[Discussion:] Girlzzz only !!! My view on MediaPortal (1 Viewer)

[Slack]

KISS

Which in the states, is an acronym for Keep It Simple, Stupid. And although I think that XBMC (Still using it, have not completed my Media Portal based HTPC yet) is very simple & straight forward. My wife still has trouble with it.

I think it stems from 2 things...
1) not being aware what item on the screen has focus.
2) too many 'areas' on the screen that can take the focus

1) is easy to address, develop a skin with a very contrasting highlight/focus color. Or animate it so it pulses etc...
2) in XBMC many screens have that 'sidebar' over to the left wherein you can change the display from thumbnails, to big thumbnails, to list etc... she frequently 'runs aground' in there. Or gets lost when a 'spinner' takes the focus.

Also consider computer illiteracy...I frequently find myself asking my wife (on the phone from the office) "can you see the little black arrow?" Which is the up one directory level thumbnail used in XBMC. I get the impression that she just 'doesn't get it' the whole file system paradigm with nested folders etc....So maybe a skin with 'Go Back' or 'Previous' text info in addition to the icon. I mean when you and I see '..' as a directory name we know what happens when you select it. My wife likely sees 'two periods'.

To her credit she is getting better, and gone are the days when I have to remote desktop to the house and use the XBMC web server to queu up a movie for the kids. But she never had much a problem navigating Networked ReplayTVs, something about that interface worked for her. Granted its far more specific than XMBC / MP being a TV only thing.

 

[mzemina]

KISS

Which in the states, is an acronym for Keep It Simple, Stupid. And although I think that XBMC (Still using it, have not completed my Media Portal based HTPC yet) is very simple & straight forward. My wife still has trouble with it.

I think it stems from 2 things...
1) not being aware what item on the screen has focus.
2) too many 'areas' on the screen that can take the focus

1) is easy to address, develop a skin with a very contrasting highlight/focus color. Or animate it so it pulses etc...
2) in XBMC many screens have that 'sidebar' over to the left wherein you can change the display from thumbnails, to big thumbnails, to list etc... she frequently 'runs aground' in there. Or gets lost when a 'spinner' takes the focus.

Also consider computer illiteracy...I frequently find myself asking my wife (on the phone from the office) "can you see the little black arrow?" Which is the up one directory level thumbnail used in XBMC. I get the impression that she just 'doesn't get it' the whole file system paradigm with nested folders etc....So maybe a skin with 'Go Back' or 'Previous' text info in addition to the icon. I mean when you and I see '..' as a directory name we know what happens when you select it. My wife likely sees 'two periods'.

To her credit she is getting better, and gone are the days when I have to remote desktop to the house and use the XBMC web server to queu up a movie for the kids. But she never had much a problem navigating Networked ReplayTVs, something about that interface worked for her. Granted its far more specific than XMBC / MP being a TV only thing.

Not to disrespect your wife or anyone that has problems with a computer interface but the best interface has always been a computer console. I think I read somewhere that Bill Gates was more worried with Nintendo than he was with Apple. It goes with what youare saying - to just keep it simple. But it is hard to do. I am surprised that WebTV (now MSNTV) hasn't gotten more subscribers than what they currently have. Their interface was one of the best, but I think many people are just scaried of doing something wrong on a computer and "breaking" it.

Yes, the MP interface has to be as simple as "some" consumer devices to make it easy to use.

I'm hoping with more UserInterface people on the MP Team the user Interface will start becoming easier to use in general for more people. Power to the people and power to MediaPortal!

Mike

 

[hakuna]

KISS
1) not being aware what item on the screen has focus.

A glowing orange frame around the current focus perhaps?

KISS
2) too many 'areas' on the screen that can take the focus

And in MP´s case, some tiny itsy bitsy small arrows, weird selection of sorting order, and the best, _nothing_ (at least visible) in focus.

/Niclas - with A button as Esc, perhaps not the best for WAF...

 

[wewe]

I don't tell my wife to post in the girlzzz thread. She is completely pissed. She keeps asking me how long we have to go on to wait and wait and try and try ... She wants to have the "old TV back". (Same for my son - please don't open up a kidzzz thread)

I am hoping VERY VERY much that 0.2 Release is fixing all of the stability problems. :?

thanks+regards
WeWe

 

[d508dq]

d508dq is a GIRL!!!

don't get it. How do you know who is a guy and who is a girl in this forum??

Surely, there are lots of girls who don't make it public that they are female, when they're online. For lots of reasons. This has the negative effect of making girls less visible in online communities.

SO I see it is my duty to announce, *ahem* _d508dq is a GIRL!!_

Yes, it's true. I'm not only constructing a htpc system, I am also considering using open source software.

*GASP*

I imagine that the majority of us have family or a 'significant other' that we would like to share our htpc with - so usability and 'one-time setup' are important for all of us - not just the 'wife' of 'WAF" fame. (Do you think I might be getting a bit fed up with that phrase???)

I enjoy a techy project, but want to know at the end of the day that I've constructed something usable (and stable), which doesn't require endless tinkering or cajoling (and which doesn't endanger the security of my precious media files!). This is not unique to girls.

Yes, I know guys who are prepared to immerse themselves in a techy project to the exclusion of everything else, for weeks on end. But only a few. Most of us have other things to do with our time... For most of us (with the exception of the wonderful, dedicated team of developers) MP is a tool, rather than an end in itself.

I find it crazy that there's this assumption that girls can't be bothered spending time getting to know a piece of software and learning how to use it, or who aren't interested in getting a htpc system up and running. I've had loads of advice from girls on other htpc forums.

As to the question of whether THIS girl can really get MP installed and working... well, you'll just have to wait for the answer on that one!


All the best!

 

[Aquarius]

My WAF - experience

My wife was rather impressed about MP when I first showed her what is soon entering the living rooom.

So I am "allowed" now to conquer the living room with my MP based HTPC,

BUT under one condition :
I must reinstall the vinyl record player again ...

It took me a long time and efforts to restore and convert the vinyl recordings into the digital world. They are all now available in MP, but that did not impress her. She wants the vinyl player back.

So there are much more aspects about the digital world entering the living room. A MCE remote control obviously cannot replace the feeling of taking a vinyl record out of the cover, putting it on the turntable and awaiting the scratching of the needle.

A gave me a new aspect how people want the digital revolution in their living room. They accept it, but slowly and without loosing beloved and approved equipment.


Thanks
/Gerd

 

[jawbroken]

Your wife was right, I would never give up my record player either, and I only buy CDs when a vinyl release isn't available.

 

[d508dq]

The main trigger for me to start my htpc project was the 1970s receiver / amp which we found on a street corner... brushed steel and walnut veneer, with an amazing sound quality.

THIS, I thought, is what I want to plug my htpc into.

Mmmm!

 

[tomtom21000]

I guess I find it kind of interesting that this post was started by a guy. (I believe?)

Right guess, I am a guy. This thread is exactly one year old now. Never thought the thread would come up again.

The reason for me starting it, was to learn something for the benefit for Mediaportal in the terms of usability. I perceived that my wife had a totally different approach to MP than I have. Although MP worked rather flawless in everyday usage (o.k. there where some nights I spent fighting with some problems or updates or changed tv databases, or...)

For example, she wouldn´t use mp for ordinary tv-watching. Why? Because the htpc was too loud (solved now), the start process took too long (solved as good as it gets with win xp), she doesn´t like to use keyboard or mouse with tv (still my favourite input devices) and because it was much easier for a simple task like watching tv.
Same with music. the old receiver and cd-player are ok with her and easier to use. She uses mp for showing photos and to record tv shows.

I wonder whether there are really any major differences in the requirements for htpc software - as perceived by women vs. men. I mean, most people who are building a htpc will want it to be used by less technical family members, right?

You are right, in the end we all have the same goal, an easy to use, comfortable and stable, nice looking software for the whole family.

You can exchange girls with "less technical family members". I am strictly against generalisation, let me point out that:

# no doubt you and other woman are capable to build a htpc. and if you are so technically involved, it really makes no difference if you are a woman or a man.
# I also have no doubt that my wife could build a htpc, it is just that her interest to do that is equal zero.
# There is always a large bandwidth, but there seems to be a accumulation at a point which is known as "WAF" and I think this is not meant as disrespect as you indicated above.

So, I thought it would be fun to see if diccussions about mp in otherones´s livingrooms would be similar to the ones we had and at the same time we could learn something on improving the usability.

tomtom