[Ayatana] Some ideas for the Software Center

[Alexander Lancey <alex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Firstly, sorry if this the wrong mailing list.

I've been thinking about the Software Center, and I came up with three ideas I'd like to see.

Two are related to offline functionality - queueing and caching. I recently tried to select a package for installation, while I was offline. Instead of it setting the package aside for later, or even giving a concise error, it gave 404s. I think the Software Center, when offline, should let you know and ask if you want to install things later.

Caching packages would also be really nice. The package I wanted was small, and had been suggested by another package or two. The Software Center could potentially look for smallish packages that are recommended (by your apps or based on your apps), then download the debs when you're idling or just not sending very much data. Not only would this speed up installations when/if you want to install one of these packages, but you could install these while offline.

The third idea is to have a button or something to make desktop links, since some people don't realize they ever can.