unity-design team mailing list archive

[Bret Kuhns <bkuhns@xxxxxxxxx>]

(sorry about the private reply goof *enables "Reply to all by default"
feature in Gmail*)

I asked, for examples, where the behaviour suggested was relevant.


I think my multiple terminal example is another valid case. Want to work on
multiple spreadsheets at a time? Text documents? Whether an app supports
tabs or not, some people with multiple monitors simply like working with
multiple windows. As I said, it doesn't make sense to rely on each
application to support launching more than one instance of itself as that
will leave identical functionality reimplemented differently across the
board. It was the OS' job to launch that application in the first place, why
can't it just do that again (such is a current feature of Gnome panel
launchers, as David pointed out).

might not use alt-tab to switch applications, how would they switch then?


I believe that's the point David is trying to make. There's no good way with
Unity to switch between multiple windows of a single application without
forcing the user to implement more advanced techniques.

David's proposal creates a solution for easy switching by only hovering your
mouse (or long-press touch). Per the mock-up, users already adept to using
launchers to create multiple instances will be greeted with a "new instance"
button when they cursor over an active launcher. Although the mock-up is
incredibly derivative of the Windows 7 taskbar, it's a competent proposal
toward usability.

Bret Kuhns


On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 1:28 PM, Christian Giordano <
christian.giordano@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> (no point to write in pvt., maybe was a mistake, btw...)
>
> I asked, for examples, where the behaviour suggested was relevant. I have
> only be given one (Firefox) which I guess wasn't the best one. My personal
> opinion is that we can't design for everyone or for every case, for this
> reason it is important to test and weight all the issues. As it is today,
> the Launcher works also as switcher and (I guess) the users which don't know
> how to open new instances from within the application, might not use alt-tab
> to switch applications, how would they switch then?
>
>
> Best, chr
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 12:19 PM, Bret Kuhns <bkuhns@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> In this specific example, a solution could be that Mozilla makes the
>>> buttons to open a new window, or open a new tab, more visible. It's
>>> important to draw a line from the responsabilities of the software and the
>>> operating system, and of course weight these corner cases.
>>
>>
>> Isn't it the job of the OS to spawn processes when the user requests?
>> Suppose I wanted to run two terminals simultaneously. With what you're
>> saying, I'd have to create the second by performing an action in the first
>> terminal. Would a terminal's procedure for creating a new window be
>> different from Firefox's new window functionality? Asking applications to
>> start new processes of itself is asking for fragmentation and user
>> confusion. The OS should be the one providing a consistent way of launching
>> processes, whether you need one or twelve of them.
>>
>> Bret Kuhns
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 3:41 AM, Christian Giordano <
>> christian.giordano@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi David,
>>>
>>> This is an interesting corner case, thanks for pointing it out, could you
>>>>> tell me some applications which are meant to be working in this way? I guess
>>>>> in this case we could handle it via quick menu, just a thought.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> For example, Firefox. My mom used to have a panel launcher that she
>>>> would use to open new windows (she's old school and not much of a tab
>>>> person), and ironically she can't use the new launcher for that.
>>>>
>>>
>>> In this specific example, a solution could be that Mozilla makes the
>>> buttons to open a new window, or open a new tab, more visible. It's
>>> important to draw a line from the responsabilities of the software and the
>>> operating system, and of course weight these corner cases.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Is this the problem you are trying to solve with your "window spread"?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Well, I think I brought up several cases where having the spread was
>>>> handier, but that would be the main problem to solve, yes. That was my
>>>> favourite feature from the task list, and the launcher seems to have lost
>>>> it.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I think it's something worth investigating. Thanks for share it with us.
>>>
>>>
>>> Best, chr
>>>
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>>
>