RE: [Nautilus-list] "start here"

["Ryan Muldoon" <rpmuldoon students wisc edu>]

I don't think that anyone is suggesting that we get rid of the Foot menu, or
not list Start Here in the foot menu.  Putting a big icon on the desktop
just gives us an alternate, easily-discoverable location for novices to
click on.  If you don't like it, you can get rid of the icon.  Novices
aren't going to care much at all about Fitts' Law, because they are going to
be moving their mouse carefully so they don't click the wrong thing.  If
they do care, then they can just use the Foot Menu.

As for the "show desktop" button, if you don't like it, don't use it. ;-)
For a long time, I just deleted the icon and got on with my life.  But I
realized its utility after deciding to carefully look at features of windows
to see what GNOME could improve on.

	--Ryan

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jonas De Vuyst [mailto:jonas devuyst advalvas be]
> Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 1:21 PM
> To: Ryan Muldoon
> Cc: mitch nuclear physics gatech edu; nautilus-list eazel com
> Subject: RE: [Nautilus-list] "start here"
>
>
> On 05 Jul 2001 12:48:33 -0500, Ryan Muldoon wrote:
> > I think that you have a good idea here.  The whole "Start Here"
> concept was
> > suggested by Havoc a while ago, and discussed at length.  I
> think it is a
> > really good idea to help novices, and make one's desktop more
> convenient.  A
> > larger, more obvious icon on the desktop might be nice.  A very slow,
> > occasional pulse might be cool, but we'd have to test it out to
> see if it
> > would end up just being obnoxious.
> >
> > That said, I think it would be cool if the panel had a "show
> desktop" type
> > icon, similar to windows.  I used to think that such an icon
> was silly, but
> > then once I started using my desktop more for documents and
> such rather than
> > a place to launch applications, it became much more useful.
> >
> > 	--Ryan
>
> My arguments against such an icon
> are all about speed and lazyness,
> it's important to be able to start
> programs with the minimal possible
> effort. It's important because it's
> something you have to do a lot
> (unless you have only a handful of
> applications you use, which you all
> place on the panel).
>
> When opening a program using the
> current menu:
> 1/ Throw your mouse cursur to the
> lower left corner of the screen,
> this
>    is a very easy to hit button.
> (Well, it currently doesn't work but
> it
>    should.)
> 2/ Navigate to the current submenu
> (though I'm not sure if the
>    program menu is merged in the
> foot menu by default, it should ;D).
> 3/ Click the application you want to
> launch.
>
> With The Icon:
> 1/ Click the Show Desktop button if
> necessary.
> 2/ (Double-)click The Icon (Fitts'
> law doesn't help you here).
> 3/ Choose the desired sub-category,
> this will probably require either
>    clicking something or scrolling.
> 4/ Choose the desired program.
> 5/ Close the window that The Icon
> opened. Though the window could be
>    made to close automaticly when
> you launch a program.
>
> So for experienced users The Icon
> would be very much less productive
> than The Foot. Also for new users
> the "Show Desktop" button is a
> hard-to-grasp concept (my mother was
> frightened when I clicked it and all
> her programs disappeared, and she
> knows about the Windows task bar;
> that said, I'd like to see such a
> button myself).
>
> Perhaps someone could come up with a
> better concept than The Foot but
> even then I'd argue to place its
> launcher in a corner, on the panel.
>
> Jonas.
>