I do not believe I was replying to you, directly or indirectly. Feel free to exit the discussion if you do not find it constructive anymore. I do think there are a lot of things that merit discussion, however, so it would be useful if you could install Oneiric and try it out to gather some first-hand experience of the UI.
2011/8/28 Jo-Erlend Schinstad
<joerlend.schinstad@xxxxxxxxx>
Den 28. aug. 2011 16:25, skrev Stefanos A.:
Why are they shown but the window buttons not? Wouldn't it be better if the application name took up the whole panel, especially on smaller screens where the indicator icons get in the way and cut it short? These icons can always be shown when the user needs them, so why not?
Interesting question. I agree that those do not need to be visible
at all times. However, the indicators do. One solution could be to
move them to the left of the indicators and hide them, but that
would make them more difficult to hit. I also think that would be
somewhat confusing since they appear to be similar to other
entries. Also, the cog and user menu are used frequently and
really needs to be in a corner. Should all the indicators be pushed
to the left then those became visible?
I would probably want them to be hidden, but I don't really know
any non-disruptive way of doing that, unless you were to move
them to the bottom of the screen or something. I've never
suggested that things should be hidden at any cost. Only when
it improves usability and doesn't hurt anything else.
Ideas?
First of all, consider that the window buttons (and especially the X button) are used much more often than the powercog. In my current session, I have opened and closed more than 15 windows. In comparison, I've used the powercog 3 times: once to check for upgrades, another to connect and external monitor and a last to lock my screen. I've only used an indicator once: to connect to the wireless network.
It would be interesting to run a study on the relative usage rate of elements on the desktop. This would help recognize which should be made given a more prominent place and which not. For what it's worth, I feel that the current layout is close to optimal, as far as placement is concerned, with only minor scruples (no way to open the dash without aiming the mouse and window buttons are not touching the edges).
I do not believe the indicators can or should be hidden, as their use is primarily optical (Signal strength? Time? Language?) As long as the indicators are visible, the powercog cannot be hidden without breaking the uniformity of the layout (and it's much too important to move to the left of the indicators). Additionally, I feel this is an important part of the visual identity of the desktop - this small icon is something people have come to expect and like (as they have come to like the username display, given the reactions when it was proposed for removal).
My major qualms with the layout have to do with discoverability. This has been covered to death already, but I do not believe the hidden window controls and menu are discoverable enough. This is not because people do not know they are there(*). It's because they break your aim - can you aim the help menu or the minimize box in a single smooth motion? That's what I would love to hear ideas about. Much as I like the hidden controls/menu visually, they do impact my workflow negatively - can this somehow be improved so we can keep both hidden menus and avoid the downsides?
(*) Note: this problem is *much* worse on non-english locales, since some applications are localized and some aren't, leading to different-sized menu items. Even worse, different windows of the same application tend to get different menus, which make things even more problematic.