unity-design team mailing list archive

[Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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Martin Owens wrote on 16/08/10 22:13:
>...
> I have just got back from an Ubuntu user's office where their Ubuntu
> computer 'didn't work at all'. It turns out that the networking
> checkbox was unchecked and the computer was simply offline.

(I had a similar experience with a neighbor running Windows last year.
Their ISP, trying to troubleshoot the problem, had resorted to sending
them a whole new router -- but it turned out the neighbor had just
accidentally clicked Internet Explorer into offline mode.)

> Before I fixed it though I wanted to see how the user assessed the
> problem and tried to fix it:
>
>  . Loaded Firefox using the quick link on the top pannel
>  . Got the yahoo search page (looks like we're online)
>  . Tried to navigate to mail.yahoo.com
>  . Got a message warning that firefox was in offline mode.

I don't understand why Firefox (or Internet Explorer) has an offline
mode at all.

>  . Reads instructions to turn off 'offline mode'
>  . Goes to File > Work Offline and unchecks the box.
>  . Attempts to refresh page, getting a server not found error.
>...

It's on my radar for ConnectionManager that there should be a standard
API for telling whether there is an Internet connection or not, and for
invoking a troubleshooting assistant if there isn't. Then Web browsers,
e-mail programs, IM clients, and so on can integrate it as suits their
individual interfaces.

Design exercise: What might that troubleshooting assistant look like?

- -- 
Matthew Paul Thomas
http://mpt.net.nz/
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