Owen Taylor wrote: > > I did not say that. I said: > > - Adding a task list to the current design does not make sense > *in isolation*. > > - We want to do user testing with the current design (including the > message tray) and are unlikely to make any big changes without > reference to that. Hi, unless I am mistaken, the Shell aims to structure the user's work-flow around activities and tasks. In the Shell, an activity is basically a set of windows that are used together so that the user can achieve a more or less defined goal; since said goal can change dynamically, the user should be able to re-arrange the tasks, spawn new activities, etc. For me, the activity-task hierarchy is the basis of the conceptual model of the Shell. The way I see it, a good method to enforce this model would be to reduce and focus the need to use the Activities view, which should only be used for actually creating and managing activities and not as the primary method for switching between tasks within the same activity. If you already have the current activity set up with all that you need to carry out a specific piece of work laid in the current workspace, having to go back to the Activities view will demand a higher mental load than if you were able to manage your windows without leaving the current workspace. It's all a matter of allowing the user to focus on what she is doing: "if you are working in activity A, we will not force you to remember activities B, C and D unless you choose to". What does this mean in terms of design? I have two suggestions at the moment: - understand the need for a window list of some kind to let you visualize and switch between your current tasks effortlessly, like you already can in almost all current graphical desktops. Having them along the top or bottom edge has the benefit of making them easier to hit, as they would have "infinite height" and you wouldn't miss them by moving the cursor too far up or down. - restrict the list of windows shown by Alt-Tab to those in the current activity/workspace. The current implementation groups the windows by application, something that is not done in any other place of the Shell and breaks the activities-tasks hierarchy. Happy new year! Felipe
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