Show Don't Tell

Here's a nice little interface from the Mac's Keyboard & Mouse preferences. The window on the right shows a video of someone performing the action that you're deciding whether to enable on the left. This allows for fewer words on the left since they don't have to write out something like "Allow tapping with two fingers simultaneously to count as a secondary click".

Of course the worst possible option is to keep a sparse description, but add no graphic content to fill in the gaps. Take this interface from FireFox, for example:What the fuck is "smooth scrolling"? The name explains nothing (unlike the excellent "Check my spelling as I type"), and we're given no context from it's location in options (Options » Advanced » General » Browsing). Finally, the name gives no indication of what would make me want to turn it on or off -- what's the alternative to "smooth" scrolling -- "jerky" scrolling? That sounds terrible!

There is no analogous option in the Safari browser since Safari just makes the decision for you. This offers less flexibility, but functionally FireFox is doing the same thing since no one will ever experience "smooth scrolling", decide that he doesn't like it, and know to look for this option.

Of course Safari has demons of its own (Ariel just heard me say that aloud to myself as he emerged from the shower). Take for example this dialog that it pops when you try to close multiple tabs:In an ideal world of course, this dialog wouldn't be necessary. If you tried to close Safari in this situation, it would just close, and if this were an accident you could easily restore your old tabs. We're getting there, but this dialog is probably still necessary.

However, compare this dialog to the exact same dialog in FireFox:Safari's version:

1. Has an unnecessary amount of header text ("Are you sure you want to close this window?" versus "Confirm Close.")
2. Makes the most important piece of information (the number of open tabs) too small (I would prefer it were bigger in the FireFox version as well)
3. Doesn't allow the user to preempt future annoyances by unchecking "Warn me..." (this isn't a great UI pattern since the user might be afraid to un-check this box since there's no obvious way to re-check it, but it's probably better to have the box than to not).

I'd improve on both versions by emphasizing the relevant information (the number of tabs), and cutting down on filler text, particularly jargon (e.g., "window"). What about this: