Re: [Usability] New way of accessing software (WAS: Re: Big Panel menus (32x32))

[Mark Finlay <sisob eircom net>]

> Instead of arguing about this traditional way of accessing software (which
> shows its age by seeing this terribly long sub menu and the also half-baked
> hack of Ximian's and Red Hat's "More"), we should be doing innovation.
> We should be discussing the next big thing on accessibility and not lose
> time on trivialities.

I think that gnome is inovating - no-one else has our menu panel (Mac
has one but it's different)

Before I begin, don't forget that Gnome uses the menu panel by default,
so not only would everything have to work with the menu panel, but
should be in fact specifically designed for it.

> 1. Configure the environment. (just an old mockup:
> http://www.osnews.com/img/3721/1.png)

This wouldn't make a half bad "System" menu. See my comment on:
http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=89874

I do think that the user information is probably superflous though.

> 2. Launch applications. (work in progress:
> http://www.osnews.com/img/3721/2.png and
> http://www.osnews.com/img/3721/3.png


> 3. Load and process files. (files should have the same window launcher as
> the apps above, but with options regarding files instead of apps, depending
> on the MIME type)

I'm from the $HOME as desktop camp, and so I think that the desktop
should we the starting place for file manangment. Why re-invent the
wheel on the panel when we already have a file manager and the ability
to manage files from the desktop ( see:
http://evolvedoo.sf.net/abstract/index.html )

> These should be three big buttons in the gnome-panel.

Well on the foobar/menu panel it would be three words, possibly with
icond beside them.


> Until now, KDE, Gnome (and all other OSes) is trying to do these three
> DIFFERENT
> operations in ONE menu, the gnome foot/kmenu.

Well no-one claims that we try to open files from the foot menu. Also
the foot menu is an options extra - the menu panel is the way to go.
And there we already have an Actions and Applications menu, which
sepporates out most of it. If we can resolve 
http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=92719
then we will be most of the way to solving your problems, just not in
the way you suggested.


>  (and the same happens on the gnome menu too as I see in the
> menu-32pix screenshots above).

Well then look at this 32x32 mockup:
http://xsu.sf.net/new-menu-2.png
Potentially the home folder could go too...

We all know that the gnome menus need work, but there are many ways to
crack an egg.

I agree that we need some sort of a most recent/frequent programs list,
and that was one thing I always liked about the KDE menu. But here's
another idea for how to do it:

Ok, currently Ximain and Redhat have their "More"/"Extras" menus, which
rock IMHO. But currently Redhat/Ximian make a decisison as to which
applications go into extras and which don't. What if Ximain/Redhat only
choose the default applications to be in the main catagory. Then when
the user uses an item from the extras menu it gets moved up to the main
one: So the main one acts as "The most used applications related to
catagory X". Possibly total crack, but just and idea.


> This new way of organizing the menus is much more clean and efficient and
> offers more functionality, without adding bloat, because you know where to
> find the settings, where to find the apps and where to find the files, all
> in an instant. 

Mmm, I don't know if that applications menu is really going to be more
efficient than the current one... there are a whole lot of widgets, and
I really don't like the integrated filemanager thing on the right.

-- 
Mark Finlay <sisob eircom net>