Windows 95 Menu Styles:
Windows Explorer vs. My Computer

Authors:
Ben Hsu - thefly@wam.umd.edu
Jean Lo - jeanlo@wam.umd.edu
 

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment was to determine what effects the three most common Windows 95 menu styles had on the speed of performing basic operating system tasks.  The three menu styles tested were Windows Explorer, My Computer with a single window, and My Computer with cascading windows.  The common operating system tasks tested were traversing directory structures, copying files, moving files, and creating symbolic links.  We performed the experiment on 25 subjects and found that the fastest and most preferred method of navigating Windows 95 is My Computer with a single window.

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