Author: Torstein Hall
Date: 09:57:01 12/01/00
Go up one level in this thread
On December 01, 2000 at 12:03:07, Ratko V Tomic wrote: >>The calibration test is rather long (4 seconds) the first time you run the >>program. In the next sessions, it will be shorter (0.5 to 1 second), unless you >>change something in your hardware configuration (change in processor speed for >>example). > > >The loading lasts about 4.5-4.9 seconds every time (normally programs load on >this machine in under 1 second). The main waiting seems to occur after >LoadLibrary of engineps.dll (and before the next library is loaded) then there >are calls to create thread and Sleep(100ms) from the main CP5 thread. There is >also, a bit erlier, an exec (via CreateProcess) of regedit program with command >line to change something in registry (registry API's would do the job much >quicker). > > >>>The first bug above with overlapped windows is probably due to improper >>handling of window repaint when user has set his Explorer shell to >>>"Show window content while dragging" (have you tested window switching >>>under such shell setting?). >> >>I don't think it is, because I had the same problem under W95. > >I am running it under Win98/SE. Was that problem ever fixed? The window repaints >in CP5 seem overall flaky, leaving bits of earlier windows or missing peaces of >windows, which clear up only after minimizing then restoring the top level CP5 >window. I had similar repaint problems with another non-chess program (which was >in beta) and these were due to my shell being set to "show the window content >while dragging." In that case the programmer never saw the problem on his >machine since he had that Windows shell option turned off. > I'm never having any of these problems in Tiger, but CB 7 gives wrong colors pretty often. I'm supposed to have the latest drivers for my graphic card, but perhaps you do not have them? >>>check the website "Software Hall of Shame" at: >>> >>> http://www.iarchitect.com/index.htm >>> >>>which has many commercial product examples of bad UI (including Microsoft's >>>products, Notepad and Explorer shell especially, and their >>>conventions mimicked by others). I think the future versions of CP >>> would benefit from learning a lesson from some of those examples. >>> However incredible it may sound to some, Microsoft doesn't always >>> know best (or means always the best, at least not for the end-user). >> >>They have the best record ever for the number of bugs in released >>products. From this point of view they have all my admiration. > >The site above isn't about bugs but about usability (problems) of various >programs, how well the operation has been thought out and how much user's >conveninece and time mattered to the UI designer. For example, take a look at >Chessbase UI switching between database and play board - a single click, without >even having to move the mouse takes you back and forth. Now try the same with >CP5 UI -- switch back & forth few times, making sure all the play screen windows >come on top when dbase is to go away,... see how long it takes and how much >precision mouse moves and clicks it requires. > >It is very obvious that the Chessbase designers carefully went over the >operation and put themselves into the user's place, looking for and smoothing >away all the wasteful (of time and effort) actions. For another example, the CB >main controls are at the bottom, since user will play from the bottom of the >board, so the mouse cursor will be closer (on average) to the controls. I have >impression that CP5 programmer was happy enough to struggle his way through the >mfc & ole, that any thought of such finesse as user's time and efforts for >innumerable high precision motoric actions (to hunt around and click on various >4mm squares, for just about anything you wish to do other than making moves) >never crossed his mind. And the same huge gap in attitude & attention toward the >end-user permeates every aspect of the two respective UIs. I agree on completly on this. The CB interface is a lot nicer, both in looks and use. I have still not found a way to promote a variation in ChessTiger as a nice example of the different level of refinements of this UIs. >The suggestion to the cp5 developers to check the site above was therefore not >meant to help them debug the cp5, but to help them see that there is a whole >another universe out there (beyond the "look ma, I can do mfc and ole") they >apparently aren't even aware to exist -- how to see things from the user's angle >(a user who has many other things to deal with, whose life and time do not >revolve around the particular product, as those of the developer, naturally, >do), to see very common oversights and types of clumsiness in various Windows >products, including their own. Another excellent related site, on the UI >usability is: > > http://www.useit.com/alertbox/ > >which, although dealing mainly with Web design usability, also has good links to >general usability materials. These little things (users) do matter. > >BTW, I did manage to squeeze enough time to play several games against the GT. >It is quite an enjoyable opponent. It is funny to see how from the get-go it >starts lining up toward my king and then suddenly, out of a blue, it throws away >a piece to win a game (out of about dozen games I won only 3, no draws; GT did >continue playing on well beyond the point at which Hiarcs or Fritz would have >resigned; there may be some setting for this, didn't look, didn't really need >such feature that much, anyway). GT does sometimes overreach with sacrifices, >which ends up costing him a game. I didn't have time yet for CT13 or RC3 (maybe >during Christmass holiday I'll try them). Although I haven't played against GT >under tournament tempo (I played only 5min +10 and +15 sec/move), from the few >games it seems that Hiarcs still has a better positional sense in the >non-king-attack positions, e.g. with GT I never got a sense of being >positionally squeezed with no good move left to play while the opponent can keep Take time to try RC3, and I think you will be suprised. It has the most positional sense of any chess program in my view! >improving his position (as it happens with Hiarcs). On the other hand, I never >had as many pieces sacrificed (successfully) against me in as few games as with >GT, before. Torstein
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