Re: [Usability] New way of accessing software (WAS: Re: Big Panel menus (32x32))

[Daniel Borgmann <spark-mailinglists web de>]

On Fri, 2003-06-13 at 11:55, Mark Finlay wrote:
> > 3. Load and process files. (files should have the same window launcher as
> > the apps above, but with options regarding files instead of apps, depending
> > on the MIME type)
> 
> I'm from the $HOME as desktop camp, and so I think that the desktop
> should we the starting place for file manangment. Why re-invent the
> wheel on the panel when we already have a file manager and the ability
> to manage files from the desktop ( see:
> http://evolvedoo.sf.net/abstract/index.html )

Which is a good example why it is crack. ;) Unless you assume that we
will always use folders (live in stone age) for file management.
The desktop is NOT the best place to access files IMO, because you can
do nothing but look into folders. Insisting on doing it this way
certainly is the best way to make sure that we'll never catch up with
the competition (which is already thinking of better methods involving
metadata and less folder hierarchies).


> Ok, currently Ximain and Redhat have their "More"/"Extras" menus, which
> rock IMHO. But currently Redhat/Ximian make a decisison as to which
> applications go into extras and which don't. What if Ximain/Redhat only
> choose the default applications to be in the main catagory. Then when
> the user uses an item from the extras menu it gets moved up to the main
> one: So the main one acts as "The most used applications related to
> catagory X". Possibly total crack, but just and idea.

I agree, this is the most obvious improvement. However, you still have
to look into a submenu each time you want to load an application, which
is quite a waste if you usually only load about up to ten applications.
Often I use only one application regularly from a submenu and then I
wonder, why have a submenu in the first place? 
Maybe a two-paned menu could be an improvement to this (yeah, similar to
XP...) with the most recent used applications on the left and the
categories on the right (or something like that).

Daniel


BTW: It's Ximian not Ximain. You always write Ximain, even at your Wiki
page. Just thought you might want to know this. :)