[lug] Interest in embedded systems/gui must have icon?

[Rob Mohr]

Beat me down if this is too far off topic or getting off this thread.

I don't understand the popularity of icons for gui(s).  Is it for people
who can't read?  And the sector does not have any ANSI or DIN like
standards, such as the type that exist for fasteners or screw thread
specs.

Some icons will use a magnifying glass for zoom.  Others will use that for
find.  A stamp for email, an envelope for email.  This stuff is nutty.
What is wrong with text in the middle of a button?  That is what is done
in aviation cockpits.  (John Deere has used a pix icon of a turtle for
slow and a rabbit for fast on engine throttles.  They had done this for
years.  But it strikes me as dorky.  Moving a throttle is explicit, like a
car's gas pedal.) To me, text is explicit.

I just find a small handheld, with a nice form, messing up the function
when I see icons and text below the icons.  Opera, for example, gives the
option of just having the text on the button, no silly icon representation.    
eof