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[Bug 1371590] [NEW] Global menu bar snatches defeat from the jaws of victory, à la Windows 95 Start button

 

Public bug reported:

There is a really old usability bug relating to mouse accuracy, which
Ubuntu 14.04 has rediscovered in its global menu.

Basically, it's super easy to move your pointer fast and hard to the
extreme edge and corners of the screen, so you can hit targets placed
there quickly. But the global menu only activates if the cursor is a
pixel or two from the top of the screen. This is a massive usability
bug.

The example from the 90s (yes, 20 years ago) is that Win 95's start
button was offset from the bottom left corner by a couple of pixels.
That made it hard for people to hit, and if they'd only put it flush
with the bottom left it would have been way way easier to click. Hence
"snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" - e.g. in this post from
2000 http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000063.html

Hopefully this is an easy fix: extend the mouseover activation area for
the global menu to the top of the screen. Right to the top zeroth row of
pixels. Please?

** Affects: unity (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1371590

Title:
  Global menu bar snatches defeat from the jaws of victory, à la Windows
  95 Start button

Status in “unity” package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  There is a really old usability bug relating to mouse accuracy, which
  Ubuntu 14.04 has rediscovered in its global menu.

  Basically, it's super easy to move your pointer fast and hard to the
  extreme edge and corners of the screen, so you can hit targets placed
  there quickly. But the global menu only activates if the cursor is a
  pixel or two from the top of the screen. This is a massive usability
  bug.

  The example from the 90s (yes, 20 years ago) is that Win 95's start
  button was offset from the bottom left corner by a couple of pixels.
  That made it hard for people to hit, and if they'd only put it flush
  with the bottom left it would have been way way easier to click. Hence
  "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" - e.g. in this post from
  2000 http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000063.html

  Hopefully this is an easy fix: extend the mouseover activation area
  for the global menu to the top of the screen. Right to the top zeroth
  row of pixels. Please?

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