Re: [Ayatana] Unity Dash Ideas

[Talavas Tauretajs <talavas.tauretajs@xxxxxxxxx>]

1. It can be used to launch another instance/window of an application.
The launcher doesn't have the ability to open a new window (yet?).
Perhaps this should be added to quicklists.

4. I fully agree categories (sections in lenses) need easier access
and need to be more visible. I'm not sure if your solution is the best
though, since it takes up quite a lot of space. Perhaps a horizontal
bar below the search bar would be best. However, with a horizontal bar
you might have problems with lenses with a lot of sections. Not sure
how that would be handled.


On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 12:22 PM, Anthony Scire <aaaantoine@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hello, Ayatana.
>
> I am here, once again, with some ideas for improving the dash.  I'm
> almost certain none of them are new ideas, but they are my chief
> complaints, and I may as well compile them together.
>
> 1. Improvement for Most Frequently Used
> Currently this lists applications that are pinned to your launcher. In
> my case, 4 of the 6 visible are already pinned to my Launcher. Why waste
> space on this?
>
> My suggestion: This area should be reserved for applications that are
> *not* already on the launcher (unless you type in search keywords;
> that's another story).  See also Bug #752908:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity/+bug/752908
>
> 2. Dash Scrollbar Nuance
> When looking at any default lens, where there are three rows of icons
> (Most Frequently Used / Installed / Available for Download, or Recent /
> Downloads / Favorite Folders), there is a tiny amount of scrolling.
> Scrolling doesn't even reveal much of anything.
>
> My suggestion: Eliminate scrolling in this case for the sake of polish.
>
> 3. Shortcuts Dash Needs Some Love
> Eight simple, massive icons are there now: Media Apps, Internet Apps,
> More Apps, Find Files. Then beneath that, your default Browser, Photo
> app, Email app, and Media Player.
>
> I'm not sure what to do here. For starters I skip straight over Media &
> Internet apps and go for More Apps. Meanwhile, this and the Find Files
> lens are both duplicated on the Launcher itself. Which one should I get
> used to clicking? Remember when the Ubuntu devs complained that there
> were three different ways to shutdown Ubuntu from the GUI?
>
> 4. Easier Category Access
> If you're accessing your programs via mouse, it's difficult to look up a
> specific category of applications. It takes 3 clicks to get to a list of
> all applications. It takes four to five clicks to get a list of all
> applications in a specific category. In contrast, the old Gnome 2
> behavior allowed you to click the Applications menu and then mouse-over
> the rest of the way to the program you want. KDE 4's menu even allows
> you to mouse-over most of the way to the application you're looking for.
> Gnome 3 *should* allow mouse-over to get to the applications view, but
> to be fair, you don't have to click to get to the Activities view in
> Gnome 3.
>
> My suggestion: once you navigate your way into the Applications lens,
> have a vertical list of all application categories on the left side,
> with an arrow indicating which category you're currently looking at.
> Allow clicking or delayed mouse-over to switch categories. Get rid of
> the drop-down in the search box.
>
> 5. Quick Access to Software Center
> Assuming a user -- deliberately or accidentally -- removes the pinned
> Software Center launcher, how does one know where to download new
> software?  The integration so far into the Dash is a step in the right
> direction, but I'd like to add just one tiny tweak.
>
> My suggestion: In the Applications lens, add a general link to the
> Software Center in the Available for Download section.
>
> A mockup for 1, 2, 4, and 5 can be found at the URL below:
> http://i.imgur.com/SdLMT.jpg
>
>
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