Re: [Rhythmbox-devel] Rhythmbox Breakdown #1

[Martin Jeppesen <d2xdt2 gmail com>]

> This will hopefully become a regular posting, that lets everyone know
> the latest juicy gossip. For those who read the rhythmbox-devel mailing
> list it will give a summary of activity, and provide information about
> things that haven't (yet) been discussed on the list. For those who
> don't read rhythmbox-devel, it will let you know all the cool stuff that
> we've been up to.

I think this is a brilliant idea! =) Everybody loves ChangeLogs (NEWS)
and reading about bugs that needs consideration.

My I suggest that each issue have its own bug, where proposed bugs for
discussion could be submitted to be included in the next issue?

> Toolbars are a good way of letting users find functionality, without
> having it buried in menus, and also be convenient to access. The patch
> attached to this bug moved the playback controls to a toolbar, along
> with the shuffle/repeat controls (currently in the status bar) and some
> other commands.

I am not in particular in flavor for this, but I would say it 100%
depends on the layout strategy of Rhythmbox.

If Rhythmbox is meant to satisfy iTunes users, then are "buttons in
the toolbar" evil =)

If Rhythmbox wants to have structured interface, then is the toolbar a
step in the right direction!

I only say a step in the right direction, because all global buttons
should be in the toolbar, before it would make sense, i.e. Hide
Browser and the Volume Control most be in the toolbar as well.

The bar below the toolbar should be song specific, meaning it should
only contain: song name, artist, album and duration slider.

If the above are not satisfied, then are "buttons in toolbar" a step
downward in layout.

> The latest patch also splits the play, pause and stop actions into
> separate buttons, which will warrant some discussion.

I know the HIG doesn't like the current way, but here would I say lies
a bug in the HIG. The play/pause button in Rhythmbox is no different
from a checkbox or a toggle button.

The HIG is meant to be general and is therefore forced to have this
opinion, but in the case of a media player it makes sense that the
play/pause button is the same.

Having one button for play/pause is very useful when searching for
something in a song! I use it when I am writing guitar tabs. Here I
can listen to a few seconds, pause, write down the tabs, and play
again.

Totem uses the separated buttons, which results in a layout that
feature a button without a function most of the time.

Actually having separated play/pause buttons in a movie player is much
worse than a music player! If you are searching for a specific frame
in a movie, you can do that by pressing the play/pause button fast.
With separated buttons this is impossible!

Imagine if the "space" key didn't toggle in mplayer between play and pause.