unity-design team mailing list archive

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

 2011/5/26 Jo-Erlend Schinstad <joerlend.schinstad@xxxxxxxxx>
> The biggest benefit I see, is the calmness it brings to my work
> environment.

That's funny :) It's the exact opposite for me. I like having the top of the
screen free since my eyes most often scan the top part of the screen. A top
panel/global menu is always there to provide information. With the default
Windows taskbar I'm never distracted of it, but when a top panel is there
I'm always fed with some kind of information in the periphery. It would be
easier to describe the situation by picturing yourself standing in a cabin
on a mountain, gazing out the window on the landscape (top panel situation).
Compared to standing on the cabins balcony and only leaning on the railing
and having nothing but the sky above your head.

Do you understand what I mean? It feels kind off crowded.

2011/5/26 Jo-Erlend Schinstad <joerlend.schinstad@xxxxxxxxx>

> On 26. mai 2011 16:19, Ed Lin wrote:
>
>> On Thu, May 26, 2011 at 2:15 PM, Jo-Erlend Schinstad
>> <joerlend.schinstad@xxxxxxxxx>  wrote:
>>
>>  I was very sceptical about the global menu to begin with, but I gave it
>>> a try and now I really like it.
>>>
>> ...
>>
>>> I have no problems with global menus.
>>> It does take a little time to get used to, but I think the benefits are
>>> worth the effort.
>>>
>> I'm always interested in opposing views. Could you share what exactly
>> are the benefits for you, what do you like about, what do you prefer
>> to what you had before, how do you use it, netbook, single-tasking,
>> always maximized or desktop, multiple windows....?
>>
>
> Thank you. Yes, I'll be happy to describe that, of course.
>
> I use it on a 15" laptop, a 11" subnotebook and on my desktop
> which has a 24" screen running in 1920x1080. I like it for a
> number of reasons.
>
> The biggest benefit I see, is the calmness it brings to my work
> environment. I was more than a little surprised by this. I had
> never considered the menus to be distracting in any way, but
> once they were gone, then I realised they had been. Really.
> I think I want to compare it to the sound of my subnotebook.
> It really isn't noisy at all and I don't pay attention to it, but when
> I switch it off, then I certainly notice and appreciate the sudden
> silence. Most of the time, I have no use for the menus at all,
> so why should they bother my eyes all the time? It's like a
> waiter who sits down at your table waiting for you to ask for
> something. Sure you can ignore the waiter, but I dare say
> you'd still be a little distracted. Most of the time, I know exactly
> what I want and if I need a menu, I know where to find it and
> how to use it.
>
> That brings me to the next benefit. It's much less of an issue
> for me, but I do think it's beneficial to have the menus at the
> same place all the time. I came from Windows and not Mac,
> so for me, it was a rather significant change, but I was
> determined to keep an open mind and give it a real chance.
> And while I don't think it's a huge improvement, I definitely
> think it's an improvement. I press alt and look straight at them.
> I do, however, think that the menus should be prepended with
> the icon of the focused window. Menus seldom need all the
> space they're given in any case, so I don't think that's an issue.
> The icon would help create a mental connection between the
> menu and the focused window. The only negative side I can
> see about the "disconnection" between a window and its menu
> is when you let focus follow the mouse pointer. If you have
> tiled your windows and the focus follows the pointer, then
> you might focus another window on your way to the menu,
> causing the menu to change. However, I've never understood
> why anyone would want to do that. I always move the cursor
> _away_ from the focused window in order to avoid distraction.
> But it might be something to consider if this is something that
> many people do. Perhaps global menu and focus follows pointer
> should be mutually exclusive options?
>
> On my desktop, I tile my windows and use workspaces
> extensively. Many windows has traditionally meant many visible
> menus and then they become not only distracting, but annoying
> because they start to waste a considerable amount of space.
> Also, if I have many terminal windows open, then I'd also have
> many identical menus on my screen. It is possible to remove
> the menu from a gnome-terminal window, but that shouldn't be
> required. It should be the opposite and that might be worth
> considering: add a menu item to the window menu (right click
> titlebar) where you can choose that this application should not
> use the global menu. "Attach/Detach menu"? There might be
> use cases for that, although I can't think of any at the moment.
>
> By the way; do you remember what it says on the Hitchhikers
> Guide to the Galaxy? «DON'T PANIC!». I certainly won't miss
> having 8-10 help-menus staring me in the face all the time. :)
>
> Thanks.
>
> Jo-Erlend Schinstad
>
>
>
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