Re: [Usability] application names in the application menu

[Calum Benson <Calum Benson Sun COM>]

On 31 Mar 2008, at 23:21, Jacob Beauregard wrote:
> The entire purpose of a branding (or in this case, brand naming)
> something is its value for differentiation. Its usefulness has its  
> roots
> way before any of us were around.
>
> It is still typically bad practice not to include the purpose of an
> application in its description. Ex. who the hell would know what
> mousepad was at first sights? Also, how would I differentiate it from
> gedit if they're both named Text Editor?

This is why we don't show the brand name of core GNOME desktop apps on  
the menus-- so that if I have two text editors installed, I know which  
one is the blessed, GNOME standard one that presumably meets certain  
quality and integration criteria, and which one isn't.

> In the same sense, GNOME System
> Monitor would differentiate itself from KDE's system monitor.

A system monitor is a system monitor.  Why should the user care  
whether they're running the 'GNOME' one or the 'KDE' one?  We have a  
lot of users who don't even know they're using GNOME, let alone the  
difference between GNOME and KDE.  (Hence the current HIG edict not to  
use "GNOME" in an application's menu item.)

Cheeri,
Calum.

--
CALUM BENSON, Usability Engineer       Sun Microsystems Ireland
mailto:calum benson sun com            GNOME Desktop Team
http://blogs.sun.com/calum             +353 1 819 9771

Any opinions are personal and not necessarily those of Sun Microsystems