Re: Dynamically changing GUIs in general [was Re: [Usability] xscreensaver UI update]

[Shaun McCance <shaunm gnome org>]

On Thu, 2005-04-14 at 22:38 +0100, John Spray wrote:
> Based on that, I would argue that the dialog could be reduced to the
> treeview (with <None> and <Random> options) and the preview pane.
> Changing the time after which the screensaver comes on is excessive
> customisation, and the option to lock the screen could be shifted into
> the advanced section.  The dialog would thus be optimised for the only
> real use: "Wow, looks how many pretty screensavers I have!".

I'd say that the time before the screensaver is activated
is about the only actually useful option in the entire
dialog.  It's also the sort of setting that you absolutely
want to be able to lock down, meaning the dialog should
be made to respond well to unwriteable GConf keys.

As for locking at a different time than activating the
screensaver, I've found this useful for exactly one thing:
I like to have the screen actually lock just after the
screensaver comes on.  That way if I'm sitting at my desk
reading something, and the screensaver comes on, I can
just move my mouse and I don't have to enter my password.
But then, we could just make locking *always* happen maybe
15 seconds or so after activation, and dump that option.

--
Shaun