This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz by John Martin. Original Post: HTML != Windows Forms Feed Title: The Lone Programmer Feed URL: http://www.lonepixel.com/loneprog/javablogs-index.rdf Feed Description: Just another lazy programmer. (Java and UI Design channels only.) Latest Java Buzz Posts Latest Java Buzz Posts by John Martin Latest Posts From The Lone Programmer

I spent a little time checking out OpenCMS, an open source Java/JSP/MySQL based content management system. It seems decent enough and very feature rich, but I just can't get past the windows look-alike user interface that it has (examples here and here). Why do people keep making this interface mistake?! I say design the interface to take advantage and make the best use of the technology that supports it. While I was running the setup wizard (web based of course) for OpenCMS I ran into a few problems and ended up getting lost in a string of error dialog boxes that got me nowhere.

If you're using HTML as an interface, then design the interface for HTML, not for windows forms. Otherwise it just looks shitty and confuses the user. That's my 2c (CAD of course).