RE: Some thoughts about window management

[Yaron Tausky <decaycell gmail com>]

On Mon, 2005-06-20 at 19:44 +0200, Micha�Arnauts wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> Actually, I like your proposition 2 somewhat. I agree that the
> notification area is used for programs that shouldn't be using it
> (that don't notify the user), and that there should be a way to get
> rid of the open applications, while they are still accessible to the
> user. But i wouldn't create another panel applet. Instead, it can be
> done by adding a way to shrink buttons to the icon only. I created a
> small image here [1].  That way, users can "almost" get rid of an
> application, why it can still be accessed with a single click, but
> now, in a place where it should be used (the window list) instead of a
> location where it shouldn't be used (notification area).
> 
> Micha�> 
> [1] http://users.skynet.be/maycosplace/gnome.png 

The problem with this idea is that a small button would visually "get
lost" between the longer labeled buttons -- we don't gain anything if
the user has to scan the taskbar a second or so, to look for the small
buttons.
My suggestion was not to build another taskbar applet, but rather to add
a feature to the current one, and then have two instances of it running
-- one for each purpose. I think that the core idea of using the
notification area for such purposes is correct UI-wise (location on
screen, ease of spotting the correct icon, etc.), it's just implemented
in a hackish way and deserves a better implementation, one that wouldn't
hinder the user if he/she chooses to use an app which takes "The Right
Way(tm)".
-- 
Yaron Tausky <decaycell gmail com>