Como instalar o corretor ortografico para o aMSN no Mac OS X

O aMSN usa o corretor Aspell muito típico no mundo Gnu/Linux. Levei umas 3 horas pesquisando e tentando instalar alternativas até que finalmente achei um meio relativamente fácil.

1 - Baixe e instale o MacPorts;

2 - Execute os seguintes comandos no Terminal e entre com a senha do gerente do sistema:

sudo port -v selfupdate

sudo port install aspell-dict-en

sudo port install aspell-dict-pt_BR

Atenção: Não, não congelou, isto demora muito, muito mesmo.

3 - Agora configure o aMSN para usar o corretor ortografico:

Entre com o endereço do aspell: /opt/local/bin/aspell

Defina linguagem: pt_BR

Pronto, já deve estar funcionando. Qualquer dúvida entre em contato. :D

Is the end of windows and – maybe – Desktop metaphor?

I’m a person fascinated about interaction between users and computers, is amazing see how the user will react in front of a new metaphor or paradigm.

Until now I always started the analyze from the point of view of graphical user interface designer, they normally have good ideas, but I realized that my strategy is wrong, user always have the last word, even when that word appears not do make sense.

I’m a Mac user, my first Mac was a Performa in 1996. I really like the Application Centric concept and like a lot play with windows on the screen. Because of that I passed a lot of years trying to figure out why the first step of a user normally is maximize the window. Doing this the user lost all advantages of windows metaphor.

But, which are these advantages?

Well, I only can think in one: with windows you can see more information in the same time. You can rearrange the windows in the way that you can see, for example, your word processor, web browser, messenger system and wherever you want to see and your screen can show.

This look great, and is funny too to move a window trough the screen.

But when I look at the graphical interface evolution I started to observe that the applications are gradually reducing the number of windows that they use, some applications only have just one window. E-mail applications and Integrated developer environment, or just IDE, are good examples of this phenomenon, they use panels in replacement of the windows. iPad, the iPhone big brother, even have windows like us know. In fact iPad is showing the next step in graphical user interfaces and why in the past tablets did not succeed – but this is another article by it self.

The big question is: why this is happening?

The answer is incredibly simple: users do not like to manage windows, they prefer the idea “one screen, one application”, like a TV – that explain too why the Windows® task bar is a success story and why the user first step is maximize the application window.

Now everything make sense, in fact windows don’t have a good appeal. The supposed advantage “see more information” is not true, it can be replaced by ALT+TAB or an kind of task bar very well, a lot of windows in the screen is too a visual pollution, is a distraction for the user.

Like I said before graphical users interfaces as that found in the iPad and in smart phones too are a direction to go.

All this time users around the world are showing the true: windows and – maybe – Desktop metaphor is not a good idea at all.