GUI: “Swapper” (Fitt’s Law)

“Swapper” – An User Interface Prototype by Christian Menschel developed in 03/07 at the DKIT in Ireland.
I developed a prototype of an User Interface based on Fitt’s Law to swap the currently running applications. The Interface prototype is created according to Apple’s Mac OS X User Interface “Expose”. If the user hits the F9 Key in OS X, all currently open windows and applications will be displayed smaller on one screen. Swapper uses the same idea of pressing a key that evokes displaying all running applications. But the difference is that the window size depends on the usage frequency. The more used application appears bigger than less used programs. More major applications are shown on the right side. On the other hand less are displayed more to the left side.
Fitt’s Law says that the time of reaching a target depends on the size and distance of the goal. The time can be reduced with bigger goals and shorter distances. Therefore the user should be able to find the more important applications quicker than the less important.

Download for more Information as a PDF

Screenshot of “Swapper”

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