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Re: [Usability] The Future of Window Borders, Menu Bars, and More

 

I just noticed that Firefox 4.0 beta 2 on Windows also has a menu
bar<http://imagebin.org/109099>(activated by alt) and its contents are
different from the Firefox
button <http://imagebin.org/109100>'s (some stuff are in both menus,
though). Apparently, the Firefox button isn't a menu bar replacement.

You might also be interested in a fresh mockup of the Firefox button (
http://people.mozilla.com/~faaborg/files/firefox4Mockups/firefoxButtonTwoPanes.png<http://people.mozilla.com/%7Efaaborg/files/firefox4Mockups/firefoxButtonTwoPanes.png>
).


Right now, I can't think of any recommendation to accommodate these. Heeelp.
LOL

On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 7:18 AM, Allan Caeg <allancaeg@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Not showing the branding while the app is running may reduce cognitive
> load, just like what MPT said. However, there are issues with this.
> *Apps that are supposed to do the same things have differences that many
> people know or need to know.*
> Whenever I'm browsing, I have to know that it's Firefox, because Chrome
> works differently. Some keystrokes won't work on the other app, some plugins
> aren't present, etc.
>
> *When more than one app of the same kind is running, they would be tagged
> the same way*
> There are cases when we open more than one web browser or music player. For
> example, if I want to use two different accounts on one social networking
> site, I would run two browsers. Not being able to identify easily which app
> is which would be confusing in this case.
>
> *Upstream vendors may want to keep their branding *
> Some of them take their marketing so seriously that they won't even
> consider this. This may damage our relationship with them, and may cause
> them to brand their products in places that will be less fit.
>
> *This could make app launching more complicated*
> When I launch Firefox, I would need to look for the Web Browser, Internet
> Browser, or whatever window. That is confusing. It's even more complicated
> for other apps like Sudoko. What should I expect Sudoku to be named after
> launching it with whatever launcher (GNOME Main Menu, GNOME Shell, etc.)
>
> Regards,
> Allan
> http://google.com/profiles/AllanCaeg
> +63 927 982 0592
>
> On Aug 10, 2010 2:05 AM, "Martin Owens" <doctormo@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Ryan,
> >
> > On Mon, 2010-08-09 at 11:22 -0500, Ryan Peters wrote:
> >> While browsers might not be focused on branding, that branding is
> >> still
> >> there. My point, however, isn't the branding, but the fact that there
> >> is
> >> a brand. If we treated every web browser as "web browser" or every
> >> email
> >> client as "email client", how would people tell the difference
> >> between
> >> them? Branding, with different icons and application names, helps
> >> this
> >> issue, and there's a healthy level of branding exposure we need to
> >> find.
> >> If the window borders didn't have the application title, the
> >> Application
> >> Menu, with the icon as well as the name (so people can more easily
> >> recognize the name), fixes this problem because you can tell what
> >> application you have open no matter what window is focused, its
> >> contents, or what the window title is.
> >
> > the branding falls back down to the operating system. It's Ubuntu's
> > access to facebook etc. not Chrome or Firefox.
> >
> > Martin.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Post to : ayatana@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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>



-- 
Regards,
Allan
http://www.google.com/profiles/AllanCaeg#about<http://www.google.com/profiles/allancaeg#about>
+63 918 948 2520

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