the next step on the desktop

[Marco Martin]

On Monday 31 January 2011, Ivan Cukic wrote:
> While I tend to agree with the notion that a continued (r)evolution is
> needed, I have a few problems with some of these ideas.
> 
> > * by default, Search and Launch on the desktop
> > * an icon in this S&L that takes you to your desktop folder .. in a file
> > manager.
> 
> SAL is awesome. But it is designed for netbooks. If you start it on a 21"
> screen, you'll see what I mean. While it still looks and works great on
> more inches, it wastes a *lot* of space (the whole desktop).
> 
> Meaning - no other widgets can be added to the desktop, no d'n'd "dumping
> grounds" as Markus put it...
> 
> A launcher is something that is needed on all activities (as in work-
> activity, not as a Plasma /containment/) - with SAL taking the whole
> desktop, would I need another monitor for adding more widgets?
> 
> 
> The idea of merging krunner and SAL and making them more prominent that
> way is great especially if it means kicking off Kickoff (pun intended ;) )
> to plasma-addons and away from the default setup.
> 
> It could even end up as something similar to mockups we had before 4.o.
> Anyone remembers: http://imagebin.org/135379
> 
> > * a new panel layout (TBD: let's work on this together!)
> 
> +1
> 
> > * improve the tasks widget to have some of the nice features of widgets
> > like "smooth tasks" with the mouse over highlights
> 
> +1 and to remove the number limitation of grouped window screenshots
> 
> > * an "activities" widget (i'll hapilly write it) that sits next to the
> > app launcher and when clicked brings up the actvities manager
> 
> Honestly, I think integrating something like that into SAL-desktop-edition
> would be nicer than to pull the current actman
> 
> > * an activities switcher as a kwin effect (!)
> 
> +1
> 
> > * have all activities avaiable in kactivitmanagerd, even if they are
> > "stopped" in plasma-desktop
> 
> ? Activities that are stopped are still in kamd.
> 
> > so, here's my suggestion for 4.7:
> This can be a strategic problem - introducing a big change will definitely
> make some users /unhappy/ and loud about it - and if we do that for 4.7,
> we could stop the stream of new users comming from Gnome (unsatisfied with
> G3).

yeah, i see better to introduce changes at small steps.
for instance, we can put for 4.7 the milestone of screwing  bit more with the 
systray and merge toolbox and krunner (even have the activity chooser ui 
there? I'm a bit intrigued with this idea atm)
while in the meantime the big platform changes will go forward (finish of the 
infrastructure for qml plasmoids, significant progress in activities)

Let's publish and trumpet a roadmap for that:
* in 4.7 watch out for those changes, they would put the basis for the next 
revolution
* market it as a big revolution where -you- can be in (i.e. to get people to 
join)
* as in pre 4.0 start to publish mockups, as imaes as qml, as longer 
writings..
* g3 get released, after a while 4.7 gets released with runners and activities 
much more prominent, but still not too scary, still some months to watch out 
how kde4 vs gnome3 will go as public perception
* for 4.8 enough could be in place to just switch to new things? (like, no 
kickoff by default, something else as dashboard... don't know, but definitely 
something more a change in your face, but around a year from now?

Cheers,
Marco Martin