> Because you're got the overview right but your details are weird.
Having just booted up RedSquirrel, yes, I accept I'm slightly misremembering. Right-clicking doesn't open a menu, it is consistently middle-click.
However, it is still somewhat inconsistent. In several applications (for example, !Maestro or a filer icon), left and right click on the icon bar do the same thing, while in others (for example !Edit), only left click opens a new window and right click does nothing.
Playing around with RISC OS 3.10 again, I'm also reminded of the nonsense that is menu items with arrows on them (indicating sub-menus, or sub-windows like save boxes) require you to successfully slide the mouse through the arrow to open them. Almost all other menus I've seen will open sub-menus as soon as you land _anywhere_ on the menu item.
While drag-and-drop may be powerful, the ergonomics of the UI were atrocious. I don't think anyone at Acorn had heard of Fitts' Law. The tiny save box also required you had exactly the right filer window open, ready and waiting. You couldn't easily change your mind like you can with a file requester (and also with modern MacOS's spring-loaded folders).
I also think the OS was designed with the expectation that overlapping windows would be _normal_, and I don't think that's ever been the case, certainly not how I use computers. Most windows I have open are fullscreen, and I switch between them (most commonly with the alt-tab concept that Windows brought). I might have _internal_ windows inside one app's window (for example, multiple code editing windows and terminals in an IDE, or tools, palettes and layers in graphics editing), but only on special occasions do I have two separate _application_ windows visibly open on the same screen, and when I do, they're usually side by side, not overlapping.
I still have all my windows overlapping, and I suspect it's because my formative years were spent in RISC OS. Also I still find "File Open" dialogs weird - every app having a miniature and less-functional tiny 'Filer' built in...
Having just booted up RedSquirrel, yes, I accept I'm slightly misremembering. Right-clicking doesn't open a menu, it is consistently middle-click.
However, it is still somewhat inconsistent. In several applications (for example, !Maestro or a filer icon), left and right click on the icon bar do the same thing, while in others (for example !Edit), only left click opens a new window and right click does nothing.
Playing around with RISC OS 3.10 again, I'm also reminded of the nonsense that is menu items with arrows on them (indicating sub-menus, or sub-windows like save boxes) require you to successfully slide the mouse through the arrow to open them. Almost all other menus I've seen will open sub-menus as soon as you land _anywhere_ on the menu item.
While drag-and-drop may be powerful, the ergonomics of the UI were atrocious. I don't think anyone at Acorn had heard of Fitts' Law. The tiny save box also required you had exactly the right filer window open, ready and waiting. You couldn't easily change your mind like you can with a file requester (and also with modern MacOS's spring-loaded folders).
I also think the OS was designed with the expectation that overlapping windows would be _normal_, and I don't think that's ever been the case, certainly not how I use computers. Most windows I have open are fullscreen, and I switch between them (most commonly with the alt-tab concept that Windows brought). I might have _internal_ windows inside one app's window (for example, multiple code editing windows and terminals in an IDE, or tools, palettes and layers in graphics editing), but only on special occasions do I have two separate _application_ windows visibly open on the same screen, and when I do, they're usually side by side, not overlapping.