mythbuntu-bugs team mailing list archive

[Eric Wilde <1011181@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Public bug reported:

On Mythbuntu 12.04, when a system error of some sort occurs, a modal
dialog box is popped up asking user whether they want to submit a bug
report.

This new behavior is admirable and certainly the best way to gather the
information necessary to make Mythbuntu more robust.  However, the
approach taken is wrong.

The modal dialog box can only be dismissed by a click with the mouse or
selecting the button with the keyboard.  Now, picture a real user trying
to watch a recorded program with MythTV.  They don't have a mouse or a
keyboard. They have a remote control which has no effect on the modal
dialog box.  Even if they do have a mouse, the  mouse pointer is
invisible since the frontend app covers most of the desktop and it has
hidden the mouse pointer.  They are not Linux hackers so for all intents
and purposes they have no way of answering the question or dismissing
the dialog box.  Probably the MythTV frontend keeps running, under the
dialog box, and even responds to the remote (since the LIRC process
knows nothing about the focus).  Thus, they are trying to watch a
recording with a dialog box, that they can't dismiss, popped up in the
middle of the screen.

Popping up anything on top of the MythTV frontend application is to be
avoided at all costs.  The proper way to handle this feature is to ask
the installer once, when the system is installed or set up, on a
settings menu page, whether they want bug reports submitted or not.
Then, when the critical system error, or whatever else requires a bug
report, happens, the decision is already made and it can be carried out
in the background without the user ever even needing to know a thing.

And, if there is a way to do this using an OS configuration tool, it
should be rolled into the Mythbuntu setup process so that the user is
able to set it up properly at install time or change it easily from the
only application that they care about, which does not appear to be the
case now.

One might think that usability problems such as this are trivial, not
even worth reporting.  But, usability is what its all about.  MythTV is
mostly a product that is supposed to record TV and let the user watch
the recordings. Often, with Mythbuntu, that is the only application the
user ever wants to run.  All of the other Linux functionality is
irrelevant and unwanted.  So, if Mythbuntu doesn't just record and play
TV flawlessly, its basically junk. The proper way to think about it is
not as a Linux Box that happens to record TV but as a TV recorder that
happens to run Linux.  Considering usability problems will help to
change this mindset and make Mythbuntu a much, much better product.

** Affects: mythbuntu
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1011181

Title:
  Modal dialog box prevents viewing of recorded programs

Status in Mythbuntu, Ubuntu derivative focused upon MythTV:
  New

Bug description:
  On Mythbuntu 12.04, when a system error of some sort occurs, a modal
  dialog box is popped up asking user whether they want to submit a bug
  report.

  This new behavior is admirable and certainly the best way to gather
  the information necessary to make Mythbuntu more robust.  However, the
  approach taken is wrong.

  The modal dialog box can only be dismissed by a click with the mouse
  or selecting the button with the keyboard.  Now, picture a real user
  trying to watch a recorded program with MythTV.  They don't have a
  mouse or a keyboard. They have a remote control which has no effect on
  the modal dialog box.  Even if they do have a mouse, the  mouse
  pointer is invisible since the frontend app covers most of the desktop
  and it has hidden the mouse pointer.  They are not Linux hackers so
  for all intents and purposes they have no way of answering the
  question or dismissing the dialog box.  Probably the MythTV frontend
  keeps running, under the dialog box, and even responds to the remote
  (since the LIRC process knows nothing about the focus).  Thus, they
  are trying to watch a recording with a dialog box, that they can't
  dismiss, popped up in the middle of the screen.

  Popping up anything on top of the MythTV frontend application is to be
  avoided at all costs.  The proper way to handle this feature is to ask
  the installer once, when the system is installed or set up, on a
  settings menu page, whether they want bug reports submitted or not.
  Then, when the critical system error, or whatever else requires a bug
  report, happens, the decision is already made and it can be carried
  out in the background without the user ever even needing to know a
  thing.

  And, if there is a way to do this using an OS configuration tool, it
  should be rolled into the Mythbuntu setup process so that the user is
  able to set it up properly at install time or change it easily from
  the only application that they care about, which does not appear to be
  the case now.

  One might think that usability problems such as this are trivial, not
  even worth reporting.  But, usability is what its all about.  MythTV
  is mostly a product that is supposed to record TV and let the user
  watch the recordings. Often, with Mythbuntu, that is the only
  application the user ever wants to run.  All of the other Linux
  functionality is irrelevant and unwanted.  So, if Mythbuntu doesn't
  just record and play TV flawlessly, its basically junk. The proper way
  to think about it is not as a Linux Box that happens to record TV but
  as a TV recorder that happens to run Linux.  Considering usability
  problems will help to change this mindset and make Mythbuntu a much,
  much better product.

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