'classic' menu style or 'ribbon' (or whatever OpenOffice decide to name their version of it) style. That way the people who want the ribbon can have it, and the people who don't, can stick with the classic. Everyone's happy, and, it IS open source after all, right? I tell everyone i know to use OpenOffice, and many of them want the ribbon which is a BIG deciding point for them (i'm not saying it is for everybody btw, just referring to many of MY friends/relatives). I think it'd help get more people using OpenOffice and steal market share from companies who like to charge £700 for software, which to most people, is almost a months salary!
-fuz
AndrewSep 19th 2009 2:24PM
I love the ribbon and refuse to use the antiquated menu system. I only run Macs at home and I like the Ribbon so much that I run a virtual machine on my mac just so I can run Office 2007 (the mac version of office doesn't have the ribbon). The old menu system is only good for people that have memorized what is in all those drop down menus. It is far less intuitive to learn initially. In the next half decade, everyone is going to get used to the Ribbon, whether they like it or not, and Open Office will die out if they don't adopt the Ribbon system.