unity-design team mailing list archive

["balint777@xxxxxxxxx" <balint777@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry Sunil Singh Rana, I posted my mail again to the wrong address...

Widgets mainly are for displaying basic information like mail, weather
data, news feed, facebook notifications, etc without having to open a full
destop program. In my opinion there is no relevant difference in
Microsoft's Tiles-concept, the widgets, or therse badges with counters and
progressbars (like in the iPhone's home or the Unity launcher). Each serve
the same purpose: displaying live and immediate data.
I think rather than implementing widgets, we should extend the launcher
api, with more widgets/controls/or whatever they are called. Enabling the
application to display more sophisticated immediate data (Eg. a weather
launcher-icon could benefit from dynamically changeing its icon to a cloud,
or a sun, display temperature in the counter, also with units. A Facebook
launcher-icon could display tiny icons near its couner, indicating what
kind of event happened. And so on, and so forth...).
With further extending the launcher api we could reach much better
functionality then with widgets, or even tiles. At least as I see.

sincerelly Csonka Bálint

2012/5/29 balint777@xxxxxxxxx <balint777@xxxxxxxxx>

> Widgets mainly are for displaying basic information like mail, weather
> data, news feed, facebook notifications, etc without having to open a full
> destop program. In my opinion there is no relevant difference in
> Microsoft's Tiles-concept, the widgets, or therse badges with counters and
> progressbars (like in the iPhone's home or the Unity launcher). Each serve
> the same purpose: displaying live and immediate data.
> I think rather than implementing widgets, we should extend the launcher
> api, with more widgets/controls/or whatever they are called. Enabling the
> application to display more sophisticated immediate data (Eg. a weather
> launcher-icon could benefit from dynamically changeing its icon to a cloud,
> or a sun, display temperature in the counter, also with units. A Facebook
> launcher-icon could display tiny icons near its couner, indicating what
> kind of event happened. And so on, and so forth...).
> With further extending the launcher api we could reach much better
> functionality then with widgets, or even tiles.
>
>
> 2012/5/29 Sunil Singh Rana <sunil.rana@xxxxxxxxx>
>
>>
>> widgets in
>>
>> On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 4:21 PM, Thorsten Wilms <t_w_@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> On 05/29/2012 03:30 AM, Sunil Singh Rana wrote:
>>>
>>>  *Why not be make Desktop a widget space.* Widgets that are locked or
>>>>
>>>> unlocked (to manage them) by some key combination, or a dedicated mouse
>>>> gesture. We could also put a lens on Dash called Desktop which would
>>>> look like a desktop and will allow us to manage all our widgets.
>>>>
>>>
>>> How about asking "why?" before asking "why not?"
>>>
>> I agree. I guess for the same reason we display some information under
>> the glass sheet, as I mentioned earlier. It gives a sneak peek into the
>> updated information, without having to move my mouse and click somewhere.
>>
>> *Does it appeal to the user? I think it is not very hard to find some
>> data from Google Play to check the number of installs of 'beautiful
>> widgets' ( 100,000 < installs < 500,000). Beautiful widgets are free to
>> download. If we go for HD widgets which costs some 2 dollar per install has
>> the number of installs in the same range. Data shows that widgets do appeal
>> to the user.*
>>
>> In android widgets have been a huge success. In fact, widgets have given
>> android a lot of advantage against Iphone. I keep reading, widgets as often
>> requested feature by Iphone Users, in the upcoming version of iOS.
>>
>> But anyway, regarding why not:
>>> - Users have to become aware of the widget functionality somehow
>>> (otherwise there can be no benefit, only cost)
>>> - It adds a potentially hard to understand distinction between windows
>>> of normal applications and widgets. After figuring out how to manage
>>> windows, users are expected to also figure out how to manage widgets?
>>> - Cost of yet another key combo and/or gesture
>>> - Widgets will need some visibility and stacking behavior that has to be
>>> specified, implemented, tested and documented. The desktop as it is now,
>>> with just the addition of widgets. would mean that any application window
>>> would always be above any widget ...
>>>
>>
>> I get your point and agree that it poses risks.
>>
>>>
>>> A lot of cost and risk. What are the potential benefits, the opportunity?
>>>
>>
>>
>> If I could, I would have the Google Plus, Agenda, Mail, Facebook,
>> twitter, weather widgets on my desktop.  Together, it has the potential to
>> save several clicks.
>>
>>>
>>> What job is there for a "widget", that can't be fulfilled with an
>>> indicator or a small application (perhaps with a custom window appearance)?
>>
>>
>> Well, I roughly answered that. :)
>>
>> I wouldn't like to go to KDE for the widgets only.
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Thorsten Wilms
>>>
>>> thorwil's design for free software:
>>> http://thorwil.wordpress.com/
>>>
>>> --
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>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> सुनील राणा
>>
>> "Unselfishness is more paying only people have not the patience to
>> practice it."
>>
>> " 'I love you' is a wrong sentence as where, there exist 'I' and 'you'
>> love can not. Love is an attribute of the absolute."
>>
>> --
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>>
>>
>
>
> --
> *Csonka Bálint* @913
>
>


-- 
*Csonka Bálint* @913