Re: Desktop-Wide User Status

[Steven Garrity <stevelist silverorange com>]

Sean Middleditch wrote:
> If you're sitting at your computer, do you really need it to tell you
> that you're there?  ;-)
>
> Seriously, what exactly do you mean by self presence?  Advertising to
> other users across the network whether you're around or not?  A
> framework for allowing applications to test if you're present so they
> can notify the other users?
>
> Best bet there, I'd wager, is to D-BUS-ize xscreensaver and whenever it
> kicks in, send a signal, letting any interested apps know you're not
> around.  Would be useful for a whole ton of other stuff, too.  (Power
> saving, etc.)

What got me thinking was just setting myself as "away" in both Gaim and 
Skype and thinking "should I only have to do that once?"

I do remember a Microsoft Researcher mentioning something about "if a 
gas-station urinal can tell when you walk away from it, surely a PC can 
do the same." While it's a good thought, I'm not thinking of anything 
fancy - sounds like Galago already deals with everything I had in mind.

Steven Garrity