unity-design team mailing list archive

[Ed Lin <edlin280@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, May 24, 2011 at 10:39 PM, Ian Santopietro <isantop@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Why can't we let the top panel stay and hold the indicators?
>
> 1. Panels/notification bars are used in *every* major OS (Windows's is odd
> at the bottom), from desktops like Ubuntu and OS X to mobile platforms like
> Android and iOS. It's a very familiar paradigm that people are comfortable
> working with.
>
> 2. The panel can hold lots of functionality (Title bar, notifications, BFB,
> Menu) at a low cost to screen real-estate (~24px, I think)
>
> 3. Removing it requires integrating the indicators with the launcher, which
> is not what either of them were designed for.
>

1.)
Why "odd"? it makes much more sense to put less frequently *clicked*
elements to the bottom than to the top! (btw, have you seen
honeycomb?)

Familiarity isn't a good argument because a panel on a screen edge
with a clock and some familiar icons is as familiar on the side as a
panel at the top or bottom. This isn't a question of "paradigms", just
design.

Having said that, I really wouldn't mind a Unity bottom panel that
consists of the launcher items and the classic indicators. In fact I'd
most likely prefer it to any other alternative I've heard so far,
including the two mock-ups of my own or to what's currently available.
Probably not a too popular opinion as everyone would point at it and
say "Windows 7 clone". This brings us to:

2.
It's not about the 24 px, it's about screen edges.

Unity takes up two whole screen edges, it only leaves the remaining
two to app developers. The right side is usually already occupied by a
scroll bar and the lower edge isn't very attractive for putting
controls there apart from image viewers and video players. The top
screen edge is the most valuable space and it should therefore house
the most important controls. Sorry Unity/Ubuntu, that means NOT you ;)

3.)
So? GNOME wasn't designed for a global menu, our western fonts weren't
designed for vertical interfaces...