[PATCH] Turn Powerdevil suspend notification into a dialog

[Marco Martin]

On Wednesday 23 September 2009, David Nolden wrote:
> Am Mittwoch 23 September 2009 03:22:06 schrieb Aaron J. Seigo:
> > On September 22, 2009, David Nolden wrote:
> > > For sure, the user feels less confused when he's disturbed by a dialog,
> > >  then when he's disturbed by the shutdown of his computer.
> >
> > again, where's the evidence that this is even happening?
> >
> > where is the "my computer turns off and i didn't know it because the
> > notification didn't let me know this"?
>
> I remember that it happened once to me that my computer just shut down and
> I didn't know why. I think at that time I didn't have working suspend, and
> that was on KDE3. But it could happen on KDE4 easily too (Although I have
> working suspend now)

usual thing: yes: there is broken hardware around, but we can't design 
suboptimal softare just because it won't work with some crappy drivers. in 
this case would be way better to disable suspension system-wide altogether

> > > But the result would be something similar to a modal dialog
> > > anyway, as it _must_ disturb the users workflow.
> >
> > you don't need a modal anything to get user attention. and no, you do NOT
> >  need to FORCE a disturbance upon the user. i want to know when i need to
> >  take action, but i don't want to have what i'm doing interrupted
> > forceably for that information to be passed on. the only things that piss
> > me off are things i can't control, such as disk checks on start up (as
> > one example). i am not unique in this way.
>
> But you get disturbed anyway, so isn't it better to get disturbed in a
> familiar and controllable way (dialog) than an uncontrollable way (shutdown
> or suspend)?

it is controllable anyways, and better compared to konqueror looking like 
wanting to suspend the system

> > > Maybe a very prominent
> > > colored, flashing and non-disappearing popup somewhere near the panel
> > > would work as well.
> >
> > well, colored and flashing is probably unnecessary. non-disappearing is
> >  easy; large is easy, too.
>
> Consider my usecase for example. I have two large screens, about 15
> centimers between them, and mostly work on the left one. Notifications
> always pop up in the bottom right corner of the right one. And there is
> often some
> notifications popping up, mostly I simply don't care about them.

probably they should be either popped up in the active screen or perhaps put 
something on the active screen that is somewhat a recap, like a mostly 
transparent version

> If you really want the notification to be noticed, you've got to highlight
> it somehow specially.
>
> > > But dialogs have their advantages too: Everyone notices them,
> > > and everyone knows how to use them.
> >
> > that's a fallacy. people who know how to use a computer know what a
> > dialog looks like because they've seen them before. but there is nothing
> > that says that they will use THIS dialog in the way we are hoping to.
>
> Yes but if you want a reaction within 15 seconds, it's not a perfect idea
> to confront the user with an unfamiliar user-interface. I know that
> average-joe is very confused by everything new.

this parts from the wrong assumption that this mythical "average-joe" is 
perfectably confirtable with the current uis, while i knows several joes that 
are perfectly confortable operating a spectrum analizer, but totally lost in 
doing the most simple operations with any gui of any os

> Anyway when talking about the notification system, if such "demands
> attention" notifications would be shown with a big (maybe blinking)
> exclamation mark on the left side of the panel (near the start menu)
> instead of the right, with a timer that shows how many seconds are left,
> that would probably make sure that everyone notices it.
yes, notifications should also have some data about their "importance", 
perhaps some categories that tells the system ones apart from the normal 
applications ones (-hint- notificationitem categories -hint-)

>
> Greetings, David


-- 
Marco Martin