Re: has anyone had a chance to look at my nm-applet patch?

["Peter Van Lone" <petervl gmail com>]

On 10/28/07, Darren Albers <dalbers gmail com> wrote:
> I am not a dev but my first thought was "Great idea" but then I
> realized that it is probably way too much info for the user.   In
> /most/ cases the user will see a large number of AP's and will pick
> the one with the best signal and this is what NM does now
> automatically.  I think it only confuses the issue for the user to see
> all the different channels.

I quickly am tiring of this attitude, as it finds expression in the
gnome desktop. Far too much is assumed, far too little is tested (ie
usability and user reaction) and the default impulse seems always to
be "limit choice".

In /MOST/ situations, I want and need to see what wireless networks
are around and available. /occasionally/ there might be /too many/ for
the interface. So, it would be good to:

1)offer the choice/ability to "see all" and
2)offer the ability to scroll the presentation to show more than a page-view

<snip>

> Maybe it would be better to make this an option that can be enabled by
> changing a gconf value for advanced users who want to see this
> information but otherwise leave it disabled?  Out of curiosity how do
> other OS's deal with this?

no maybe about it. But -- the choice should be in the NM interface
itself. Choice must be a/the priority. Always.

> I love the idea of the patch and I always like seeing more information
> so if I had an option I would personally enable this feature but I
> don't think it should be the default.

To gnome devs, from a fan: Please do not assume the "average" or
"default" user is dumb, or somehow less capable than you. Please do
assume that there are a range of abilities, and try to design an
interface that meets the needs of the broadest range possible.


Peter



-- 
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