[Panel-devel] Why do users open up a start-menu?

[Vincent Weber]

Hello,

The main question is not what the start-menu should be, but why someone
actually opens it up. What this project assumes is that if one wants to
start doing something they need to open up the start menu. Otherwise nothing
can be done. WRONG! This is one of the problems you try to solve WITHIN the
start-menu . First you look at your desktop and to do something it takes a
mouseclick before one can actually be doing something.

Throw away the start-menu? Most users make shortcuts on the desktop so they
can instantly acces something. Look at your own house. How much do you use
the fire-extinguisher? Probably never, or I hope so. But IF you need it you
need it fast. If you never used an application before, let's say you just
installed one, you have to serieusly search because its never been used
before. See what I mean? And I don't mean it's just for just-installed apps.

"Throwing away the start-menu? Good idea!" -Not really; you would have the
entiry menu on you desktop wich takes away a LOT if workspace. The main idea
why this project is started anyway is to make a GUI that's easyer to use,
faster to use and more productive. Change the entire GUI not just the
start-menu!! The reason why it's not so good is because it is actually
there!

Your are now at the beginning of this project. My suggestion is that you
blow off the work you have done so far and start over with it. A new start
that focus on the entire GUI.
"Desktop computing has changed radically in the last 20 years,
yet our desktops are essentially the same as they were in 1984.
It's time the desktop caught up with us." -Indeed! So forget about the
start-menu and focus on the entire GUI as ONE. The GUI the user looks at
covers the entire screen, not just the start-menu.

"The start-menu is just a part of the Plasma project." -In the end you will
have a new GUI that basicly is the same as all the older ones but will look
like it's new because it will be better organised.

Should we be still using windows, icons, taskbars and a 2d envirement? Use
the GRAPHICS card to deal with the GRAPHICAL user invirement and let the CPU
deal with the applications. This way there is much more memmory (on the
motherboard) and CPU power available for other not-KDE stuff. This requires
games to run in full screen for KDE to be unloaded from the graphics card.
Playing games, like Unreal Torunament 2004 and Half-Life2, in windowed mode
is a stupid idea anyway because playing these games windowsed, use all the
keys and your mouse to be controlled.

Whoah! You might think :-)

Good luck!

Vincent Weber
weber.vincent at gmail.com
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