Re: [Usability]From application- to user-centric configuration

[Seth Nickell <snickell stanford edu>]

Its an idea I've been playing with as a narrower point in the broader
context of "commoditizing" certain applications. It does seem like a lot
of the most basic configuration, particularly required settings (as
opposed to preferences, or optional settings) such as server addresses
could be shared across GNOME. It really wouldn't be hard to establish
some common GConf keys for this sort of thing. *shrug*.

I've already exported a few of the more generally interesting Nautilus
settings like this. We just need to define schemas in libgnome, and
poof, you have a standard ;-)

-Seth

On Thu, 2002-03-07 at 14:44, Tommi Komulainen wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I've been wondering, do you think it would be possible to get rid of the
> current application-centric configuration model anytime soon?
> 
> Personally, I'm getting sick and tired of configuring new browser, or
> mail client, to the same settings I've already configured to countless
> other applications.  Proxies, fonts, languages, java/javascript on/off,
> homepage, bookmarks, e-mail address, IMAP servers, mail folder
> locations, addressbook, you name it.
> 
> Every single time I want to try a new application, I have to enter the
> same information over and over again.  Why do I have to do that?
> 
> For example, I have one e-mail address you can use to send me mail.
> I don't have one you can use to send mail to my mutt, another for
> evolution, third for sylpheed, and so on.
> 
> I think the configuration of such things should not revolve around the
> application, but the functionality of the application, or sometimes the
> user.  When configuring evolution I'm not really thinking about
> configuring evolution, I'm thinking I'm configuring a mail client.  When
> I want to try some other mail client I only wonder why I have to do that
> all over again.  Didn't I just configure a mail client?  Why can't the
> applications share that configuration?
> 
> Do you think something like this could be used in GNOME?  I think it
> would significantly reduce the configuration effort of users.  Diversity
> and having the possibility to choose are good, but when you have to
> repeat everything again and again for every choice, it becomes a PITA.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Tommi Komulainen                                 Tommi Komulainen iki fi
> GPG 1024D/68388EE6    6FD6 DD79 EB38 BF6F 3533  09C0 04A8 9871 6838 8EE6