To clarify
It has recently come to my attention that my previous post could have given the impression that I was referring to the type of false simplicity found in such devices as software 'wizards'. As an addendum to the previous post, I feel I should clarify this point. In such cases, information and choices are hidden from the user with the intention of making a task easier. Often the net result is that (a) the user does not get exactly what they wanted, and (b) there is the ever-present feeling that the very things that have been hidden in order to 'simplify' the process might be what you were looking for all along!
What I was proposing in my last post was simply a situation where there is a need for a task to be completed (registering a new user, making a purchase etc), and two routes through which this could be done. Both would require the same level of input from the user. One would be geared towards the more experienced 'tab to the next form box' type of user, and one would be set up to cater to a less confident audience.
Essentially, I am postulating that, though ultimate ease-of-use should be a feature of any interface or process on the web, this can sometimed come at the expense of expediency. As such, it might not be a bad thing to allow those users that function in the fast lane, so to speak, to make the most of their experience on the web, whilst those less attuned to human-computer interaction are guided in a more controlled, and ultimately helpful way.
