[Usability] Spatial Improvement: Default windows placement

[Zakaria <zakaria suarametro com>]

Hi,

Thanks to ubuntu I finally able to see and use GNOME 2.8 with all its
glory. Thank you to all the GNOME developer for bringing in the most
lean and simple desktop.

But even the best thing need a critic for improvement.

As I understand the concept of spatial is to make user recognize the
object by its size, shape, position, color and other visual traits.
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/finder.ars/2

So the idea is when you browse from one dir to another you could
identify it by its size and position.  Unfortunately the default
windows placement in GNOME 2.8 is not optimized for that goal.

As you may know the window placement in metacity is:
1. Put the window in the center of screen
2. Put the next window in the top left corner
3. Put the next window slightly lower and right
   from the window in top left corner
4. Repeat step 3

So the window is placed like this for a series of terminal
http://zakaria.is-a-geek.org/demo/gnome-cascade-terminal.png

The same method also used for default nautilus placement. But it is
worse because the space between one folder to another is so small you
can even see the folder title.
http://zakaria.is-a-geek.org/demo/gnome-cascade-nautilus.png

The problem is user could not really see the different between one
folder spatial properties with another. And unless they read the article
about spatial they won't even realized the benefit of multiple folder
window. 

Which is, you could change the size, position and view and it's remain
the same the next time you open the folder. Allowing you to unconciously
remember them by their spatial properties.

My idea is to make the default windows placement to emphasis the
spatial differences between one folder to another. So the user could
easily remember them, because human tend to remember the difference
than similarity.

So I propose this method in window placement:
1. Put the first window in top left corner
2. Put the second window in top right corner
3. Put the third window in bottom right corner
4. Put the fourth window in bottom left corner
5. Put the fifth window in slightly lower and right from the top left
   corner
6. Put the fifth window in slightly lower and left from the top right
   corner

   So the window is placed in clockwise spiralled into the center of
   the screen. When the window is in the center of the screen,
   we place the window in the first position.

It's probably look like this:
http://zakaria.is-a-geek.org/demo/gnome-first-fit-nautilus.png

My other idea is to make a shift clicking the folder as a default.
Probably when some option is turned on.

So, what do you think?


Regards,


-- Zakaria                         
   z4k4ri4 bigfoot com           Yahoo!: z4k4ri4
   http://zakaria.is-a-geek.org
   http://pemula.linux.or.id