Re: [tdf-discuss] Can we replace "Floppy Disk"

2011/12/28 Olav Dahlum <odahlum@gmail.com>

> On 28/12/11 20:56, M Henri Day wrote:
> > 2011/12/28 Robert Derman <robert.derman@pressenter.com>
> >
> > > Olav Dahlum wrote:
> > >
> > > > On 28/12/11 20:05, Danishka Navin wrote:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > As you all know the floppy disc is some thing out dated in the modern
> > > > > computer world.
> > > >
> > > > I'm afraid it's not the case, a lot of people use them, and especially
> > > > in governmental institutions.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > Why we still continue the "Floppy Disk" as the icon for "Save" button
> in
> > > > > LibreOffice?
> > > >
> > > > Anyway, this could be replaced by a more generic computer/down arrow
> > > > button to reflect the different media better.
> > > The trouble is, most people would not recognize this, and there is of
> > > course the limitation that icons must be fairly simple in form.  Also I
> am
> > > not sure that an icon of an optical disk, which would be much more valid
> > > today would be as easily recognized.  Actually in nearly every case the
> > > document is being saved on a hard drive, but that would be much more
> > > difficult to represent as a simple icon.  I remember MS tried this in
> > > Win-95, and it ended up looking more like a drum and drumstick.  As
> long as
> > > we all recognize the floppy as a floppy, it really doesn't matter that
> much
> > > that it is archaic.
> >
> > What people recognise and what they recognise it as is a vexed issue ; my
> > experience in teaching retirees to use computers here in Stockholm is
> that
> > when I point to the floppy-disk icon and ask what it represents, the most
> > frequent reply I receive is «an old-fashioned TV». But I agree, replacing
> > this well-established icon with a new one would probably give rise to
> more
> > confusion than enlightenment....
> >
> > Henri
>
> The TV set approach was completely new to me …
>
> Olav

But not unreasonable, if one considers that many of these people were in
their formative years when TV came to Sweden (broadcasting started 1956).
The problem is that when I inform them that is meant to represent a floppy
disk, they have nothing on which to hang this observation, as they did not
use computers during the age of floppies and the computers they now
purchase no longer support them. They have hopped, as it were, directly
from analogue TV to DVDs and mobile phones that weigh an hectogram....

Henri

-- 
Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to discuss+help@documentfoundation.org
Problems? http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/
Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette
List archive: http://listarchives.documentfoundation.org/www/discuss/
All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted