Re: Default configuration for the Panel

[Oliver Logghe <loki frenetic com>]

On 18 Apr 2001 11:03:56 -0300, Juliano Soares dos Santos wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I use GNOME for a long time now, but never get involved because I was (am)
> really shy of my english. But after read the 'pearls' on mailing lists I get
> a little encouraged ;-)
> 
> Well, to the question: In your opinion, what's the best default
> configuration for the Panel (size, position, applets, launchers, etc)?
> 
> For me the Ximian's default (a menu panel at the top + a standard sized
> panel at the bottom) is terrible:
> 1 - It's very space consuming. Imagine run GNOME on 640x480. Only the panels
> take 24+48 pixels.
> 2 - Duplicate access/information. The program menu at the top left is almost
> the same of the foot menu at the bottom left. You can access the running
> programs by the tasklist applet or by the icon at the top right (1.4).
> 
> >From the screenshots that I have seen on the net, other options are:
> a) Only the menu panel (the mac inspiration)
> b) Only the standard sized panel at the bottom (the default GNOME, I think)
> c) A tiny sized panel at the bottom (the windows solution)
> 
> I know this look like a dummy question, but I think defaults are really
> important, so we need to discuss them.
> 
> Juliano Soares dos Santos

I have to agree that Ximian's default is pretty bad, especially to new
users who don't really know how to change the panel configuration.

It might be worth considering a global configuration wizard to be run
the first time a new user logs in. This could be used to configure not
just panels, but also preferences for the WM and so on. Obviously there
should still be a sensible set of defaults to build on, as well as a
well placed 'use defaults' button on the first page.

I think that, if well designed (big if), such a wizard would be helpful
not only in giving new users a comfortable initial setup but also in
acquainting them with the general structure of the GNOME environment
("Now we will configure your panels. Panels are used for launching
applications and for displaying information such as running tasks or the
current time.") and where to go to change things later ("To change these
settings later, right click on the panel and go to panel->properties.").
This wouldn't be absolutely succesful of course, but even a little
orientation would be better than the empty desktop they are confronted
with now. Somewhere on developer.gnome.org is a little summary of a Sun
usability test: most of the participants had a hard time doing something
simple like adding a different clock to the panel, or even knowing what
the foot menu did. Clearly some of the blame lies with the interface,
but a little orientation will always be necessary for migrating users.

I think this is an often overlooked solution to the more general problem
of having lots of options for advanced users, but still allowing novices
some flexibility as well. Going through a well designed wizard once or
twice ought to give even a novice enough orientation to find and tweak
individual settings later on, even if they don't know what absolutely
every checkbox in the options dialog does.

Just a thought.