[ubuntu-art] Quick user switching panel applet. OT?

[George Brooke]

I like the idea of a recently used applications applet which would show 
icons for say the last five programs you launched from the menu.

Andrew Laignel wrote:
> I totally agree with this.
>
> Only functions that are used on an extremely regular basis should have 
> an icon on the desktop.  I do like the way Ubuntu has a 'places' menu 
> along with 'applications' as if your going to do something then it's 
> either going to involve a) opening a file or b) running a program 
> though, but too many icons just leads to clutter and creates confusion.
>
> I'd go as far as to say that I seriously doubt more than 80% of the 
> general population, if exposed to Ubuntu, would ever use the button.  It 
> really shouldn't be there as it doesn't deserve the prominence.  I also 
> think the addition of the power off button on the main bar is also silly 
> for the same reasons - your only ever going to use it max once per session.
>
> I think the power button position is a response to the anti-MS trolling 
> of 'You have to click Start to shut down, lol' which is a ridiculous 
> complaint.  From a usability point of view calling the button 'Start' 
> and making it an entirely different colour draws the attention of the 
> users to it.  Metaphorically it means 'Start doing things here'.
>
> Real attention I think should be paid to the Gnome UI layout.  As far as 
> I know it is exactly the same as upstream Gnome and I have seen no 
> significant changes or improvements since Warty.  There are many ways it 
> can be improved upon to streamline workflow, save space and improve 
> usability.  Since Ubuntu is 'Linux for human beings' I believe this 
> should be given a top priority as user experience is key to retaining 
> your userbase.
>
> As an example from Windows XP, the 'new style' Start box has on the left 
> hand side a list of your most commonly used applications.  I've set it 
> to display 12 at once and you can pin items to it permanently.  As a 
> result if you use an app more than a couple of times in future is never 
> more than two clicks away with no need to scan a list for it.
>
> Gnome at the moment still has functionality akin to Windows 98 and I 
> feel virtually all the effort is on either dealing with bugs or adding 
> new software with seemingly virtually no focus from the Ubuntu camp at 
> improving Gnome significantly.
>
> I am working on a few potential UI improvement mockups but I am rather 
> busy these days.  I believe that the system GUI is one of the most 
> important aspects of an OS, and if given sufficient love it would help 
> pull Linux into the mainstream.  Users care about looks and usability 
> far more than stability and freedom.
>
> Although this is Ubuntu Artwork, I do think Usability should be given a 
> top priority, or even it's own list (it deserves it!).
>
> Sumit Chandra Agarwal wrote:
>   
>> I'm not sure if this is quite on-topic for the art list, but it has to 
>> do with visual presentation so I thought I'd try here first:
>>
>> As it is the top panel in Ubuntu is as cluttered or more cluttered than 
>> Windows or Mac desktops, with the addition of another panel at the 
>> bottom. One item that is significant taking up a lot of space on the 
>> upper panel is the fast user switching applet, which manifests itself as 
>> text showing the current user name.
>>
>> This is a great feature. However, I would *guess* that for greater than 
>> 50% of Ubuntu users this is unnecessary as they are using the machine as 
>> a *personal* computer and as such they are the only user registered on 
>> the system. This makes the applet pointless and it only adds to clutter 
>> and eating away at space.
>>
>> Could Ubuntu be configured to intelligently only add the applet if there 
>> is more than one user registered to the system?
>>
>> Sorry if this is off-topic,
>> -Sumit
>>
>>   
>>     
>
>
>   
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