unity-design team mailing list archive

[Niklas Rosenqvist <niklas.s.rosenqvist@xxxxxxxxx>]

 2011/5/23 Ed Lin <edlin280@xxxxxxxxx>
> This would give us a very consistent and structured layout. The
> launcher would consist of icons all having the same size (including
> the BFB) and the context- menu/dash/lenses  would all follow the same
> theme and design.

That's exactly the problem I tried to address. I wanted the new area to not
look like another launcher. I personally dislike all launcher's which I
haven't put there myself. I think they are taking up way too much space and
I don't want to shrink the scale of the launcher either for aesthetic
reasons. My suggestion would too be consistent theme-wise since it would
frame the launcher with the dash button at the top and some quick access
information buttons at the bottom. (Still my design doesn't solve any real
problems, it's just a rough sketch)

> Altogether four icons which I think would leave room enough for app
> icons on smaller screens.

Do you really think that? Four launchers are in my view a lot of extra
launchers. What I tried to achieve with my design was that it shouldn't take
up more space than 2 launchers, and it only took up roughly 1.5.

How are you thinking concerning the indicator's which only interface is
often a drop down menu and only supporting a 16x16 pixels (roughly) sized
icon? How would that go well into a lens? We can't force developers to
create Ubuntu specific panel indicators instead of Gnome as they always have
done.

> It's too cramped, the targets are too small and the major problem is
> the shutdown button, it's not on the screen edge.

They aren't smaller then they are today in the top panel, it's the same
size. And why is it such a problem that the shutdown button isn't in the
corner? I mean it's not close to being the most used panel indicator, you
only use it when you want to shutdown and not during a session on which you
use the others much more frequently.

2011/5/23 Ed Lin <edlin280@xxxxxxxxx>

> On Sat, May 21, 2011 at 4:28 PM, Niklas Rosenqvist
> <niklas.s.rosenqvist@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Here is the mockup:
> > http://i.imgur.com/sl8k6.png
> > If this won't work then maybe we could just move the whole top panel to
> the
> > bottom of the screen and have a "intellihide" function for it or merge it
> > with the launcher:
> > http://i.imgur.com/pgmOw.png
>
> > Please note that this is just ideas I'm throwing out so that we can
> discuss
> > a proper solution.
>
> It's very Windows taskbar like. That's not a good thing IMO.
>
> It's too cramped, the targets are too small and the major problem is
> the shutdown button, it's not on the screen edge. If we want to pull
> off a vertical info area we need to be bolder and bigger. I have never
> seen one on any OS or DE that worked as well as a horizontal panel. I
> don't know if it's possible at all. What I do know is that simply
> vertically stacking panel items is not a solution.
>
> First we need to ask ourselves a few questions:
> What is necessary to really have always visible?
> Do we have some functions that need to be accessible really fast (i.e.
> via a single click on the screen edge/corner)? Which are they?
> There are system and application level elements. Do we separate them,
> do we allow apps to put stuff there at all?
>
> Here's an idea I just had: we could put icons next to each other, in
> violation of Fitts's Law, when we have a single menu for all of them
> which can be accessed by clicking on anywhere on the area, from screen
> edge to launcher edge.
>
> We could for example condense all hardware related elements into one
> launcher icon. It would show a battery, wlan quality and volume
> indicator. Clicking on this icon opens a "bubble" next to it with all
> the typical menu options of the current panel  indicators. It would
> stay open like the dash so you can click multiple things within this
> "hardware lens". Another icon could be reserved for communication,
> social networks, IM, IRC, email. Whenever you get a new notification
> the launcher icon will change accordingly. The third item would be the
> calendar and clock "lens". For other activities that are more
> application level I'd only use the usual launcher overlay and context
> menu options. The corner itself could house a window/workspace manager
> "lens". Clicking it executes a user selected task, the context/hover
> menu (and by that I mean a big one with icons that are quick and easy
> to hit, more like a lens or pie menu) reveals all the other available
> options: workspace, window switcher, show desktop, lock desktop... The
> logout task I'd add to the BFB menu (which needs a major revamp
> anyway) but the system lens would be fitting too.
>
> Altogether four icons which I think would leave room enough for app
> icons on smaller screens. If not the BFB and workspace icons could be
> smaller because they are so easy to hit in the corner. They should be
> stacked beginning in the lower corner to visually separate apps and
> info icons. I think the trash needs to go, it isn't used enough to
> warrant the prominent spot. A trash entry in the nautilus sidebar and
> the home button menu in the launcher should suffice, it could also be
> added to the files&folder lens and of course to the desktop. I know it
> also doubles for deleting launcher items but that should be made more
> discoverable in any case (right now I think new users will all use the
> context menu).
>
> This would give us a very consistent and structured layout. The
> launcher would consist of icons all having the same size (including
> the BFB) and the context- menu/dash/lenses  would all follow the same
> theme and design.
>
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