

Picking Time - bdfh42
http://ejohn.org/blog/picking-time/

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dcminter
Definitely looks pretty; it's very slick - but I disagree with the article;
actually I didn't find it as usable as a mere text box.

Now, that's anecdotal, but without usability _testing_ rather than opinion,
you shouldn't choose this widget over and above existing familiar ones unless
"looking slick" is your primary goal.

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mseebach
When I saw this, I was inspired to make a proof-of-concept for an alternative,
and IMHO more intuitive, GUI-metaphor.

Watch-style time selector: <http://holding.biplane.dk/watch/>

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Xichekolas
You know, with some polish and maybe less clicks (somehow), this is downright
_intuitive_ and quick to do. Nice work!

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jd
Like the concept, but it violates Fitts' law. (
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitts%27_law> )

I don't want to make precise movements with my mouse. Buttons should be large
and margins between buttons should keep me from accidentally clicking the
wrong one. The time picker fails on both counts.

Also, first picking AM/PM before you pick the hour is confusing. Add to that
that the control is huge, so it wouldn't fit in any normal web forms.

Good exercise in UI design, but I hope no web-app will ever force me to use
it.

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ojbyrne
It demonstrates to me that "hover" has a comparable cognitive load to "click."
And that's just not worth the cost of changing conventions.

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axod
Not very accessible - what if you're using a touch screen? Not everything has
'hover' functionality.

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andreyf
I'd imagine this is _especially_ helpful on a touch-screen. The sub-menus can
be activated on touch.

For a mouse-click, however, maybe a mouse-gesture--circular-selector is even
more quick.

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axod
When I click on a sub-menu, they disappear. So I'd say it's broken for touch-
screens.

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streety
Also posted at <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=360490>

I have to take issue with, "One thing that you'll notice using it is that it's
fast. Very fast. I'd argue much faster than clicking into the input area,
moving to the keyboard for entering the time, typing the time, then moving
back to mouse." This may be true but is it faster than tabbing to the input
box, typing in the time and then tabbing to the next field? It's a nice
addition but I'm glad you can still tab, type and tab away.

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unalone
Yeah, very much. It's good as a replacement for all-mouse systems but not all-
keyboard ones.

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13ren
Similar GUI concept to navigating nested menus, adapted for a new purpose.

ie: The top-level menu choice is AM or PM, then there are 12 sub-menus, and
each has identically named set of sub-sub-menus (00, 15, 30, 45).

 _EDIT_ a difference is that it remembers the (sub-)submenu chosen when you
change a higher-level menu.

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13ren
Didn't work for me (FF2, linux).

 _EDIT_ no, it does. You have to hover and wait. When you click, it sets the
time. (I was clicking immediately.)

AH: the confusing thing is that it is already "open" when I visit the webpage.
But the instructions say you have to click it first to open it.

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ScottWhigham
Didn't work in IE7 for me but did in FF3

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narag
I feel that the concept is in the right path, but it could be improved...
don't know exactly how, maybe using circular shapes to resemble a clock,
avoiding the sub-selectors disappear when the mouse moves, and adding keyboard
support.

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jgrahamc
Not sure this scales well to 24 hour clock as used almost everywhere but the
US.

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simplegeek
I didn't find it as usable as John describes. May be it's just me.

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alexkay
Kudos for providing a 24-hour clock as well as am/pm. Too many developers
stick to what's used in their own country and not caring about the rest of the
world.

