More "Polished" Interface

Tell us your most wanted features from QNAP products.
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Should QNAP provide a more XP/MAC/VISTA like interface & more wizards to assist users?

YES!! The current interface is out of date and "geeky"!
15
42%
NO! The current interface is not important and should be left as is.
12
33%
YES!! More wizards and assistance within the router admin interface please.
3
8%
NO! I don't want more help once I've initially set my NAS up.
6
17%
 
Total votes: 36

Rick1486
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More "Polished" Interface

Post by Rick1486 »

Hi, I really love my ts209pro, but am very disappointed with the administration interface and the web manager.

I can't quite put my finger on it other than to say that visually it looks a bit amateurish and a throwback to the early 90's rather than the visually impressive gui's we get with programs nowadays.
I can only say that whilst functional, it's somewhat detracting to the otherwise impressive product that's been produced. Perhaps something which visually appears more XP or Vista like could be produced thereby making the qnap product appear a more finished and rounded item.

This is, of course, only my opinion, but I'd really love to see a more updated and user friendly interface, perhaps with wizards to help us less technically proficient end users. In fact maybe that's the crux of what I'm trying to say - at the minute it looks like a product aimed at "geeks" rather than an audience of users who are doing their best with an otherwise excellent product, to keep their precious data safe and sound.

Cheers
Rick
wetwilly
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Post by wetwilly »

Imo the current UI is good as it is.

I think they should working on stability and performance increase before they start polishing. And if they ever would create a nice UI I really hope they stay as far away from "XP or Vista" as possible... Gosh.

If you have problem configuring you can use the tools that they supply you with!

But then again I fall into the "geek" group of consumers.
NAS: TS-209
HDD: 2x 750GB SATAII Seagate Barracuda(ST3750640AS)
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christian
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Post by christian »

I like Rick1486 idea BUT i stay with wetwilly and hope to get more and better performance and features like log file.

btw wetwilly can you tell me how to "polish" the ui? any suggestion how to do this?
Rick1486
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Post by Rick1486 »

Lol, I knew this would get the "anoraks" out of their cupboards!

Seriously, I totally agree ref. improving stability and adding features, but imo a more "mainstream" interface would (to me anyway) make the units more user friendly - which at the end of the day if a company wants to achieve mass sales and a good market share - is a key component. It's no good if something appears difficult and people who would otherwise be happily tinkering and recommending to others are put off by what gives the impression of being an afterthought from the manufacturer and aimed at more technically proficient users.

Also, I may be wrong, but perhaps QNAP have a dedicated team responsible for the gui.

Rick
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TheEnvoy
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Post by TheEnvoy »

dam'n, what could you possibly need any more wizards for?

i'll absolutly opt for more performance if it comes to this

anyway, what is so impressive about a vista interface? it's just bonbon and lollipops, nothing to be proud of in terms of productivity.

don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wizards at the right place, but with this product it's mainly (for the normal user at least) on or off, just the question if one wants to use an option or not, I just can't see the need for a wizard at such easy questions

jm2c
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Rick1486
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Post by Rick1486 »

OK, well for instance with the ftp service (just by way of example) "yes" I'm sure all the options are there and if you're proficient you'll know what to do with them - what's wrong with having a wizard "hold your hand" and walk you through the process - I for instance don't really know what it's for and although there are these forums, sometimes it would be nice to have had the systems in place already for us newbies to this.
Maybe this will seem too basic for some of you, but I'm just trying to make the product more accessible for the likes of me (of which there are thousands upon thousands).

Another personal example is this. I've got my own domain name and webspace. My emails are sent to me courtesy of my domain name. Unless I've misunderstood what I've read about the ts209pro so far, I can apparently have all of this on the server - now whether or not it's acting effectively as my host I don't know and I'm sure someone will correct me. What I think would be nice (wizard wise) would be to be able to log into the ts209 and effectively it say to me "what do you want to do - I can do this this and this". Should I then choose an option from its' capabilities I could then either be assisted in the configuration or choose to tinker about with it unaided. Hopefully, the full capabilities of these units may then be realized more easily by more people.

Don't flame me!! Big love to you all.

Rick
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Post by 9812713 »

I would rather Stability vs the web GUI ..

Perhaps it could be someones job or project to create the Windows management snap-in for controlling the TS-109, TS-209 ... that would be cool.. It would take a bit of programming skill, but someone can do it. Or create the Gui programs that Qnap has provided with the wizards built in. Frankly though the GUI is good enough for me... but I personally use Linux.

The Gui's for the Web would just consume un-needed CPU, and RAM, and possible hard drive space ..

But still an idea worth noting.

Wil.
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Post by Decipher »

The poll is extremely biased in it's options.

If more interface polish comes at the expense of adding new useful features, then no, I dont care about the interface.

If QNAP has a guy working only on interface anyway, and it doesn't take away from feature work, then yes, I'd like improvements ;)
Rick1486
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Post by Rick1486 »

Mate, it would be a bit pointless having a poll with similar options wouldn't it now?!

I agree with you that new features are a much wanted thing, but ALSO with a more polished, less amateurish interface, that's all I was getting at.

Perhaps I shouldn't have added the wizards/less wizards option, but all I was wanting there is as I explained some "smart" assistance from within the interface should it be wanted.

Cheers
Rick
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Post by Decipher »

My point is, the way you wrote the poll - who in their right mind would EVER say "No, I dont want a better interface" ??

The wording itself means you will be a result where most will vote yes.
Rick1486
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Post by Rick1486 »

Funnily enough 35% have basically said exactly that!
Decipher
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Post by Decipher »

And you can of course take that for whatever you will. But it will be in no way accurate of what people really prioritize :p
Rick1486
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Post by Rick1486 »

Thankyou.
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