Re: Re: gDesklets in GNOME 2.5?

[<martin pycage de>]

Seth Nickell <seth gnome org> schrieb am 22.10.2003, 03:26:00:
> Quoth http://gdesklets.gnomedesktop.org:
> > gDesklets provides an advanced architecture for desktop applets --
> > tiny displays sitting on your desktop in a symbiotic relationship of
> > eye candy and usefulness.
> 
> Esp. with the current set of widgets, I think gDesklets are more
> eye-candy and less usefulness. If you look at Konfabulator
> [http://www.konfabulator.com] some of the widgets are reasonably useful,
> so I'm not saying there is no possible use for these things... but...
> being on the desktop means they have some strong limitations. Most of
> the time, they aren't going to be visible.

Then people should start making useful desklets... :)
This is happening and there are some really useful desklets on
gdesklets.gnomedesktop.org IMHO.

>    - Tarballs/Packages using auto* and make that install a bunch of
> desklets that can be accessed from some standard menu (ala panel
> objects, aka "applets"). Basically the standard Unix install model.

Work is done in usability area.

> The existing gDesklets model is a confusing mish-mash of the two that
> produces the worst of both worlds. You have to "install" all the sensors
> needed for a display, and then you have to launch the .display file as a
> little bundle in user-realm. There's no standard list of installed
> desklets (that I can find). Its a usability nightmare.

That's true. We will put this nightmare to an end, though.

> Secondly, I like the idea of having totally per-user desklets that you
> could easily grab off the web and run (security people can now cringe).

You can have desklets on remote web-sites, where the user clicks on the
display and - voila - is opens on her desktop, loading all images off
the web. The sensors still have to be installed locally, though.

> desklet running. No install, no muss, no fuss. I don't know if python
> supports custom "class loaders" (sorry, Java language), but you'll

This is possible in theory.

> I think fixing the install/running aspect of gdesklets is critical to
> its inclusion in GNOME.

We agree.

> was, of course) I might suggest waiting another GNOME iteration for
> inclusion to get everything perfect, I think with gDesklets its worth
> striking while the metal is hot even if we don't get a perfect version
> into GNOME.

The metal is still very hot, so I guess, 5th toe is the way to go for
now.


Bye, Martin