unity-design team mailing list archive

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

I agree, the best idea so far is moving the panel to the bottom instead of
having it on top. Though this doesn't help in improving vertical screen
space, only application functionality.

2011/5/24 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...
>
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