[GnomeMeeting-list] Some more comments on the GUI.

["Bruno Hertz" <brrhtz yahoo de>]

OK, I've been reading through our threads and looking over the screen
shots again - especially the 'accounts' dialog was a missing piece in
the puzzle - and actually the design as planned looks pretty great.

A few additional comments though, some more feature than GUI wise:

(1) Call display area

The area where you display caller id and codec for active
(resp. incoming calls when multiple lines are available) could as well
contain the stuff now shown in the status bar, especially call
duration.

That way all call specific data is centrally displayed and logically
organized for the benefit of the user. No space is lost, since you
then might actually remove the otherwise idle status bar area.

XLite example of centralized call display:
http://leafsite.org/pics/softphones/xlite-main-1.jpg


(2) Current Server

Among the servers registered on, the 'current' one is the server where
calls go if not given a complete URL. I.e. dialing a simple number
would dial it on that server.

Now, most softphones require you to go to options and specify a
'default' server or account. This of course is bad.

Iaxcomm is the only exception, as it offers a dropdown selection list
of registered accounts in the main window, and the currently selected
account is the current server ('schioetz' in this case) :
http://leafsite.org/pics/softphones/iaxcomm.jpg

This of course is not bad but rather cool.


(3) Multiple lines

A feature I understand only planned for the future, but why not dwell
on it right now. Since I already included screen caps of other phones,
a look at them might give some good ideas.

In the above XLite cap you see three buttons below the call
display. Those are the three lines XLite offers, no more no less.  New
calls will arrive on a different line than the one you're currently in
and the button 'LED' will blink. Of course you click to accept/switch.

Iaxcomm has that scrollable list below the volume controls. All active
resp. held calls are shown there. A click on a specific line puts
other calls on hold and makes the clicked call active. Clicking on the
empty line enables you to place a new call, while all others are held.

Obviously, that approach is nice. There is no visual limitation of
lines, switching is very easy, and all that is integrated with a
(terse) call display area which is just one line.

Another imaginable approach could be a dropdown list box which lists:

* all calls currently active or held with caller id
* a 'New' item to place a new call (while putting the currently active
  on hold, of course).


Finally, a maybe offtopic remark: if you show the dial input box at
the top all the time (i.e. with all the tabs), it could make sense to
to that with

* current account/server selection
* multiple line chooser
* and maybe even the call display area

as well. E.g. you already show the display area on all tabs. Why not
move it to the top (although it doesn't necessarily need to be
dockable). Also, the current server is linked to the history of the
dial input box. That history contains numbers likely dialed on
different servers, so it'd make sense to group them logically
together.

All the latter, as said, only as starting points for further thoughts.

That's all which comes to my mind right now.

Thanks, Bruno.