Re: [Usability] Requesting a right-click root menu for GNOME 3

[Karoliina Salminen <karoliina t salminen gmail com>]

On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 5:30 PM, Anzan Hoshin Roshi
<anzanhoshinroshi gmail com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I would just like to bring this forward regarding GNOME's interface and the
> looming GNOME 3 and its "Shell".
>
> I use GNOME on my main production box, Fluxbox on the netbook and laptops I
> have. Generally, we use Fluxbox at the monastery but I'm trying to stay in
> touch with what is going on for users (so I can answer questions
> occasionally on Ubuntu Forum) so am now writing this in GNOME. I run
> Metacity rather than Compiz. I have one panel, not expanded, and
> auto-hidden. I use it mainly to view the calendar or to dig down for
> something.  I've customized keybindings for switching workspaces to ALT +
> number keys because CTL+ALT and arrowing back and forth through each is just
> too slow. After much consideration regarding Mono, I've started using Do
> instead of the ALT+F2 run dialogue.
>
> The "Shell" for GNOME 3 and it's overlay would be absolutely dreadful for
> me, and I think for some if not most users. I simply won't do the navigation
> of the cursor around and pointing and clicking, and having this huge menu
> thing taking over the desktop would make getting anything done more awkward
> than I can justify.
>
> So here's the gist, the point, the nub:
>
> How about allowing users to enable a right-click configurable menu on the
> root window so that those like me can still use GNOME?  I would prefer it to
> be configured using flat text but XML would be all right.
>
> Tabbing windows as in Fluxbox would be great as well, but the most important
> thing for me would be being able to bypass the "Shell" overlay.

Hi,

Can you explain how is this power user feature is related to usability?
You apparently are not a representative of normal users at all.
Normal users don't know key shortcuts and right click configurable
this and that,
they want a plain, simple, slick and cool user interface they can click, pan,
maybe zoom, etc. These right click main menu (like it appeared
originally already
on fvwm when I was a kid) schemes are so 80s to be sincere.

It is a good idea to support power user features, but design should never be
built around the power user features because that is not usability for
normal users,
that is fast way to work for very advanced users, maybe 0.01% of the users.

Best Regards,
Karoliina Salminen