Re: Object Icons-Desktop objects-evolution of applets and desktop icons

[Rodrigo Moya <rodrigo gnome-db org>]

On Mon, 2003-02-10 at 21:03, nestor d v wrote:
> Dear Sirs:
> I am new to this list, hi you all.
> My name is Nestor Diaz, I have made many logos, icons and splash screens
> for linux software and mostly for gnome apps (eg. xpad, diasce,
> gproftpd, metadistros, tuxcall, gnome-mlview)
> I would like to call your atention to the following webpage:
> http://slicker.sourceforge.net/info.php
> It's little bit approach to the desktop tools: desktop icons, taskbars,
> etc.
> Well, in fact Object Desktop sofware for windows, has done something
> similar years ago http://www.stardock.com/products/odnt/odnt2002.jpg.
> Also Litestep www.litestep.net has some modules with similar
> functionality.
> The idea is to take all advance of icons and space on the desktop to be
> more productive. Icons, nowadays mostly don't show any information but
> an image relative to the program they start.
> By giving it extra stuff they can be more useful. It's similar to the
> applets, but, why have an email notification applet and an evolution
> icon in the desktop, when the desktop icon could notify itself incoming
> mail, etc? This follows the present working line of free software UI
> designers about Integrating the Desktop.

An idea on how to do this could be to add a new entry to .desktop files
that specify a Bonobo component that is to be launched on mouse over the
icon. Then, the panel could load the component when the mouse passes
over the icon, and the component would do whatever it needs (display a
list of contacts for evolution, a lis of bookmarks for galeon, etc).
Also, the panel could keep in memory the components, so that it just
have to start them once.

cheers