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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
In human–computer interaction, WIMP stands for "windows, icons, menus, pointer",[1][2][3] denoting a style of interaction using these elements of the user interface. Other expansions are sometimes used, such as substituting "mouse" and "mice" for menus, or "pull-down menu" and "pointing" for pointer.[4][5][6]
Although the acronym has fallen into disuse, it has often been likened to the term graphical user interface (GUI). Any interface that uses graphics can be called a GUI, and WIMP systems derive from such systems. However, while all WIMP systems use graphics as a key element (the icon and pointer elements), and therefore are GUIs, the reverse is not true. Some GUIs are not based in windows, icons, menus, and pointers. For example, most mobile phones represent actions as icons and menus, but often do not rely on a conventional pointer or containerized windows to host program interactions.[citation needed]
WIMP interaction was developed at Xerox PARC (see Xerox Alto, developed in 1973) and popularized with Apple's introduction of the Macintosh in 1984, which added the concepts of the "menu bar" and extended window management.[7]
The WIMP interface has the following components:[8]
This style of system improves human–computer interaction (HCI) by emulating real-world interactions and providing greater ease of use for non-technical people. Because programs contained by a WIMP interface subsequently rely on the same core input methods, the interactions throughout the system are standardized. This consistency allows users' skills to carry from one application to another.
Some human–computer interaction researchers consider WIMP to be ill-suited for multiple applications, especially those requiring precise human input or more than three dimensions of input.[9] Drawing and writing are example of these limitations; a traditional pointer is limited by two dimensions, and consequently doesn't account for the pressure applied when using a physical writing utility. Pressure-sensitive graphics tablets are often used to overcome this limitation.[10]
Another issue with WIMP-style user interfaces is that many implementations put users with disabilities at a disadvantage. For example, visually impaired users may have difficulty using applications when alternative text-based interfaces are not made available. People with motor impairments, such as Parkinson's disease, may not be able to navigate devices precisely using the traditional mouse pointer for input. To overcome these barriers, researchers continue to explore ways to make modern computer systems more accessible.[11]
Multiple studies have explored the possibilities of moving past the WIMP interface, such as using reality-based interaction,[12] making the interface "three-dimensional" by adding visual depth through the use of monocular cues,[13][14][15][16] and even combining depth with physics.[17] The latter resulted in the development of BumpTop desktop and its acquisition and release by Google.[citation needed]
[...] so-called WIMP interface — for windows, icons, menus, pointer [...]
The Windows-Icons-Menus-Pointer (WIMP) interface paradigm dominates modern computing systems.
Researchers are looking to move beyond the current "WIMP" (Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointer) interface [...]
"We've taken the WIMP interface as far as it can go," he added, referring to the Windows-icon-mouse-pull-down menu.
The acronym, WIMP, stands for Windows, Icons, Mice and Pointing, and it is used to refer to the desk top, direct manipulation style of user interface.
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GUI and WIMP (for window, icon, mouse and pointer) are interfaces based on framed text, drop-down menus and clickable buttons arranged along on-screen panels called tool bars.
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
In human–computer interaction, WIMP stands for "windows, icons, menus, pointer", denoting a style of interaction using these elements of the user interface. Other expansions are sometimes used, such as substituting "mouse" and "mice" for menus, or "pull-down menu" and "pointing" for pointer. Although the acronym has fallen into disuse, it has often been likened to the term graphical user interface (GUI). Any interface that uses graphics can be called a GUI, and WIMP systems derive from such systems. However, while all WIMP systems use graphics as a key element (the icon and pointer elements), and therefore are GUIs, the reverse is not true. Some GUIs are not based in windows, icons, menus, and pointers. For example, most mobile phones represent actions as icons and menus, but often do not rely on a conventional pointer or containerized windows to host program interactions. WIMP interaction was developed at Xerox PARC (see Xerox Alto, developed in 1973) and popularized with Apple's introduction of the Macintosh in 1984, which added the concepts of the "menu bar" and extended window management. The WIMP interface has the following components: A window runs a self-contained program, isolated from other programs that (if in a multi-program operating system) run at the same time in other windows. These individual program containers enable users to move fluidly between different windows. The window manager software is typically designed such that it is clear which window is currently active. Design principles of spacing, grouping, and simplicity help the user maintain focus when working between more than one window. An icon acts as a shortcut to an action the computer performs (e.g., execute a program or task). Text labels can be used alongside icons to help identification for small icon sets. A menu is a text or icon-based selection system that selects and executes programs or tasks. Menus may change depending on context in which they are accessed. The pointer is an onscreen symbol that represents movement of a physical device that the user controls to select icons, data elements, etc. This style of system improves human–computer interaction (HCI) by emulating real-world interactions and providing greater ease of use for non-technical people. Because programs contained by a WIMP interface subsequently rely on the same core input methods, the interactions throughout the system are standardized. This consistency allows users' skills to carry from one application to another.
In computing, post-WIMP ("windows, icons, menus, pointer") comprises work on user interfaces, mostly graphical user interfaces, which attempt to go beyond the paradigm of windows, icons, menus and a pointing device, i.e. WIMP interfaces. The reason WIMP interfaces have become so prevalent since their conception at Xerox PARC is that they are very good at abstracting work-spaces, documents, and their actions. Their analogous desktop metaphor to documents as paper sheets or folders makes WIMP interfaces easy to introduce to new users. Furthermore their basic representations as rectangular regions on a 2D flat screen make them a good fit for system programmers, thus favoring the abundance of commercial widget toolkits in this style. However, WIMP interfaces are not optimal for working with certain tasks or through input devices which differ from a mouse and keyboard. WIMPs are usually pixel-hungry, so given limited screen real estate they can distract attention from the task at hand. Thus, other interfaces can better encapsulate workspaces, actions, and objects for such tasks. Interfaces based on these considerations, now called "post-WIMP", have made their way to the general public in mobile and embedded applications. Meanwhile, software for desktop computer workstations still uses WIMP interfaces, but has started undergoing major operational changes as desktop marketshare declines. These include the exploration of virtual 3D space, interaction techniques for window/icon sorting, focus, and embellishment. The seminal paper for post-WIMP interfaces is "Non Command User Interfaces" by Jakob Nielsen 1993, followed by "The Anti-Mac Interface". Updated proposals are discussed in "Post-WIMP user interfaces" by Andries van Dam. Michel Beaudouin-Lafon subsequently proposed a framework called instrumental interaction, that defines a design space for Post-WIMP interaction techniques and a set of properties for comparing them. Examples of Post-WIMP interaction include 3D interaction and reality-based interaction.
This article presents a detailed timeline of events in the history of computing from 1980 to 1989. For narratives explaining the overall developments, see the history of computing.
In user interface design, a menu is a list of options presented to the user.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.