unity-design team mailing list archive

[Barry Warsaw <barry@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Oct 28, 2010, at 09:40 AM, Conscious User wrote:

>I'm not talking about ***IF*** they are used to it. I'm talking about
>***HOW*** they are used to it.

So, I'm a long time OS X user and I've always been pretty happy about their
user interactions.  Before you jump down my throat :), let me also say that
starting with Lucid and especially with Maverick, my use of the OS X desktop
has narrowed to just two applications: iCal and Cubase (and *very* occasional
use of Mail.app).  The Maverick desktop and application suite are really
fantastic and things like the new font and dark Ambiance themes make it really
pleasant, in general.

Here are my data points.

>Do they feel that using the menu bar is not frequent enough for the distance
>to be a problem?

To be honest, I'm much more of a keyboard guy.  One awesome thing about the
Ubuntu desktop is how driveable it is from the keyboard.  Exceptions include
the web browsers (following links) and modulo bugs in indicator-appmenu.  But
when I do have to go to the global menu bar, the distance is not a problem for
me my 15" laptops and dual-monitor desktops.  When I can afford a 30" monitor,
I'll let you know how that goes. :)

>Is a single mouse throw enough for reaching the menu bar, despite the monitor
>size?

Okay, I don't use the mouse.  Where I use a pointing device I've got trackpads
and trackballs.  In neither case is the throw to the menu bar inconvenient.

>How many of them use maximized apps?

For me, it's mixed.  I maximize my web browser and mail client, vertically
maximize my terminals and editors (and occasionally some non-primary
application menus), and do not maximize other windows.

>How many of them keep apps close to the top left corner?

I do not.  I tend to have a rightward orientation, which causes problems with
osd-notifier bubbles that completely interrupt my workflow at the most
inconvenient times.

>How many of them use keyboard shortcuts?

Me, all the time.

>How important and frequently used is the menu bar in the most popular OSX
>apps?

For me, menu bar use is more frequent on OS X because OS X menus are less
consistently driveable from the keyboard.  One reason why I use Claws as my
mail client for example is because it supports easy remapping of keybindings
(including updating the keychord in the menus).  I was actually quite
surprised when I realized this was not a general Gnome feature! ;)

>Those are all relevant questions that can go way beyond simply "defending".

Hopefully the data points above help.  I am clearly not a typical desktop
user, but I might not be a completely atypical developer desktop user.  Please
don't forget about us too!

-Barry

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