Re: gmc & cursors

[Michael Dennis <miked kerneltech com>]

> > > >  The other thing which is a small thing but I think would improve things
> > > >  is to use an hourglass (or equivalent) cursor while programs are
> > > >  loading.  I am constantly looking down at my hard drive light to see
> > > >  whether the program is actually loading.  Some sort of visual feedback
> > > >  would be of great benefit.
> > >
> > > To do this right, you need notification from the programs.  To do it
> > > hackishly, you need cooperation from the window manager.
> > >
> > >   Federico
> >
> > Couldn't it be slipped into the gnome libraries? Just stop the animation
> > when the first window is mapped. Doesn't do anything for non gnome apps,
> > but you can't have everything.
>
> This really isn't something Gnome should do. It's not the task of a
> desktop environment. And it doesn't provide any functionality in my
> book.

I didn't think it was worth anything either until I noticed it wasn't there.  It
goes back to an old UI design principle... If the computer is off doing some sort
of process give the (impatient) user some feedback so they know the process is
actual underway.  Even if GNOME wrote text into the panel something to the effect
"Executing Application xxxx..." it would be better than watching the disk drive
light.

Mike