Development/Ideas/GNOME/Default Settings

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Suggested Gnome default settings used by Mandriva:

Before adding a new proposal, think about it should be filed here or as an upstream enhancement request on GNOME bugzilla.

Contents

[edit] Applets

[edit] Sound applet at the top right corner

Submitted by liberforce 11:38, 29 October 2007 (CET)

In Mandriva 2008, the applets are in the following order (left-to right):

  1. network status
  2. beagle search
  3. mandriva online
  4. sound mixer
  5. date/time
  6. window selector applet

I think mixer applet that should be in the top right corner is the sound mixer applet. The main advantage of the corners of the desktop, it that they have an infinite size: you can close your eyes and still be able to interact with the applet. The sound volume can be controled with the scroll wheel, hovering the applet and using the wheel. So moving the mixer applet to the top righ corner gives you these advantages:

  • people using the computer as a music player can turn their screen off, to save power, but are able to blindly adjust the volume. They don't need to turn the screen on for that.
  • blind people, who frequently use the sound, can adjust the volume easily.
  • when that youtube video sound is disturbingly too high, or you raised the sound and forgot to lower it, you can lower the sound in less than half a second.

The window selector could then be moved at the bottom-left corner, near the windows list.

Comments:

we are following GNOME upstream order for . It would be great to propose this change on GNOME usability list and see what they think about it. Regarding your example for Fitt's Law, I'd say :

  • the "blind" people is a wrong example, they use accessibility framework (orca) and not mouse pointer to access their desktop
  • a lot of people have multimedia keyboard these days which are binding volume control directly.
  • you can control volume in youtube directly, no need to change full system volume settings..

Quick check of other distributions : Fedora 8 : window selector applet => out, mixer applet : top right SUSE 10.3 : bottom right : show desktop (and just before, mixer) but they don't have a top panel Ubuntu 7.04 : top right : shutdown button. mixer is before clock applet in their setup

The real question would be : do we remove window selector applet completely (is there people using it) and put mixer applet to top right instead ? Frederic Crozat 15:40, 12 November 2007 (CET)

[edit] Launchers

[edit] Remove Yelp launcher from Top panel, use System menu launcher instead

Comments:

done in Mandriva 2008.0 Frederic Crozat 15:39, 12 November 2007 (CET)

[edit] Application customization

[edit] Nautilus

Submitted by liberforce 14:16, 27 June 2007 (CEST)

Evaluate the possibility of patching spacial Nautilus to open in a new window and close the parent with left click, and keep the parent with middle click (inverts left click and middle click comportment). This will prevent newcommers from having too many windows open, and avoid the necessity of too much double middle-mouse clicking, which is much harder than left double click. The default comportment is what lead me to switch to single click (had enough of too much middle mouse double-clicking). It's especially annoying on laptops, as you need to press both buttons to emulate the wheel click

Comments:

These changes should be proposed upstream. We shouldn't do such drastic changes to applications. Frederic Crozat 15:39, 12 November 2007 (CET)

[edit] Themes

[edit] Use Glossy as default theme

Use Glossy as default GNOME theme with current IaOra Gray/Blue/Orange color schemes

Comments:

Refused, we are shipping a consistent theme for Mandriva desktops, both GNOME and KDE. We won't change our default theme. Frederic Crozat 15:39, 12 November 2007 (CET)

[edit] Menus

[edit] Use the SLED menu

GNOME may have a new menu, SLED alike - see [1] (Idea by Piotr Krakowiak:)

Comments:

Sounds like a very bad idea. SuSe had much trouble with their menu (memory leaks, stability), and even have difficulties in make the GNOME community accept this new menu for inclusion in GNOME. So it's pointless copying them unless it's integrated in GNOME some day - liberforce 11:43, 29 October 2007 (CET)

[edit] Rejected Proposals

[edit] Add Trash Applet to bottom panel

Add Trash Applet to bottom panel (at right corner).

Comments:

I do not see any reason why this would be useful, because it permanently takes up precious space in the panel for something you don't use very often. We should not copy Ubuntu... - Frederik Himpe 11:41, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
I agree with Frederick here. Moreover, if we follow the Ubuntu way, we should make sure there is nothing on default desktop at all. And I'm not convinced it is a good idea - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)

[edit] Add Weather Report applet at the middle of Top panel

Comments:

It is probably not that easy to select the correct location by default - Frederik Himpe 11:41, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
Applets add to login time, this one doesn't seem useful enough to me to spend that time. reinouts 00:07, 28 May 2007 (CEST)
take too much space and we are no reliable way to set location and even temperature standard - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)

[edit] Move Show Desktop Button applet from right corner to left in button panel

Comments:

Personally I am used to finding it in the left corner, but if upstream Gnome decided to put it in the right corner, just leave it there, it's easy enough to move it for those who are used to the previous setting - Frederik Himpe 11:41, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
Agree with Frederick too, better to follow upstream, unless we have real reasons to do so - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)

[edit] Add a "Log Out..." button to the top panel

Put it instead of Window Selector applet in top panel at right corner

Comments:

I do not see any advantage to this, it's easy enough to add it yourself if you really want this- Frederik Himpe 11:41, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
The Window Selector applet is useful. Is System > Logout hard to find? And why Logout but not Shutdown? reinouts 00:07, 28 May 2007 (CEST)
Same opinion as Frederick and reinouts - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)

[edit] Put Tomboy Applet in Top panel next to Notification Area

As Tomboy replaced the sticky notes applet in GNOME 2.20.

Comments:

Please do not start it by default, it is written in C#, and that means that it rather heave for older machines - Frederik Himpe 11:41, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
We shouldn't add too much applets by default on panel. And even if Tomboy is a great application, it is more intensive on system, because of C# - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)

[edit] Add a gnome-screenshot launcher in top panel

Comments:

Normal people don't make screenshots very often, so by default having it in program menu and assigned to Print Screen button is enough. - Frederik Himpe 11:41, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
screenshot tool was hidden by upstream because there is no really argument on why people would want to start it from menu while it is already accessible from PrintScreen and alt-PrintScreen button - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)

[edit] Customize Epiphany toolbar buttons

  • Epiphany: View -> Toolbars -> Customize toolbars:
    • In "Toolbar button labels" switch from "default" to "Text beside icons"
    • Move "Address Entry" to top toolbar
    • Remove "Smaller" and "Zoom" buttons from toolbar, also "Bookmarks" (use Bookmarks menu instead)
  • Put "New Tab" button next to "Back" in left corner
  • Put "Print" button next to gnome thumbnail in right corner, with a "Separator" between Address Entry and Print

Comments:

  • Epiphany: View -> Toolbars -> Customize toolbars:
    • In "Toolbar button labels" switch from "default" to "Text beside icons"
Epiphany should use Gnome's default settings for consistency with other Gnome applications. So do not change this - Frederik Himpe 11:41, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
Epiphany is already doing following standard by default - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)
    • Move "Address Entry" to top toolbar
Not sure: keep in mind that not everyone has a big and or wide screen - Frederik Himpe 11:41, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
Agreed with Frederik - reinouts 00:07, 28 May 2007 (CEST)
Agreed with Frederik and reinouts - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)
    • Remove "Smaller" and "Zoom" buttons from toolbar, also "Bookmarks" (use Bookmarks menu instead)
I think they are useful enough to keep them there. - Frederik Himpe 11:41, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
The bookmarks menu is not a 1:1 replacement for the Bookmarks Editor. The Editor has already been removed from the GNOME menus, let's not make it even more difficult to find. Also, (+) and (-) are very useful because of all those webpages written with IE in mind. reinouts 00:07, 28 May 2007 (CEST)
I don't see the need for those changes - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)
  • Put "New Tab" button next to "Back" in left corner
Bad idea. Muscle memory expects Back as leftmost button on the toolbar. Also, it's easy enough to open a new tab, a toolbar button is not needed.
Let's not change UI, specially compared to other browsers. People are free to edit toolbars if they want to - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)
  • Put "Print" button next to gnome thumbnail in right corner, with a "Separator" between Address Entry and Print button
Do people need to print web pages that often? reinouts 00:07, 28 May 2007 (CEST)
It seems all those "suggestions" should be reported upstream. I'm not willing to patch applications UI - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)

[edit] Force Nautilus to open in browser mode by default

Enable "Always open in browser windows" but, also, disable Main toolbar (View -> Main toolbar...)

Comments:

Disabling the toolbar seems like a terrible idea for usability to me - Frederik Himpe 11:41, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
Bad idea. Spatial mode was chosen as GNOME default for good reason, it requires less organizational/hierarchical thinking than browser mode. Many people have difficulity with that, so let's not make the same mistake Ubuntu made and break it. - reinouts 23:51, 27 May 2007 (CEST)
Agreed with both comments, we don't want to do like Ubuntu, just because Ubuntu did something. And I still think spatial mode is a good mode for most people (me included) - fcrozat 11:30, 31 May 2007 (CEST)
I'm against that "Ubuntuization" too... Spatial mode is GNOME default and should be kept. - liberforce 14:10, 27 June 2007 (CEST)
Retrieved from "http://wiki.mandriva.com/en/Development/Ideas/GNOME/Default_Settings"
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