Imaging Performance Testing: MR8, ETBH, HBSP

[n8chavez]

I do agree with "compression level", no questions here. But especially with technical products and UIs in general - isn't it rather common to leave out articles like "the" in captions? I'm not talking about full sentences here, but captions in UI elements where it's rather common to have texts as compact as possible.

English is not my native language though, so take this with a grain of salt. But it feels odd to me to  write "the" in texts like "Checking file system" or "Size of newly created image file" because those texts read like a check list to me.

Just my 2 cents 

Technically, yes.  Without a word like "Now", or "I'm" the word "the" is a little odd.  So, for example, "Now Checking the File System", or "I'm Checking the File System" would be correct.  I think they want to try and be as correct as possible to combat the negative stereotypes of Chinese software.

[Epictetus]

I do agree with "compression level", no questions here. But especially with technical products and UIs in general - isn't it rather common to leave out articles like "the" in captions? I'm not talking about full sentences here, but captions in UI elements where it's rather common to have texts as compact as possible.

English is not my native language though, so take this with a grain of salt. But it feels odd to me to  write "the" in texts like "Checking file system" or "Size of newly created image file" because those texts read like a check list to me.

Just my 2 cents 

Technically, yes.  Without a word like "Now", or "I'm" the word "the" is a little odd.  So, for example, "Now Checking the File System", or "I'm Checking the File System" would be correct.  I think they want to try and be as correct as possible to combat the negative stereotypes of Chinese software.

Well I am a native speaker and I think putting the definite article 'the' in those places makes the English better, and more importantly in some instances, much clearer.

[admin]

Thank you all for your enthusiastic discussion and valuable suggestions!

Special thanks to garioch7 for once again providing detailed test comparison results and offering suggestions for improving the English interface phrasing.

Also thanks to n8chavez, al3x, and Epictetus for the active discussion. You're right, in the UI, we sometimes keep the phrasing as short as possible, given the limited space. We will continue to improve the grammar and readability of the English interface in future versions to make the information clearer and more natural. To be honest, this is somewhat challenging for non-native English speakers.

Your feedback and testing are what drive us to improve. Have a great weekend!

[CDC9762]

I think the "the" is not required in obvious things like "checking file system", it adds nothing to the clarity and just takes up space.
As I was told in a technical writing course, "Write to inform, not to impress!".

[garioch7]

Thank you to everyone who replied to my last post.  I confess I did not expect it to generate as much interest as it did.

On the subject of my testing being repetitive, if I have used the same version of all three imaging programs, that observation does have merit.  My reasons for continuing to post every three weeks is to have current test results available to new and prospective users/customers.  As for me, I post in the other Forums I frequent about how well HBS is performing, and link those posts to my most current test results here.  Anyone who follows the links can see up-to-date comparisons.

Moreover, subsequent testing with the same versions confirms previous testing results, which allows for changes in the size of my C: partition.  We also never know when Windows might introduce an update that would impact the way in which HBS or the other two programs handle their imaging and impact their performance.

On the subject of my suggested wording changes, I already openly confessed to being pedantic.  They were intended as a suggestion only, to be approved, modified, or ignored by the Hasleo Team.  I think better English would make HBS look more polished for its English users/customers.  I would certainly encourage others to submit their suggested wordings.  I don't pretend to be a technical writer, and I am not trying to impress anybody but HBS users and customers.  In my opinion, there is no need for the current messages to be so terse and compact, when there is lots of room on the imaging progress screen.

I am not an HBS programmer, or indeed a very accomplished programmer at all.  My proposed changes would only lengthen the progress messages, which could be easily accomplished by just adding the words to the message to be "ECHO'd", using old DOS batch file parlance (I started with DOS 3.1.)  HBS has the entire screen to accommodate the progress messages.  It means no GUI changes whatsoever.

Finally, I have not been opening new topics.  I confine my testing results to my original topic, so Forum members are welcome to ignore my updates every three weeks by simply ignoring my comparison topic.

With that said, I will make no further comment on my suggested wording changes or my plan to continue my testing every three weeks, unless so directed by the Forum Administrator.  My only motive is to help, as I can, to improve Hasleo.  I am certainly no imaging specialist: I readily concede that, so I contribute according to the skills I have that might be of benefit to the Hasleo Team.

Thank you all again for your comments.  I think it is helpful for the Hasleo Team to hear from a spectrum of their user/customer base to best chart future product improvements.  One of the prime purposes of this Forum is to have discussions about how HBS performs, and make suggestions to improve it.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

[CDC9762]

I didn't think your intent was to impress but the comment was to demonstrate that the inform(ation) was there and "the" didn't contribute anything in that regard.
I just went through a Macrium V8 log and it is totally devoid of "the" when listing steps and this is from a Brit company .

Part of the issue might be that I've been reading computer stuff for a long-time and am quite used to a more concise style.