unity-design team mailing list archive

[Alex Launi <alex.launi@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 4:39 PM, Sohail Mirza <mirzmaster@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> First off, netbooks are not a fair use-case for this discussion.  The
> limitations of the form-factor may require entirely a different solution to
> common problems.  This much is apparent when comparing Ubuntu Desktop to
> Ubuntu Netbook Remix.



Don't think this is true. I see many presentations give on netbooks. Because
they're so portable they lend themselves to this, and with so many great
presentation apps being in the cloud, it's even easier.



> Now, if you're watching a full-screen movie *and* waiting for an important
> notification, then I would think watching that movie full-screen isn't your
> best option.  Remember, these are transient notifications... there's no
> guarantee you'll notice it anyways.  If, for example, IM is your priority
> then you'll likely want your contact list or the Pidgin tray icon showing
> anyways.  Same goes for full-screen Firefox or monodevelop.  Are you waiting
> for a notification, or busy working with an application?  I admit, I'm
> proposing a trade-off between screen real-estate and the importance of a
> non-critical, transient notification.



No ones *waiting* for a notification, we're doing stuff, and don't want our
notifications turned off. If none come, or we miss them, so be it, but we
certainly want the opportunity.



> In general, I realize that for *some* people, full-screening the
> application is not a fair "I'm busy" indicator, but for the wider user
> population I believe this does hold true.  Remember, the notifications we're
> referring to are transient, non-critical, peripheral information bits that
> the user can *easily miss anyways*.  They shouldn't represent a central
> part of the user's workflow.  If they are central to a user's workflow then
> notify-osd isn't the right solution.



Transient, but not absolutely worthless. If it's worthless, then it
shouldn't be sent in the first place. This assertion is also based on the
idea that netbooks are a different case, which I dont think is the case for
presentations. Maybe for movies and text editors, but I'm not really sure.



> We also have to weigh all this against the proposed alternative of
> additional configuration or a "presentation mode", and the pitfalls of that
> solution.  Users could forget to set presentation mode, miss the
> notification that reminds them to do so, forget to come out of presentation
> mode.  I think there are just too many ways for the wider population of
> users to misconfigure that system.  Just consider the case where one is in a
> hurry to setup for a presentation that is already starting late.  Will they
> really remember to set presentation mode?  If they glance away from the
> screen they might miss the reminder notification too.


This seems like something that should be a dialog, not a notification.


-- 
-- Alex Launi