[Usability] Re: Running gnome-terminal as a desktop background

[michael chang <thenewme91 gmail com>]

On 9/16/05, usability-request gnome org <usability-request gnome org> wrote:
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 14:56:34 +0100 (BST)
> From: Alan Horkan <horkana maths tcd ie>
> Subject: Re: [Usability] Running gnome-terminal as a desktop
>         background
> Cc: Usability gnome conference <usability gnome org>
> Message-ID: <Pine BSF 4 58L0 0509161430010 30353 bell maths tcd ie>
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

> Part of what I'm saying is that users want a way to automate tasks and at
> the moment the terminal is the best way to do that and worth learning if
> you are a regular computer user.  If someday we can provide full
> macro-recording it would bring this kind of power and flexibility to a
> much wider range of users and you never know the more techincal users
> might like it too.  I suppose I could draw an analogy with configuration
> tools, sure you can edit a config file with a text editor but if you had a
> nice graphical console with tools to manage a whole network of computers
> at once in an efficient and reliable way you would probably use it.

As a note, there are a great many programs that supposedly help
automate tasks in Windows, but AFAIK, they don't provide the precise
control or interchangability that a bash or perl script does -- if
this feature is ever implemented, it should be done right.

For example, it shouldn't record mouse-clicks unless you can record
what's being clicked (as opposed to coordinates of clicking), although
if something is being dragged, you can mark what's being dragged and
the destination (and whether or not it has any importance or special
action -- if not, then record said coordinates).  Also, one thing
about e.g. bash scripts that I love that I can't get with e.g. Windows
scripting applications is that AFAIK I can't e.g. substitute variables
or use a glob or similar that changes in the scripts.  For example, if
I want to apply something to framesetAxxx.png first and then to
framesetBxxx.png (where xxx is a number between 001 and e.g. 768) I
can't do that on the scripting applications in Windows.

In that circumstance, something along the lines of a "script editor"
and the ability to use e.g. preset or user-prompted variables and/or
loops would be very useful.

Note this is a opinion, and I don't believe it has any importance per
se for much.  I'm not sure if such a rambling belongs here -- if not,
my apologies.

-- 
~Mike
 - Just my two cents
 - No man is an island, and no man is unable.