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OCGM: A New Windows User Experience
For those of you who aren’t familiar, Ron George is one of the UX talents on the Windows 8 planning team within Microsoft. That, in and of itself, is reason enough for this blog to keep up with his. Never mind the fact that he’s an innovator in his field. Today, Ron announced his paradigm shift in the world of UX: OCGM
Pronounced “Occam” as in, “Occam’s Razor,” the acronym stands for the following:
Objects: Objects are the core of the experience. They can have a direct correlation with something physical, or they can just be objects in the interface.
Containers: Containers will be the “grouping” of the objects. This can manifest itself in whatever the system sees fit to better organize or instruct the user on interactions. They do not have to be, nor should they be, windows. They can be any sort of method of presentation or relationship gathering as seen fit.
Gestures: Gestures are actions performed by the user that initiate a function after its completion and recognition by the system. This is an indirect action on the system because it needs to be completed before the system will react to it.
Manipulations: Manipulations are the direct influences on an object or a container by the user. These are immediate and responsive. They are generally intuitive and mimic the physical world in some manner. The results are expected and should be non-destructive. These are easily performed and accidental activations should be expected and frequent.
In other words, OCGM is Ron’s solution to the ever-growing problems present in today’s WIMP-dominated (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointing Devices) world of human-computer interaction. To quote:
The WIMP interface is a slow dying breed as our demands on user experience and the demands of user’s keep inflating. It’s time to start thinking in a new direction. A direction that sheds many of the harnesses of the old acronym and begins to explain the building blocks of the future. It will be simple, concise, and cover all of the bases we need. There is no need to rely on pointing devices, menus, or windows anymore. It’s time to let the experience be the interface, and the user to be in total control. The interface will begin to blend in with the experience and the experience will be the interface.
I’d like to once again point out the fact that this guy is on the Windows 8 planning team. These are the types of people who drive true innovation, and when you can get them to apply their game-changing ideas to your product(s), good great incredible things can happen. It’s just nice to know that people like this are working on my favorite OS of choice. Feel free to go to Ron’s blog and let him know what you think. Give him your opinions and be honest. Sure, he might be a 6’6″ ex-Marine, but he welcomes feedback of all types with open arms.
Link: OCGM (pronounced Occam['s Razor]) is the replacement for WIMP
-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com
Is MS reinventing the OS/2 Workplace Shell from 15 years ago?
If you click on “About my job” link on Ron’s website, it appears he has started his own company and no longer works for Microsoft.
I only found your blog today through yahoo, found your blog to be a really good read. I’ve bookmarked you, and i’m gonna check back weekly.
The new Zune browser is surprisingly good, but not as good as the iPod’s. It works well, but isn’t as fast as Safari, and has a clunkier interface. If you occasionally plan on using the web browser that’s not an issue, but if you’re planning to browse the web alot from your PMP then the iPod’s larger screen and better browser may be important.