Re: [Usability] desktop lacks "Display properties" or " Screensaver - Power" options on right-click context menu

[Jacob Beauregard <jake13jake comcast net>]

On Monday 23 April 2007 05:54:18 am you wrote:
> On Mon, 2007-04-23 at 05:33 -0400, Jacob Beauregard wrote:
> > > > In fact I'm of the opinion that we need to somehow open up the
> > > > right-click context menu so users should be able to put any
> > > > capplets/launchers they use quite a bit.
> > >
> > > That is what the desktop and panels are for.
> >
> > What would be the problem with giving more flexibility to the interface
> > of something as basic as desktop management, as a whole?
>
> Context menus are for immediate contextual items which are frequently
> accessed.  Theme and resolution are not that.

Really? Because I don't really use them all that often.

>
> > > > A lot of people like me who come from windows would be looking for
> > > > things in familiar places.
> > >
> > > We don't cater for Windows users, we cater for GNOME users.
> >
> > You offer an argument similar to not using a QWERTY board. Why do we have
> > an icon of a floppy disk for saving anyway? My laptop doesn't have a
> > drive for that :(.
>
> My save icon is an arrow pointing at a box.  This is exactly why the
> Tango icon theme banned the use of a floppy disk as an image.

People are used to it, and that's why it hasn't changed yet. I would even wish 
to save it for the sake of nostalgia.

What's a box with an arrow pointing into it supposed to mean to me anyway?

Create a package!
Close this box!
Here's a box, go jump in it! 

Box Says: "I'm not the hard drive! Look at Nautilus!!! Not the same icon 
there! No way Jose!!!"

Yea, did anyone even think of that? Associating an updated save icon with the 
storage media icon? Even if the storage media icon would have to change, it 
makes more sense to use it in the same context.

The user not understanding this icon is going to cause more problems than 
users not understanding a floppy disk. A floppy disk wouldn't be confused 
with closing or compressing something.

Let's not forget to mention Sugar... What's a kid in a developing country 
going to think about the wifi icon that, to him, could look like a volcano 
erupting?

>
> > The question is, what is the familiarity of most GNOME users? Is it in
> > Windows or in GNOME itself? Do GNOME users even utilize the right-click
> > context menu, and would adding such an element to that context menu be a
> > constraint to the GNOME population?
>
> Adding items which the majority of people would never use would be a bad
> move, imho.

Users would stop complaining if they could change their context menus from the 
default configuration.

Also, you're assuming that the majority of people would never use this item. 
PROVE IT. You lack reason not to investigate a user's input if you're going 
to declare a decision as final.

>
> > Chill out, and at least pretend you actually know what you're doing.
>
> Nice.
>
> > Note that added flexibility would make the questions above a little bit
> > less relevant (though, I'd still probably leave it to Windows-Wannabe
> > distros to modify their own default settings to accommodate their users).
>
> What are we talking about now?  The ability to add arbitrary entries to
> the desktop context menu?  That is possible by adding an entry to the
> Nautilus scripts folder, but note how they are in a submenu so that they
> don't take over the context menu.

Submenus bury functionality, making it harder for users to access it. In 
addition, submenus that open to the side as opposed to unfolding add extra 
work for the user.

>
> > > > The modesetting display capplet in notification tray, the whole of
> > > > display properties so one can change things on the fly, seeing a
> > > > movie, seeing a .pdf etc. hence atleast to me it makes sense.
> > >
> > > Why would you change resolution manually when you want a movie, or read
> > > a PDF?  I'm still struggling to see a use-case for frequent resolution
> > > changes.  I change resolution relatively frequently (when I connect my
> > > external monitor), but I have a tool which changes resolution, font
> > > size, wallpaper and so on in a single keypress.
> >
> > Yea, I've got that external monitor case, too. There are also a few games
> > that like to add constraints to the resolution you can use.
>
> Every game I've used changes resolution itself.  Interesting that there
> are some which don't.  That's a bug in the game of course, should GNOME
> add an extra menu item to the desktop context menu because there are
> some buggy games?

Once again you have no idea what you're talking about... No, there is no bug 
with the game, and please don't make assumptions on my use cases.

Request:
PLEASE LEARN HOW TO ASK NON-RHETORICAL QUESTIONS!!!!

>
> > > > I find it extremely challenging to traverse through 3 menus in order
> > > > to get a simple thing done, hence if the display capplet is there
> > > > which has everything from brightness, contrast,
> > > > resolution-modesetting, themes etc. it would be pretty cool
> > >
> > > Brightness and contrast are monitor settings, GNOME can't control
> > > those.
> >
> > Would a device driver possibly have control over these?
>
> No idea, I don't have the EDID specification to hand.  If it were
> possible and if X exposed it, then it could be added to the Display
> capplet.
>

Who's the GNOME dev who's going to ask an X dev?

> > > That leaves resolution and theme.  Thomas Wood is working on an
> > > Appearance capplet which covers themes, colours, and fonts.  I've been
> > > planning on adding ICC profile selection to the Resolution capplet
> > > which would make it a Display capplet.
> >
> > If I wanted to switch my res from 1680x1050 to 1280x1024, would GNOME be
> > responsible for handling when my screen gets stretched rather than
> > certain parts getting ignored (I really doubt it, but such a thing could
> > probably be hacked anyway).
>
> I've never had the screen be ignored when expanded: nautilus notices the
> resize and draws the wallpaper there, the panel expands to fill the
> extra space, and metacity will place windows.   If you can replicate
> GNOME refusing to use space, then you've found a bug in X.

What are you talking about? I'm talking about refusing to use space for the 
sake of not distorting the monitor based on default resolution, and I meant 
hacking through whatever bug or work-around I could throw in my X source 
code.

>
> I believe there is a SoC project to write a GNOME interface to the new
> XRANDR interface, which will handle hotplugging displays.
>
> Ross