Re: Hi all

["Julian Missig" <julian linuxpower org>]

Well, this list hasn't been nearly as active in dicussing UI issues as the
IRC channel(s) has(have) been.

If you're really interested, I suggest hanging out in #nautilus and
#interface on irc.gimp.org...  I think we really need to get a dialog going
between the Eazel UI folk and those who want to contribute.

Julian

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevin Cullis" <kevincu orci com>
To: <gnome-gui-list gnome org>
Sent: Friday, September 08, 2000 5:39 PM
Subject: Hi all


> I've just joined the list and thought I'd introduce myself.  I live in
> Denver with my wife and I've been using computers since the first 512k
> Mac (I know, but we all have to start somewhere). I have a Masters in
> Administration with a background in QA (more than just testing software
> and includes UI) and have 5 years of selling computers to business
> people.  I've also been a manager of large organizations (greater than
> 300 people in 14 different job titles) and focus on reducing cycle time
> of processes.  I agree with the direction of GNOME, Eazel, and Linux and
> want to contribute to this endeavor.  Some of you may be younger than I
> am, but I hope to learn from you as much as you will learn from me, or
> we'll learn together in a discovery mode.  Anyway, I'm here to help, at
> least from a UI perspective.  I'm not a programmer, but I am learning
> shell scripting and REs in my spare time.  If I critique something, I'll
> also give a suggestion to how it might be fixed so as not to be
> considered just a complainer.
>
> So, since I've just joined, here are my comments of using GNOME so far
> (SuSe 6.4.
>
> 1. On the taskbar list, the GNOME icon (the foot) is highlighted when I
> select the task and has a highlight of yellow "lightening" around the
> foot.  I consider this a waste of screen real estate.  Might I suggest
> getting rid of the foot icon and allow for the shading of the selected
> task to be a "colored" or "banded" with a selected color.  If not, how
> about the icon of the program is in it's place.
>
> 2. The GNOME File Commander has a UI feature which I think should be
> reconsidered.  The preferences menu should be changed to have the on/off
> selected features in the menu itself rather than a dialog box or as a
> button next to the display icons (unless there are other considerations
> of this). For example, there are times that I'm working and DON'T want
> to look at the hidden files that I HAVE to go to the preferences files
> to make the changes and then back again when I need to look for them.  A
> menu item of this would speed things up.  Only three items in the
> settings:preferences should be a dialog because you have to input
> something.  Everything else is on/off and should be a menu item.  They
> should be like the Layout:Sort by... menu for those items which require
> input.  Juset a suggestion.
>
> 3. When Macs (and Windows) start up a program, the mouse pointer has the
> sand timer come up or a watch had rotating.  When I've shown GNOME to
> first time users, that's what they first ask, "Is the program started?"
> A task bar should be "initialized" to show the "startup" of the program
> until it is ready to be used.  This should be a two step process: task
> bar is initiated and is "unuseable" until the program is ready, then it
> should be like normal task bars.
>
> 4. The #8 comment in Widgets and Behaviors is confusing.  First
> impression is that Ok and Yes are the same thing.  What gives?
>
> 5. I use Star Office and the menu for Fonts and Fonts sizes stinks in
> the word processor.  It takes too much of my time to change things
> because of the contrained or small scroll bar.  Use the full screen real
> estate to select things or let the scroll bars adjust to fill length of
> the screen.  Along the same lines, I absolutely hate the More... menu on
> long menu items.  This is where the Mac version is superior, a down
> arrow for more below and an up arrow for more above.  I have to be TOO
> accurate to select things I want.
>
> That all for now.
>
> --
> Kevin
> --
> Success is never final, failure is never fatal, unless you quit on
> others and yourself.
> If you get married to your ideas, you'll go through the pangs of divorce
> when you're proven wrong.