Re: gui design of nm-applet

[Yclept Nemo <orbisvicis gmail com>]

>> But most of them do have a more or less technical background. The users I am thinking about are really native end users.
Ubuntu has very many users and it's polished easy-to-use interface
does not target technical proficiency. The problem is contacting the
users - perhaps a survey concerning the design of nm-applet could be
held on the ubuntu forums. Furthermore ubuntu just implemented a
complete interface redesign after a lengthy evaluation of many
individual components and applications. I'm sure you could find
someone on one of the ubuntu teams to provide a much more professional
design evaluation of nm-applet.

>> Despite the fact that the line is not left-aligned, is not active-colored, and not bold?
I also felt that the dividing line was a logical separation between
interfaces. However I like the layout and I think a few tweaks can
vastly improve the appearance of the current applet.

Title
  ->  "Wired Networks"
  ->  "Wireless Networks"
 . Should strike as the largest, foremost element
   - Font is not the darkest color
   - Font is not the largest
     * The title font is either the same size or smaller than the
"Available" font in the divider. However, the boldness of the title
font gives it a "squished" appearance that makes it look smaller.


Divider
--------- "Available" ----------------
  . Experiment completely discarding the divider, or perhaps replacing
it with a larger line spacing between the connected and disconnected
networks - no more than a half-space though.
    - At the very least shrink the "Available" font and if possible
shorten the right spur of the dividing line while maintaining a
left-alignment.


Disconnect Option
  . Since the disconnect option is currently placed directly beneath
the connected network and not at the bottom of the network interface
category ("Wireless"|"Wired") I am given the feeling that this option
is connection-specific. After all, it could be possible to have
multiple VPN or Wireless? network connections. From this premise I
suggest the disconnect option:
  . Should be a smaller font
  . Should be indented
  . Should be demarcated with an indentation decoration, possibly the
unicode arrow (U+21AA) or if unicode is unavailable, substituted with
a transparent image

Network List
  . Currently the list is two-column: a left-aligned network name and
a right aligned image representing wireless network strength.
  . If the above suggestions do not create a clear enough distinction
between connected and disconnected networks, consider replacing with a
three-columned list:
    - left-aligned bullet/asterisk signifying connected networks.
Left-aligned network name. Right-aligned network icon.

VPN connections
  . I have yet to create VPNs through network manager, but once I
created I assume they would be given a