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

[Nicholas Kaye-Smith]

Picture this...A user has never seen a computer before. He expects all areas
of the screen to be utilized in an effective way. But even if this user sees
KDE 4, he'll see the kmenu (the bottom corner) being used for more than its
worth (even if you take into account fitt's law).

We should not be thinking of the ALI, but rather the whole desktop. Perhaps
my idea could be implemented as a widget (to replace desktop icons) and the
kmenu to have a different design. Perhaps. Perhaps you should look here:
http://www.simplekde.org/node/16
They have some very interesting designs.

In response to the plasmoid idea... yes I considered that too.
However, the current desktop evolved. Watch...
1) Running multiple plasmoids (tasks) means the user needs to split his
screen, or have tabs.
2) Wouldn't it be cool if the tabs were down the bottom and more graphical?
Yeah. Let's do that.
3) Wouldn't it be great if the user could manage the way his screen is split
through window management?
4) And as the number of tasks grow bigger - it would be great if the user
had this button in the corner of their screen and then it expanded to show
the plasmoids to bring up.
5) Oh and lets call these plasmoids programs
6) Not important plasmoids which don't take user input go in the system
tray.

Nicholas

On 11/01/06, Janne Ojaniemi <janne.ojaniemi at nbl.fi> wrote:
>
> On Tuesday 10 January 2006 15:49, Björn Balazs wrote:
> > Am Montag, 09. Januar 2006 23:19 schrieb Nicholas Kaye-Smith:
> > > The goal of a user is to:
> > > Handle data in a productive way.
> > > or Make it possible to handle data in a more productive way.
> > > generally speaking (where the word productive means the eventual
> > > satisfaction of the user).
> >
> > That is true - and leads me to one conclusion: Users do not primarily
> want
> > to use applications. They just have to use apps - because they are the
> > framework in which a user can productivly handle content.
>
> I'm reminded of a blog-entry I made a while ago. I posted my ideas to
> kde-devel as well, but the reception wasn't that enthusiastic. Instead of
> pushing you guys to my blog, I'll just copy/paste the text here:
>
> ===================
>
> The Desktop is The Application
>
> Why do we use separate apps to carry out simple, everyday tasks? Couldn't
> there be a simpler way to carry out those tasks? What I'm proposing is
> somewhat radical, yet very simple in everyday use. Namely: The Desktop is
> The
> Application.
>
> More detailed description: How do we use our systems these days? What do I
> do
> when I decide to type and send a mail to someone? Well, after I have
> decided
> that I want to send some mail, I launch Kmail/Kontact. Using the app I
> then
> type the mail, and send it. But why do I need to launch a whole app just
> for
> something as simple as that? What if I want to read some website? I launch
> Konqueror. What if I want to copy some files around? I launch Konqueror.
> And
> so forth. Do I really need separate apps to do those tasks?
>
> What if we had a plasmoid in the desktop that allows me to do those tasks,
> without having to launch separate apps to do them? Allow me to clarify:
>
> The plasmoid would consist of a textbox (similar to location-texbox in
> Konqueror). Next to the textbox would be an area for handful (3-5 at most)
> of
> buttons that could be used to carry out the task. Underneath the textbox
> would be an area for actually carrying out the task. And that's it.
>
> How could I use that plasmoid? Well, I could type an URL in to the textbox
> (either in the web, or in the filesystem). Contents of that URL would be
> displayed in the area underneath the textbox. The control-button in
> browsing-mode could be Back, Forward, Up and Home (for example). Or if I
> wanted to send an email, I could simply type the address of the recipient,
> and I would then get a text-area underneath the textbox where I could type
> the message. The control-buttons could simply be (for example) "Send" and
> "Attach". Additional buttons aren't really needed for everyday mailing.
> The
> app could also be used to read mail, but I'm still working out the details
> of
> that :).
>
> As you propably noticed already, the capabilities of the plasmoid would be
> limited. But it would still allow the user to carry out most everyday
> tasks,
> without having to launch separate apps to do those tasks. If the user
> wants
> more features, the full-blown apps would still be available.
>
> Now, why have something like this? Well, not all users need all the
> features
> Kmail, Konqueror etc. offer, so having an simple alternative would be
> ideal.
> Also, since the user doesn't have to launch separate apps for his tasks,
> it
> helps keep the system tidy and manageable. Didn't David Faure say that
> no-one
> wants to do windowmanagement? Well, in this case, no windowmanagement is
> required, because the desktop is the application :). The app is always
> there,
> right on the desktop. If the user wants to quickly do something, he could
> do
> it right in his desktop, without having to launch separate apps. Also,
> every
> time we introduce new apps to users, we require him to learn new stuff.
> That
> would not happen with this proposal, since there would be no apps to learn
> really.
>
> Of course, the user could run as many of these plasmoids as he sees fit.
> But
> the fact remains that one plasmoid could only be used for one task at a
> time.
> So the user couldn't really surf the web and write an email at the same
> time,
> using the same plasmoid. But this system is not meant for something like
> that, this is meant for quick and simple tasks. Of course, the user COULD
> use
> the plasmoid for his primary email-client, and he could use it as his
> primary
> web-browser (for example). But then he would lose some of the advanced
> features Kontact and Konqueror offer (tabs etc.). Although in case of
> email,
> all the filters the user has set up would still be applied to messages.
> And
> typing email-addresses could be automatically looked up from the
> Kaddressbook
> etc. those things wouldn't really make the app more complex to use. But
> the
> plasmoid would not have any way to configure options related to those
> features for example, since that would make the app more complex than it
> needs to be.
>
> The examples I have mentioned (web-browsing, email, filemanagement) are
> simply
> a tip of the iceberg. Developers could simply write plugins that added
> functionality to the plasmoid, like they do now with KIO-slaves. I could
> see
> the plasmoid being used for playback of music and video, and doing some
> simple text-editing.
>
> ==================
>
> I short, the plasmoid is simply about "doing things". When typing and
> sending
> email, instead of launching email-app, using it to type new email and then
> send it, the user simply types the mail. No apps to launch, just content
> he's
> working on.
> _______________________________________________
> Panel-devel mailing list
> Panel-devel at kde.org
> https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/panel-devel
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.kde.org/pipermail/panel-devel/attachments/20060110/977571c4/attachment-0001.html