unity-design team mailing list archive

["Mirek M." <mazelm@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,
As my requests for having an option to put the Ubuntu button + launcher on
the right have been received as insignificant feature requests, I'd like to
explain how Ubuntu button + launcher actually make more sense and improve
usability on the right.

If they were on the right by default, then:

*The whole left side of the screen would be devoted to the current
application*
Right now, you get some system-related commands on the right of the top
panel, application-related commands on the left, and some more
system-related commands on the far left.
Moving the launcher and the Ubuntu button to the right would put all the
system-related commands on the right and all the app-related commands on the
left, so neither the launcher nor the Ubuntu button gets in the way when
working with a single application.

*A "hot corner" wouldn't get in the way*
Keeping application commands separate from system commands is especially
important to workflow when you have areas that activate on hover (e.g.
Ubuntu button). It is extremely annoying and distracting when you
accidentally mouse over a "hot corner"and have to wait a few seconds to get
back to work. As the menu bar and window buttons are aligned left, and as
most toolbars are also left-aligned, a hot corner on the right will be less
likely to be accidentally triggered than a hot corner on the left.

*The application would get the most focus*
As most languages are read from left to right, our focus tends to start at
the left side of the screen. If the goal of Unity is to maintain focus on a
single task, it makes most sense to put the launcher somewhere where it
doesn't distract from the application -- on the right.

*"Tools" would be easier to target*
Most image editors, raster or vector, have a "Tools" sidebar on the left,
which is very easy to target when it is at the edge of the screen, but very
hard to target when there's a launcher at the left edge of the screen.

I hope that this is enough to at least consider moving the launcher to the
right.

Looking forward to follow-up comments,
Mirek