Re: interapplication communication

[Johannes Schmid <jhs jsschmid de>]

Hi Owen!

> Why "without the [overview]"? - I can think of several reasons offhand
> why a task list might be preferred to the overview for window switching:
> 
>  - You can look find a window with your eyes and then mouse directly
>    to it.
> 
>  - There's less window motion, so it's easier to understand the
>    change when a window is raised or lowered and thus easier to
>    build a mental model of where things are.
> 
>  - The overview takes a fraction of a second to come up, and more
>    if the shell is performing badly on your system.

Combining the three above points: I see a problem that at least for me,
the overlay is kind of a context switch that I might not want when
should changing the window (for example, checking the download-window of
firefox, if the download has finished).
In GNOME 2.x I don't have a context switch here - I just bring a little
utility window to foreground with the tasklist.

> But if you just say "without the overview" then you are defining the
> problem being in terms of the solution; we can't discuss how the
> overview might be modified to improve it, or what the pros and cons
> are of non-overview solutions.

Don't get me wrong. I already pointed out why I think the overview isn't
a perfect solution by now above. But I will happily accept ideas that
improve the overview in some way so that it easier to use.

Let's see which solutions exist in GNOME 2.x to switch windows/tasks:
* tasklist
* alt-tab

Now in gnome-shell we have
* overlay
* alt-tab

I think most non-power users don't use alt-tab because they don't know
anything about keyboard-shortcuts. I never used alt-tab in the past 4
weeks of using gnome-shell though I consider myself a power-user. Have
you got any other data that says that people use alt-tab regularly?

What I noticed though is for example that I forgot about open
chat-windows or other things because there is simply no indication that
they are there when you are working with full-screen windows which I do
all the time. (Maybe I am a full-screen-nazi...) The window-list as some
kind of help for remembering open windows is no longer there. What's the
solution for that in gnome-shell?

> Just because people miss the way that things used to be isn't by
> itself a sign that things shouldn't have been changed. The real
> question is whether people are adapting and finding new ways of
> working that work just as well. If they are, then we need to figure
> out how to guide people to those ways faster. If they aren't
> then we need to fix that.

Sure, if the new way is better, easier or at least equal it's fine. I
just don't think that it is currently.

Looking forward to your answers!

Thanks and regards,
Johannes