Plasma-Netbook Mockups

[Markus]

Written by MoRpHeUz — April 9, 2010 @ 19:01:
> Hi! Regarding some points:
> 
> – Exposè vs List of Windows
> 
> A) Most (if not all) netbooks today have a graphics card capable of doing
> composite.

Graphic cards: Yes. Drivers: Not often.
There were several announcements of ARM-based netbooks. Is any of the current 
drivers even compatible with GPUs that work in conjunction with ARM CPUs?
Does Nouveau work with Tegra for example? I tried to look it up a while ago 
and found nothing.


> And if composite is not available, it fallbacks exactly to a
> list of windows, so it seems that your idea is “quite already
> implemented”.

I on purpose made "my" menu switch between apps and not individual windows.



> B) From our research with users, they usually do not open that many
> applications on a netbook.

Certainly possible. Your research is likely better than my limited "research" 
using a handful of netbook owners and some market statistic about people who 
replace their PCs with netbooks.

One of the goals of my proposal was to enable easier switching between many 
apps without hurting the work flow for users who don't run many apps.


> However if this happens, then it would be a
> good idea to think about a good solution for “too many windows” and Exposè
> effect.
> 
> – Titlebar
> 
> Without closing the application, from your mockup there is no way to switch
> between activities without closing the application as the app’s menu is
> using the panel.

If by activities you mean the pages?
Well, the app doesn't need to be closed in that case, only hidden/minimized.

My rationales:
A.) Vertical space is more important than switching pages if one application 
has focus.
B.) Netbooks are probably usually used for single apps in full screen. My 
proposal was made on this assumption, even though I'd like to enable users to 
switch between 10 apps if they choose to run that many.

Just now I had another idea: Wouldn't it be possible to implement multitouch 
gestures on touchpads that support them? Eg swipe left/right to switch between 
activities/pages?


> What if I open an application that has a lot of menu
> options ? What should we do in this case ?

Same as with normal windows of Qt apps: Show an expander.


> Apple “fixes” this on OSX
> limiting the number of menu options that one can create.
> 
> The window’s actions on the right are already implemented as a plasmoid and
> there is no need to show the minimize button: if you want to switch
> between applications you just do it, if you want to go to an activity you
> just use the panel for that and if you want to close, the button is there.
> In your mockup you’re duplicating the functionality: the same action can
> be triggered by the list of windows and in the right side of the panel.

No, it's not duplication. Here's why: In my proposal the menu allows to hide 
the whole application = all windows at once.
The Minimize button only hides the active window. If you're running only 
single-window apps, it does not make a difference, but if an app has multiple 
windows, it is a difference.



> – Bigger screens vs Average netbook user
> 
> In our research with *average* netbook users (not geeks), they usually
> don’t connect output monitors/keyboards and specially they don’t do much
> multitasking (when they do, the applications are always maximized anyway).

I'm not arguing against your research. My proposal is not targeted against 
them, but just a collection of ideas that aims to make it easier if one user 
decides to either connect external monitors and/or do more multitasking.
Btw, I know no geek with a netbook. Are geeks even allowed to posses such 
things? :-)


> That’s why we took the path of making all applications to run maximized
> too. This came from user feedback.

In my proposal all apps are fullscreen by default as well.


> One thing that we could improve, is the ability to switch to a regular
> Plasma desktop view if there is a monitor plugged in, as this is the case
> where you have a bigger place to do your mess

A fried of mine (non-geek) uses such a setup and in fact she's the reason why 
I even started to think about Plasma Netbook. The built-in screen is 10 inches 
or so and her traditional GNOME layout totally cramps the screen. The external 
22 inch screen OTOH is almost empty.
Then I asked myself what could be done to still use the small screen 
effectively and make it easy to move windows to the big screen.

I think my proposal helps some people while OTOH hurting no one. That said, 
it's difficult to know without actually trying this out and I only have a 
15,4" notebook, so I couldn't try my own proposal even if someone implemented 
it... :-(