Faculdades Hoyler

Curso de Sistemas de Informao

Ingls Instrumental I
Copyright Cambridge University Press
(Permission to copy for use in class)
5
TASK8 TASK8 TASK8 TASK8 - -- - GUls GUls GUls GUls

Leia o texto e complete o glossrio abaixo com as palavras destacadas no texto:

The term user interface refers to the standard procedures the user follows to interact with a particular computer. A
few years ago the way in which users had access to a a computer system was quite complex. They had to
memorize and type a lot of commands just to see the content of a disk, to copy files or to respond to a single
prompt. I fact, only experts used computers, so there was no need for a user-friendly interface. Now, however
computers are used by all kinds of people and as a result there is a growing emphasis on the user interface.

A good user interface is important because when you buy a program you want to use it easily. Moreover, a graphical
user interface saves a lot of time: you dont need to memorize commands in order to execute an application; you
only have to point and click so that its content appears on the screen.

Macintosh computers were designed with a single aim: facilitate interaction with the computer:. Their interface was
called WIMP: Window, Icon, Menu or Mouse and Pointer and software products for the Macintosh have been
designed to take full advantage of its features using this interface. In addition, the ROM chips of a Macintosh contain
libraries that provide program developers with routines for generating windows, dialog boxes, icons and pop-up
menus. This ensures the creation of applications with a high level of consistency.

Today, the most innovative GUIs are the Macintosh, Microsoft Windows and IBM OS/ Warp. These three platforms
include similar features: a desktop with icons, windows and folders, a printer selector, a file finder, a control panel
and various desk accessories. Double-clicking a folder opens a window which contains programs, documents or
further nested folders. At any time within a folder, you can launch the desired program or document by double
clicking the icon, or you can drag it to another location.

The three platforms differed in other areas such as device installation, network connectivity or compatibility with
application programs.

These interfaces were so successful because they are extremely easy to use. It is well known that computers
running under an attractive interface stimulate users to be more creative and produce high quality results, which has
a major impact on the general public.

A GUI may be designed for the rigorous requirements of a vertical market. This is known as an "application
specific graphical user interface." Examples of an application specific GUI are:
Touchscreen point of sale software used by waitstaff in a busy restaurant
Self-service checkouts used in a retail store
Automated teller machines (ATM)
Airline self-ticketing and check-in
Information kiosks in a public space, like a train station or a museum
Monitors or control screens in an embedded industrial application which employ a real time operating
system (RTOS).
The latest cell phones and handheld game systems also employ application specific touchscreen GUIs. Newer
automobiles use GUIs in their navigation systems and touch screen multimedia centers.
Smaller mobile devices such as PDAs and smartphones typically use the WIMP elements with different unifying
metaphors, due to constraints in space and available input devices. Applications for which WIMP is not well
suited may use newer interaction techniques, collectively named as post-WIMP user interfaces. [3]
Some touch-screen-based devices such as Apple's iPhone currently use post-WIMP styles of interaction. The
iPhone's use of more than one finger in contact with the screen allows actions such as pinching and rotating,
which are not supported by a single pointer and mouse. [4]
A class of GUIs sometimes referred to as post-WIMP include 3D compositing window manager such as Compiz,
Desktop Window Manager, and LG3D. Some post-WIMP interfaces may be better suited for applications which
model immmersive 3D environments, such as Google Earth.
Faculdades Hoyler
Curso de Sistemas de Informao
Ingls Instrumental I
Copyright Cambridge University Press
(Permission to copy for use in class)
6
Glossary:

____________________ = indicao de prontido ou de
pronto ou prompt; exibio de caractere para lembrar ao
usurio que esperada uma entrada
____________________ = interface do usurio: hardware
projetado para facilitar a comunicao do usurio com a
mquina ou o software que opera entre o usurio e o sistema
operacional, normalmente para tentar tornar o sistema
operacional mais amigvel ou mais fcil de usar.
____________________ = tipo padro de hardware que
caracteriza uma srie especfica de computadores.
____________________ = dispositivos
____________________ = sub-pastas
____________________ = arrastar
GUI developed in 1981 for the Star workstation,
officially known as the 8010 Star Information System
ALeia o texto e responda:

1. What does the abbreviation GUI stand for?
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the contribution of Macintosh computers to the development of graphic environments?
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. What does the acronym WIMP mean?
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. What computing environments based on graphics are mentioned in the text?
____________________________________________________________________________________
5. How do you run a program on a computer with a graphical interface?
____________________________________________________________________________________
6. Can you give two reasons for the importance of user-friendly interfaces?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Na ilustrao abaixo, encontre alguns dos seguintes elementos de interface e escreva seus nomes nas
partes correspondentes, assinalando com um (x) aqueles que no podem ser identificados na imagem.

1. window ( )
2. scroll bars ( )
3. menu bar ( )
4. pull-down menu ( )
5. pointer ( )
6. toolbar buttons ( )
7. disk icons ( )
8. folders ( )
9. program icons ( )
10. document icons ( )
11. printer icon ( )
12. dock icons ( )