On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 12:37 PM, Carl Simpson
<cwd.simpson@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Can we can assume from this that per-application functions, such as volume control and network status, wont be tenable uses of the windicator idea, since this would result in duplicates (e.g., two volume controls) or confusingly similar items in the panel when applications are maximised?
I also raised this concern in an old post. Since these kinds of functions are basically the essence of windicators (I may be wrong), we need to solve this problem before they are implemented. Basically, what I suggested is to have basic categories for windicators, such as volume, network, progress, etc. Each category would have a corresponding panel indicator for it. This panel indicator would show the status of all windows using that indicator. For volume windicators, the sound menu would be the panel counterpart. Therefore, each window (unmaximized) would show its volume in a windicator, and the sound menu would show the volumes of all the windows. Therefore, by removing windicators on maximization, no functionality is lost.
This set up also allows a user to see an overview of what's going on with applications - "What processes are going on - with which programs?" "What is playing that sound behind my youtube video?" etc.