Re: switching to g-c-c shell? [Was: Re: Control center and capplet merging]

[Eric Larson <elarson novell com>]

>  My recommendation for the
> new applet menu is to have a little search entry that dynamically
> searches keywords/descriptions of the applets in the list.

>From a usability point of view this is a fantastic feature. OS X and
Spotlight do this extremely well b/c it searches through the help system
when going through the administration interface (at least I think it
does). So when someone looks in their control panel/admin area, they get
a search entry where they can do something like "Connect to Wireless"
where the appropriate options are then highlighted in the interface. The
highlighting is definitely slick but the more helpful aspect is the
integration of search. Beagle does this and does it well so it seems a
good option to consider. 

On the categorization front, I don't believe it is the categories that
are the problem but rather the presentation of them. Imagine a large
report or paper. You use sub headings and tables to organize the data so
it is easier to read. There are easily scanable areas along with more
detailed sections so that a reader can easily use the data as needed. We
should use this kind of idea in displaying our longer lists, whether it
is a control panel or list of applets. In other making physical
separation (ie nested menus or new windows) may not be as effective and
efficient as simpler visual separations. 

Eric