Re: GlobalMenu Application for inclusion as a GNOME module

[Pierre Slamich <pierre slamich gmail com>]

Hi all,

Sorry first for the delay in responding. We've been discussing the concerns raised on the list, and we've tried our best to address them in a synthetic way. Here are a couple of thoughts and remarks that respond to Colin, Sandy and other people's comments and clarify a few things.

Responses:

1. Global Menu can help the transition from GNOME2 to GNOME 3 by giving people the chance to experiment with the 'application menu on the top panel' mode in GNOME2, if enabled by default in 2.28 or 2.30 (if 2.30 is already GNOME 3 with gnome shell, then enable it/pull it in for gnome-panel).

The current behavior of GlobalMenu's applet, with all menu items listed in a row, does look different from Gnome Shell's application item. There is already an submitted issue [1] suggesting to merge all items into one popup submenu, as outlined in Gnome Shell's design document, and we can work on it.

[1]http://code.google.com/p/gnome2-globalmenu/issues/detail?id=491

One may argue that it is still different from Gnome Shell's model of 'separated application menu and document menu' but that's already the best we can do with the current information we can obtain from the applications.

2. Please don't consider Global Menu as merely a gnome-panel applet. From a non-techie user's point of view, the most spectacular component of Global Menu is the panel applet. It does lead to confusions, e.g. on the 'GNOME Files' site Global Menu was added under the applet category. However we would like to state here that Global Menu also comes with a GTK module that detects and interpolates the menu bar in any windows, which is even more important than the panel applet. Global Menu doesn't fit into the 'Yet another panel applet' category: even if there is an Applet 'Marketplace', it is difficult to fit Global Menu into the list as with merely the applet, Global Menu won't work.

3. The other aspect of complementing GNOME 3 (other than point 1) is that it is possible to extend GNOME Shell to understand Global Menu's protocol, and translate it into Gnome Shell's application item protocol. Then, by enabling the GTK module, all legacy applications will automatically move their menu bar into the application item, as a submenu; which may be the intended behavior or not, depending on how the application works. But still, it is not worse than doing nothing.

And it is still questionable whether the benefits of this integration are worth the effort, therefore no development in this direction has been made so far. Opinions from the GNOME Shell developers are most welcomed.

4.If Global Menu is added as a module, we are not clear yet with regard to whether the applet should be enabled by default. Both options have advantages and disadvantages:

a) on by default:
GOOD: helping people from moving GNOME-PANEL to GNOME-SHELL,
BAD: significantly change GNOME2's behavior.

b) off by default:
GOOD: do not change GNOME2's behavior.
BAD: nobody knows there is a new global menu module.

What do you think about it ?

Sincerely,

Yu and Pierre, on behalf of the GlobalMenu Team