Most notoriously, one controlled the volume not with a slider element, but with a rotating dial that appeared to require a circular motion to operate, not an easy feat with a mouse; only with experimentation did one learn that a linear motion also worked.
> one of the earliest Apple forays into both skeumorphism and what the post terms "realist visual design"
You're not serious are you ? Maybe you should look back to day 1 of the Macintosh:
Trash Can, Files, Folders, Deck Accessories, UI Controls e.g. sliders, buttons and almost every single icon that existed in those days. They all tried to model the real world and were critical in the success of the Macintosh.
http://www.salon.com/1999/09/30/quicktime/
"QT4, in contrast, presents a “player” that mimics the appearance of a real-world object — a high-tech Sony Watchman, say."
It became notorious quickly, gaining the attention for example of Bruce Tognazzini[1] and of the Interface Hall of Shame[2]:
[1] http://www.asktog.com/readerMail/1999-06ReaderMail.html
[2] http://web.archive.org/web/19991012163338/http://iarchitect....
Most notoriously, one controlled the volume not with a slider element, but with a rotating dial that appeared to require a circular motion to operate, not an easy feat with a mouse; only with experimentation did one learn that a linear motion also worked.