> There's a reason people pay lots of money for Bloomberg terminals, with their zillion labeled physical keys.
And a reason that type of design is only used in specialized, targeted scenarios. They have their place for sure, but it's pretty narrow.
> On the other hand, if there's no other way for people to discover them than accident ..
If it's a nonessential feature, I don't think that's a problem. You're allowing people to learn the system at a gradual pace.
The best interfaces are ones which are accessible to newcomers, but slowly train you to become a power user just via incidental use. OS X used to be very, very good at this, and still does an above average job in many respects.
And a reason that type of design is only used in specialized, targeted scenarios. They have their place for sure, but it's pretty narrow.
> On the other hand, if there's no other way for people to discover them than accident ..
If it's a nonessential feature, I don't think that's a problem. You're allowing people to learn the system at a gradual pace.
The best interfaces are ones which are accessible to newcomers, but slowly train you to become a power user just via incidental use. OS X used to be very, very good at this, and still does an above average job in many respects.