unity-design team mailing list archive

[Jo-Erlend Schinstad <joerlend.schinstad@xxxxxxxxx>]

Den 27. aug. 2011 04:57, skrev Eylem Koca:
> Just wanted to chime in and say that hiding window control buttons
> doesn't bother me at all.
>
> What bothers me is the lack of a "throw-the pointer-to-reveal-Dash"
> location on the screen. With current design, you have to aim at the
> Ubuntu button and click on it. I really really think this makes the
> Dash too far away from the user; it should be more prominent and
> accessible. It should be more than "yet-another-start-menu". Am I the
> only one who thinks this way??

I don't think it's important to show the dash by hovering over anything. But
how we show the launcher needs to change somewhat. I'm not entirely sure 
how,
but as it currently works, it's not comfortable.

I have an idea. How about using the "strength" of which you press the 
pointer
towards the screen edge to decide how quickly it appears? That is, if 
you move
it slowly towards the edge, then the wait is longer and if you move it 
quickly
towards the edge, then it is displayed immediately. It might even be 
possible
to make it so that really slamming it into the edge would display the 
dash? The
distance would also play a role in this, using the inertia to understand 
what the
user wants. If you only "bump into" the edge, then that might be because of
the way you interact with the window. But if you really slam it from ten
centimetres away, then that has to mean you really wanted to hit it.

Perhaps it would also make sense to lock the pointer at the top of the
launcher when you follow it upwards? That way you could just move the 
pointer
to the left and up in order to hit the button and the effect would be 
very similar
to what we had before. This would be a very unnatural movement if your goal
was to close the window, so I don't think this would be disruptive in 
any way.
And of course, you could just move the cursor around the button if you 
really
wanted to get to the controls. If this is done, then the Ubuntu button 
needs to
fill its area so that it becomes easier to hit. Currently it's possible 
to place the
pointer between the Ubuntu button and the panel so that clicks don't 
have any
effect. I actually think the Ubuntu button should fill that space in any 
case, to
show that it is a different button.

Best of both worlds? Just a thought.

Jo-Erlend Schinstad