Re: Location of activities button needs to be re-considered

[William Jon McCann <william jon mccann gmail com>]

Hi,

On Sun, Nov 22, 2009 at 6:00 AM, mac_v <drkvi-a yahoo com> wrote:
> Hi ,
>
> Reading the gnome shell design manual , it mentions that the shell must
> be usable on touchscreens and input devices.
>
> But if one is to use gnome-shell with touch or input device , there is a
> problem , the activities button is in the top-left corner.

It also says somewhere - or I mean it to -  that those devices should
ideally have some kind of hardware button to bring up the activities
overview.  Typical laptops and netbooks should have something similar
to the "logo" key.  Hand held devices will usually have a menu button.

> For a right-handed person > the hand is forced to move across the
> screen , which is not ideal. And since the activities menu will always
> be needed for most of the interactions this would be a major issue.

Even right handed people use mobile devices in their left hand
sometimes.  Also, I'm assuming that you are really referring to one
handed use.

> With every interaction in the activities menu , screen is always going
> to be blocked by the hand.
> Click activities button, hand will block menus ,
> clicking the more "arrow" , hand again blocks the menu .
> And opening any menu always requires the hand to be moved away to view
> the contents.
> [this is one reasons the atm kiosks and several other kiosks place the
> keypads on the right and the displays on the left]

Those aren't hand held devices.

> And even in the laptop touchpads this location is a bit of a hassle.
> Since the hot corner is also the top left corner ,this is a bit tougher
> to trigger.
> Usually an user while using a laptop , uses the touchpad with their hand
> placed at an angle and not perpendicular to the display.
> Since the hand is at an angle , the top-right and bottom-left corners
> are easier to flick the hand towards , While it requires more effort to
> hit the top-left and bottom-right corners.
>
> This positioning is also a problem when using a desktop and mouse , the
> hand , while holding a mouse , is easier to flick to the top-right and
> bottom-left than any other directions.

Marginally, yes.

> Since a lot of the interactions depend on the activities button and the
> hot corner, it would be better if the activities button is placed on the
> top-right by default , since majority of the population are
> right-handed.
> [this positioning needs to be configurable , the left handed person
> needs to be able to change the orientation of the top menu and allow the
> activities to be placed on the top-left].
>
> Any reasons why the present top-left is chosen for the default?

Yep.  As with most things it is a balance.  Visually the top left of
the screen is the most important (at least in Western LTR cultures).
So in terms of discoverability and perception the position is a big
win.  Owning this space helps define system identity - which also
helps the user orientation.  It also provides a key landmark or anchor
for when the view zooms.  It also prevents derived systems or
applications from disrupting this key location with alternate
branding.

I still think that in the bigger picture we have made the right
choice.  If we are to reconsider the design I think we'd need to get
data on the overall experience - not just timing data on the use of
the hot corner or the Activities Item.

Thanks,
Jon