The computer user interface system has been evolving since it appeared. The starting point of this history is the Xerox Star. Xerox Star provided a very good base for the later user interface design. It introduced windows, icons, option sheets, files, folder, and generic commands. Mouse and keyboard were also utilized in this system, and the user can also control their printers remotely just by entering command on their computers.
And in the Macintosh system which is another user interface system developed by Apple, things have become more customizable. The size of the wireframe became adjustable, desk accessory allows users to show or hide their tools on the desktop… One of the most exciting features of the Macintosh system is the Finder. The Finder allows users to search for their applications in their computer, it is very helpful for people who have a huge amount of data in their computer. There were still flaws in the 1984 version Macintosh such as a new folder has to be made through duplicating an empty folder. And of course, these flaws are pretty much gone in the modern version.
This evolution proves that the computer user interface is becoming more and more humanized, editable, and customizable. The forces that push this evolution to continue are definitely people’s needs and wills to make computers more freely. Each change or improvement of the user interfaces system is like a brick of a wall and all the designers are looking forward to completing this gigantic wall.
I love the idea of adaptive technology, I think that would be the true meaning of human-centered design