I’m not necessarily disagreeing with the
viewpoints of why alternative interfaces to the ribbon can be
problematic, particularly for users who only use that
alternative skin without learning anything about the menu.
However, it’s clear to me that it’s not just visually impaired
people who try to come up with alternatives to the standard
interface that they happen to not like. A while ago I remember
a program that attempted to address the desires of users who
disliked the ribbon by adding a ribbon tab that attempted to
emulate the menu interface. While I don’t know if
UbitMenu may have been that
program. At the time it was accessible enough that it was more
or less usable but because it only added a menu tab to the
existing ribbon it really wasn’t a full ribbon replacement.
Just yesterday I stumbled upon an article about a start menu
skin for Windows 11 to emulate the Win10 start menu and this
wasn’t a blindness-specific site. Again, I’m not necessarily
disagreeing with the prevailing point of view about this but
my point is that there will always be groups of people,
sighted as well as blind, who will continually want their
computer to function like it did in “the good old days” and
there always seems to be someone who’s willing to code a UI to
satisfy that need.
David Goldfield,
Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist
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www.DavidGoldfield.org
On Fri, Jan 14, 2022 at 10:49 AM, Gene
wrote:
When a sighted person uses an alternate
interface to ribbons,
-
I will again emphasize, I have never seen a single "alternate
interface" to the ribbons within programs or within things
like File Explorer for the sighted. It's virtually certain
that somewhere, such exists, but these have never gained
anything approaching wide acceptance if they are out there.
I've been working with Windows since the very first version,
throughout the menu driven period, and now for all the years
of the ribbon-driven period. I have never seen anything that
tries to make the ribbons back into menus for sighted users.
Just trying to do the visual overlay would be an absolute
nightmare, I'd imagine.
The overarching philosophy in computing is that it is always
best to, "Go with the flow of the native interface currently
offered." Many of us, including the sighted, have hated some
of the changes as they've come along, but that's always been
irrelevant. At least the vast majority of the sighted have
simply bitten the bullet and learned to use "what's happenin'
now" and kept doing so as this changes in either evolutionary
or revolutionary ways. The notable exceptions to that rule
being things like Classic Shell, Open Shell, Start10, and
similar which attempt to make the Windows OS presentation, and
specifically the start menu, look and feel like what existed
under Windows 7. But these shells do not extend much beyond
that, and certainly do not have anything to do with the
ribbons in Windows functions nor application programs.
It's often neither easy, nor pleasant, but it is necessary.
If someone actually knows of a "Ribbon Skinner" for the
sighted, please point me to it, as I'd actually love to see
what tortured method would be used to make an alternative that
still allows access to the full complement of functions in a
given program's ribbon.
--
Brian - Windows
10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044
The instinctive need
to be the member of a closely-knit group fighting for
common ideals may grow so strong that it becomes
inessential what these ideals are.
~
Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989)
