Konqueror 4

[Michael S. Mikowski]

Hi Seigo:

Thank you for the thoughtful reply.  Here are then answers to the questions 
you raised.  I hope they are helpful.

On Wednesday 01 November 2006 08:04, Aaron J. Seigo wrote:
> [...] Do you ever actually use more than 2 panes for work [to manage files]
> or is that something you do only for demos?

I do split to 3 panes for work maybe once a week or two, often when I need to 
consolidate from multiple source into a single directory.  Then it is /very/ 
handy for my work (which involves managing clusters of dozens of servers).

> it's a slightly different view from the code ...
While I don't program in C++, I do develop on large scale mod_perl 
applications.  And I know how messy things can get sometimes :)

My point is, as a long time (8 years) Konqueror user, I think splitting the UI 
is a mistake.  It would introduce inconsistencies between two very similar 
UI's, confusing the user.  "Gee, am I in the web browser, or the file 
manager?"  "Why can't I do this here -- oh, I see, I'm not using the browser, 
I'm in the file manager," etc.

By keeping it one application, one is forced to resolve inconsistencies.  By 
splitting the UI, one invites them.

> we're not implementing "Gnome bread crumbs" [...]
Thank you for the screen shot.  And while dolphins bread crumb presentation is 
much nicer, its still "crumby" :)  

> [...]
> > The only benefit to breadcrumbs is navigating back up the tree.
> didn't we just have this discussion? =)
Yes, I think we did.  At least a few people agree with me :)

> > URL could be parsed and highlighted in a manner, e.g.:
> >
> > /usr/local/bin
> > ----|-----|---|
> >
> > Then one could click on the space under, for example, /usr, and be moved
> > to that directory.
>
> use more vertical space, which there is generally less of on most screens
> (doubly so with "widescreen" displays), and provide a cryptic interface
> element under the url? well, i'd be happy to try it out if someone does up
> an implementation but i'm sceptical based on the above.
I believe SGI's Indigo desktop used a similar interface at one time, and I 
recall finding it useful, not cryptic.  Their implementation did not take up 
much vertical space -- the areas under the path were fairly thin.

But I agree, nothing is settled until one has a good mock-up. 

Thanks for listening Seigo, and for helping to make KDE what it is today.

Cheers, 

Mike