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1. Embed this notice
   Niki Tonsky (nikitonsky@mastodon.online)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 01:11:07 JST Niki Tonsky

   Pic. 1. Human Interface Guidelines, Apple, 1992
   Pic. 2. macOS Tahoe, Apple, 2025

   • Embed this notice
     Niki Tonsky (nikitonsky@mastodon.online)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 05:50:01 JST Niki Tonsky

     in reply to

     • Rosyna Keller

     @rosyna no, I don’t think so

   • Embed this notice
     Rosyna Keller (rosyna@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 05:50:02 JST Rosyna Keller

     in reply to

     @nikitonsky Wasn’t the stated reason on the next page something about the low graphical capabilities making it nigh impossible to create arbitrary legible menu icons?

   • Embed this notice
     Niki Tonsky (nikitonsky@mastodon.online)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 06:59:24 JST Niki Tonsky

     in reply to

     • USB Type-Steve :verified:

     @USBTypeSTeve what does it even mean? How do icons reduce need for localization? Do you suggest Apple should stop translating UI texts? Or that Apple doesn’t have resource to do translations? What is your point?

   • Embed this notice
     USB Type-Steve :verified: (usbtypesteve@infosec.exchange)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 06:59:25 JST USB Type-Steve :verified:

     in reply to

     @nikitonsky I kind of disagree with this. Icons are language-agnostic, and means less localization/translation needs to be done. It makes the menus more accessible. This is one case where I think Apple in the 90s was just wrong..

   • Embed this notice
     Niki Tonsky (nikitonsky@mastodon.online)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 07:37:45 JST Niki Tonsky

     in reply to

     • Ben Aveling
     • Tom Bortels

     @BenAveling @tbortels Okay what are these?

   • Embed this notice
     Tom Bortels (tbortels@infosec.exchange)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 07:37:47 JST Tom Bortels

     in reply to

     @nikitonsky

     I know it's blasphemy to bag on the old AppleGuidelines, but - Icons are useful, especially for people still learning, like kids. As are listing the keyboard shortcuts. And it might just be they evolved for a reason.

   • Embed this notice
     Ben Aveling (benaveling@mastodon.ie)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 07:37:47 JST Ben Aveling

     in reply to

     • Tom Bortels

     This. Also note that none of these icons are arbitrary. In most cases you could drop the text and keep the icon. @nikitonsky @tbortels

   • Embed this notice
     Niki Tonsky (nikitonsky@mastodon.online)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 09:08:53 JST Niki Tonsky

     in reply to

     • Ben Aveling
     • Tom Bortels

     @BenAveling @tbortels installed Tahoe just to make these screenshots. How are they doing without text?

   • Embed this notice
     Niki Tonsky (nikitonsky@mastodon.online)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 17:36:33 JST Niki Tonsky

     in reply to

     @USBTypeSTeve no, you stated that having icons means less localization/translation needs to be done. So: how come?

   • Embed this notice
     USB Type-Steve :verified: (usbtypesteve@infosec.exchange)'s status on Friday, 26-Dec-2025 17:36:34 JST USB Type-Steve :verified:

     in reply to

     @nikitonsky If you re-read what I said, I stated that icons are universally understood without the need for translation.

   • Embed this notice
     Niki Tonsky (nikitonsky@mastodon.online)'s status on Saturday, 07-Feb-2026 23:04:22 JST Niki Tonsky

     in reply to

     • 🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦

     @ZDL how often do you work in a program you know well on a computer set to a language that you don’t know? Do you really think we should optimize system UIs for that use-case?

   • Embed this notice
     🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦 (zdl@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-Feb-2026 23:04:23 JST 🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦

     in reply to

     @nikitonsky As much as I hate to disagree with the all-sainted Steve Jobs' opinions, I'm afraid there's a powerful advantage to the rightmost example: I can use that even if I'm on a computer set to a language I can't read (presuming I know the program in the first place, obviously).

     The same cannot be said for the leftmost.

     Try using the rightmost with this text and no icons:

     打开
     打开方式
     在文件夹中显示

     移到废纸篓

     显示简介
     重命名
     压缩“licensed-image-2.jpeg”
     复制
     制作替身
     快速查看

     拷贝
     共享...

   • Embed this notice
     Niki Tonsky (nikitonsky@mastodon.online)'s status on Sunday, 08-Feb-2026 04:17:12 JST Niki Tonsky

     in reply to

     • 🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦

     @ZDL you didn’t answer my second question. If we follow your logic, just because you have this use case, we should be putting icons EVERYWHERE and never use plain words. Just because that makes your life eaiser

   • Embed this notice
     🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦 (zdl@mstdn.social)'s status on Sunday, 08-Feb-2026 04:17:14 JST 🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦

     in reply to

     @nikitonsky Daily. Literally daily. I have to use colleagues' computers daily to set things up, illustrate things, etc. They have their set to Chinese. I am not a fluent Chinese reader.

     In today's lesson, Mr. Tonsky learns that there's a big, wide world out there that isn't contained in his techie bubble and that maybe he should be listening to his users and not a dead billionaire.

   • Embed this notice
     Niki Tonsky (nikitonsky@mastodon.online)'s status on Sunday, 08-Feb-2026 04:55:56 JST Niki Tonsky

     in reply to

     • 🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦

     @ZDL I just asked you a question, lol. Which you still didn’t answer. Software is bad because people ask questions? Okay sure

   • Embed this notice
     🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦 (zdl@mstdn.social)'s status on Sunday, 08-Feb-2026 04:55:57 JST 🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦

     in reply to

     @nikitonsky Exactly what I expected from a techbro. There's a reason why software not only sucks, but gets worse every day and that reason is people like you.

     Go back to your echo chamber. We're through here.