[Design] Meta-views, placeful, customisable "desktop" views

[joel finkle]

Mike Fletcher's diagram (thanks for the copy -- darned corporate content 
filters) is reminiscent of the Microsoft "Outlook Today" desktop.  They 
provided a means of creating an HTML-based means of stacking a bunch of 
views on a standard page.  Unfortunately, it used obscure COM objects and 
was annoying to implement, and ultimately wasn't customizable, but only 
programmable (you can't change it on the fly easily).

I liked the flowchart-like icons, and I'd like to suggest a step beyond: 
provide the user "paths" between related information.  It doesn't have to be 
visible lines, but highlighting that clues you in: when I've selected a name 
recognized by the system, provide a link to the contacts, a link to schedule 
a meeting.  Same thing for dates, locations, etc.  This could be a web of 
possible 'next places' in a right-hand or left-hand pane (Next message in 
view, next meeting today, next person on contact list, next most important 
task...).

To take a linked item view to extremes, see www.kurzweilai.net, and 
especially "The Brain" at 
http://www.kurzweilai.net/brain/frame.html?startThought=Artificial%20Intelligence%20(AI)







>From: "Mike C. Fletcher
>You'd want the meta-view to host a fairly wide range of control types:
>
>    * the list and icon views as seen in the prototype, with multiple
>      views on the same desktop, sized and placed according to the
>      user's preferences, likely with small title bars with
>      user-selected descriptions.
>    * individual (icon-like) controls for particular items, with default
>      actions of launching new independent editing/viewing views (i.e.
>      either open a new frame or replace the meta-view with the new
>      editing/viewing view) quick access for particularly important items
>    * individual expanded controls for particular items (imagine a
>      post-it like item, something you want to always have ready-to-edit
>      on your desktop.  It might be a shopping list, a sketchpad for
>      ideas on a particular book, or the document which launched a
>      project, and which contains all of its specifications).
>    * simple text and graphics (for labels, inspirational
>      quotes/pictures etc.)
>    * customized/specialised calendar views, timeline views, task
>      definition views, e-mail notification controls, contact group
>      online status notification controls etc.
>    * ability to focus/defocus on a particular sub-view easily (for
>      instance double-clicking on the title of the sub-view)



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