Re: [Usability] Reasoning behind default panel setup?

[Daniel Borgmann <daniel borgmann gmail com>]

2006/1/14, David Tenser <djst mozilla gmail com>:
> So is there anyone having a comment on the proposed default layout of
> the panel?
>
> http://www.djst.org/files/gnomepanel/
>
> I think discussing this is important. If not for improving the current
> situation, then maybe this discussion will at least help motivate why
> things are the way they are at the moment. As I've understood it, there
> is no clear, written reason for the default layout.

This mockup shows very well why I am absolutely opposed to a single
panel layout. This one-on-one Windows copy layout has been attempted
by several distributions already (like the Java Desktop) and I never
liked the idea. Just some points:

- The foot icon is just no match to a real desktop menu. It doesn't
even make any sense unless you are trained by Microsoft that bottom
left equals "big all-encompassing menu". Aside from the
discoverability issues, it also uses a much less efficient layout.
Your idea of using a three-column menu is certainly interesting, but
also has the potential to look and feel very confusing (cluttered),
especially with submenus popping up all over.

- The trash applet has to be either large or in a corner, otherwise it
becomes extremely tedious for repetitive drag and drop operations
(which is still the main point of the icon, to drop stuff into it). On
your mockup it is neither and it also looks ugly in the middle of the
panel like that. Removing the icon would be even worse, since on the
desktop it is usually not visible and thus not useful for dropping
stuff either. The trash applet has actually been one of my favorite
new features and it mainly became feasible because of the dual-panel
setup.

- The size of the workspace areas makes my wrist hurt from just
looking at it. :P

And even with all those ugly compromises to squeeze everything on a
single small panel, it still feels cramped. There is hardly any space
left to add additional launchers and forget about actually adding a
panel applet. You are basically forcing the user to create a new panel
to make use of this possibility. I just can't see anything good about
this.

There are two arguments I can resonate with: That icons look better
with 32px (I actually use two panels with a height of 32px, on
1280x1024) and that the default panel layout might take too much space
on small screen devices (especially notebooks). But those issues aside
I find the dual panel setup vastly superior, so I would much rather
see discussion about creative solutions to those problems (doing the
same as Windows 95 hardly qualifies as creative). Maybe there could be
an alternative panel setup for notebooks and low resolutions, maybe
even a vertical panel or an autohide panel.

I'm also curious how Apple gets away with their menu and dock layout,
considering that it takes up even more space. Apple notebooks are all
the rage after all, aren't they?

- Daniel