[DEPRECATED] Gnome HIG v2, The notification area, and tunnel vision

[Tiemo Kieft <t kieft gmail com>]

Hi,

I just read a bit of the Gnome HIG v2, and came across this piece:

The utility of the notification area decreases rapidly when more than
about four icons are always present. For this reason, icons that
appear only temporarily in response to events are preferable.

The notification area is kind af hard to use for some visually
handicapped people, like myself. I have a decease called Retinitis
Pigmentosa which damages my retina, resulting in a ever increasing
tunnel vision. This has some practical implications when it comes to
using a computer. Because of my tunnel vision I can't see the edges of
my screen when I'm looking at the center, this means that notification
icons, or for that matter anything that's happening at the edge of my
screen is useless. A alert box at the center of the screen is much
more usable for people like me. Maybe you could mention this in the
HIG. Or would it be possible to add an option to the notification
area, to let it pop up an alert whenever an icon tries to draw
attention? I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

Groeten,
Tiemo

PS: I develop gnome/GTK2 apps myself, and the HIG has always been a
good guide when it comes to designing Gui's. Keep up to good work :)