Re: 2.4 Proposed Modules - gok

[David Bolter <david bolter utoronto ca>]

Calum Benson wrote:

> On Thu, 2003-05-08 at 09:27, Murray Cumming Comneon com wrote:
>
>  
>
> > Maybe I misunderstand, but I can't believe it would be OK for every GNOME
> > module to have a non-standard UI as long as they each had a "be normal"
> > preference.
> >    
>
> It wouldn't be "OK", but some other core apps do already have a "use the
> theme I already chose please" preference (gnome-terminal and gedit
> spring to mind)... it's rightly turned on by default, though, so you
> don't tend to notice it unless you need it.
>
> Personally I'd feel warmer and fuzzier if it was turned on by default in
> GOK too, but I'm prepared to accept that the benefits to the target
> audience outweigh the non-GNOMEness in this case if Bill and Peter say
> so :)
I pleased to hear this level of understanding. 

BTW I can think of at least one case where it still seems to be accepted 
that color/hue/brightness... be used to convey information, and that is 
showing what window is active.  The title bar and border change color.  
Now there are other ways to tell what window is active (window list, 
occlusion etc.). but the changing of the colors, I think we would all 
agree, increase "useability" dramatically.  Usability and accessibility 
are not so distinct in my mind.

In the case of gok, I am not 100% confident that not conforming to the 
chosen theme should be default, but I am definitely inclined to think 
that the affordance if provides gok's target group is real.

Thanks for bringing this up.  I agree with Bill that more tweaking could 
be done.  Perhaps the tweaking is not just in gok.  Perhaps gok and 
other accessibility tools could influence how we design theming in 
GNOME?  E.g. add primary, secondary, tertiary etc. colour 
preferences...  which GOK could then use...  not to suggest this would 
be an in-your-face setting.  GOK could then also provide a way to set 
these colors and update gconf accordingly...  just thinking aloud after 
a large coffee...

cheers,

David

> (However, things like the Preferences window could definitely use a lot
> more HIG-loving... having a look at that has been on my todo list for a
> wee while now.)
>
> Cheeri,
> Calum.
>
>