[Ayatana] Idea: windicator add-ons, an extensible window border

[Sense Hofstede <qense@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

The idea of 'windicators' and the examples of their possible
appliances that appears on Mark Shuttleworth's blog really intrigued
me. The idea behind them is great and I would love to see them fully
developed in one of the next Ubuntu releases. (Offline/online,
UbuntuOne sharing, save-state, etc, etc, enthusiasm!)

Without sacrificing usability, clarity and consistency I think that
the windicators could also make a great place for add-ons. It would be
only fair to allow e.g. Dropbox to write its own windicator. But not
only experienced developers should be able to write windicators. I
think that it would be great to create a simple and elegant API that
suites the needs of both opportunistic developers as well as authors
of complex and structured applications. Some people might want an
windicator that sends a screenshot of the window's state to
${RANDOM_IMAGE_HOSTER}, whereas others might want to do very complex
mathematical calculations on the window's title with a windicator.

We could mimick Firefox a bit here: I'm thinking of an
UbuntuOne-integrated (merely the Single Sign-On system or more?)
add-on centre or an equivalent of Launchpad's PPAs that allows the
developers to easily submit their add--ons. The add-ons submitted via
UbuntuOne would be tested and could then be offered to the users via
the Software Centre. The architecture needed for this could later be
used for offering some kind of Ubuntu Software Store where developers
get paid for applications, or have an easy way of submitting their
applications to the Software Centre.

What do you think about this idea? Use the Twitter windicator in the
upper-right corner to tell your opinion!

Regards,
-- 
Sense Hofstede
[ˈsɛn.sə ˈɦɔf.steː.də]