[Panel-devel] The ALI: do we really need or want it?

[Janne Ojaniemi]

On Saturday 07 January 2006 13:48, Alejandro Exojo wrote:
> El Viernes, 6 de Enero de 2006 16:57, Janne Ojaniemi escribió:
> > I
> > think that users are not interested in using applications as such, they
> > want to use their content (documents, music, websites etc.).
>
> I don't think so.

For most cases, what I say is true, IMO.

> Think that maybe you just use your music files with your 
> media player, but other people might want to edit them in an audio editing
> application. Same happens for HTML files. Sometimes you want to see them,
> and sometimes you want to edit them (if you are a web developer).

Yep. But usually you just want to view/use them, not edit them. I bet for the 
average user, they spend 99% of their www-time in viewing content, and 1% in 
editing content (in this case, HTML-files. Note: using web-forms and the like 
is still "viewing content", IMO.). And if the user is a web-developer, the 
apps would still be there. Hell, he could set up tasks with the websites he's 
working on. He could edit them just fine.

Same thing for music: I listen to music quite often, but I honestly can't 
remember when was the last time I _edited_ the music I have. I did rip some 
music few months ago, but there's nothing in the content-centric menu's that 
prevent me from ripping music.

I can see the same pattern emerging that I have seen so often before: People 
look at suggestions through the eyes of a power-user. And they notice that 
this suggestion might make editing the content more difficult (it doesn't 
really), and when doing so, they forget the fact that most users don't care 
about editing their content, they just want to use the content. I'm a 
power-user, but it has been several years since I last edited a HTML-file. I 
have lots and lots of music, but I haven't edited my music practically never.

Right now, KDE (and other desktops as well) work so that the user has to first 
know what each application does. He's then expected to start the correct 
application, and he then uses that application to access the content. My 
suggestion removes the need to start the application, since the user simply 
accesses the content. How would I listen to my music right now in KDE? First, 
I start Amarok, then I navigate to my music inside Amarok, and start to play 
it back. With my suggestion. the first step for me would be to select the 
music I want to listen, and the playback starts automatically. No need to 
select & start an app, no need to use that app to select music. I simply 
select the music I want to listen, and I'm done with it. The number of steps 
is reduced, the time it takes to start the playback is reduced, and everyone 
is happy :).