Re: Touchscreen Compatibility [was: Feature proposal: combined system status menu]

[Allan Day <allanpday gmail com>]

Alberto Ruiz <aruiz gnome org> wrote:
...
> we have to question
> ourselves if this is another trend like the netbook one that is
> somewhat transient and misleading.
...
> I'd make a distinction here between transformers (Docable tablet that
> turns into a laptop+trackpad) that switches between touch mode and
> keyboard/pointer mode.
>
> My question is, do we have data that backs up the notion that people
> actually want a touch screen in their laptops? Or is this just the
> OEMs following Windows 8 in the hope that they will sell more units?
...
> I don't believe there will be a single UI for both form factors. I can
> see value in having the ability to switch from tablet to PC with the
> same device as long as the application set is different and only apps
> shipped for each form factor are shown on each mode.
...
> I am just concerned about how much stuff that
> would make a great design for keyboard+pointer are we giving up to be
> touch friendly. I am afraid that if we go down that route we will end
> up with a not so great touch UI and a not so great keyboard+pointer
> UI.
>
> If it was up to me I would stick to be a great UI for what people
> knows and will keep using for as long as we are a keyboard+pointer
> desktop when it came to design criteria. But that's just me, I am just
> trying to have valuable conversation about this and making sure I
> understand what's in your mind moving forward.
...
> My problem with that approach is that you are somewhat giving users
> notion that they can use the desktop with a touch interface, and as
> long as you try to use a more complex app that ability goes away,
> that's ought to be frustrating.

Sorry for the slow reply.

Honestly, I don't see us sacrificing a huge amount to try and gain a
degree of touchscreen compatibility. All our designs are primarily
targeted at pointer and keyboard; we just try and steer clear of the
biggest touchscreen issues. With touch becoming much more common, that
doesn't seem like an entirely crazy thing to do.

My main goal at this stage is to make sure that someone running GNOME
3 on a laptop with a touchscreen doesn't get something that is
*totally* broken for their device - that's it.

That said, on a personal level I find the prospect of GNOME 3 running
on a laptop with a touchscreen or a transformer style hybrid to be an
appealing one. A laptop with a touchscreen would make some occasional
actions easier and more satisfying (think scrolling, zooming,
dragging, paging, etc). A hybrid wouldn't be a fully-fledged tablet
when in "tablet mode", but would be a convenient hardware arrangement
for certain activities, like watching a film or browsing the web.

Allan