Task based usage
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| jacog Mar 02, 2011 4:43 AM EDT |
While I am all for exploring new ideas in desktop usage, I suspect that the current trend about making your desktop experience "task based" is bound to be a failed experiment. Can't say without actually doing observed tests in a proper test environment, but I'm going to hazard a guess here that "task" to most people means "application". If my task is to look at web pages, I use the web browser. If my task is to write code, I use my IDE/text editor. In cases where a task requires a number of smaller apps to be open, like music editing, one can keep it tidy by plonking all these apps together on a separate desktop. I think that the currently accepted methods of managing your desktop covers most use cases. In KDE I tend to just use the traditional options available; window interaction through the window border, the window list in the task bar, window switching by keyboard shortcut, and sometimes when I feel in the mood for fancy, I might use an expose' type window overview. At least the option is there to not use the task-based thingo. Gnome on my other machine is pretty much the same. I'd hate for them to force me to use one prescribed method of operation by removing other options. There's always room for improvement/advancement in all things though, but in this case - from a UI design perspective - I think evolution is likely a better approach than revolution. My prediction: Enlightenment will become the king of the FOSS desktop. It's pretty, and it's fast, and all of a sudden it has the momentum that it hasn't had in a while. |
| Bob_Robertson Mar 02, 2011 7:14 AM EDT |
Evolution in action. Non-random selection of random mutation. GNOME tries something different, see if it works for you. If not, select something else. That which does not work for folks will fail. And who knows? It might very well be that this "task based usage" will appeal to enough people, like the GUI did, for it to become the next dominant style. Could happen. |
| dinotrac Mar 02, 2011 12:44 PM EDT |
I suppose.... but I have two different browsers on my workstation -- and yet another on my Mythbox -- for a reason -- each is better at something the other is weaker at. |
| gus3 Mar 02, 2011 6:07 PM EDT |
Ctrl-Alt-T for a terminal window, and then I can type whatever program names I want to run. That's faster than move mouse, click, move mouse, click, move mouse, double-click. |
| djohnston Mar 02, 2011 10:53 PM EDT |
@jacog, e17 is fast and pretty. I switched to it from KDE3 instead of going to KDE4. e17 is now tolerably stable, although I still get a "This is very bad" crash message once in a blue moon. Still can't figure out if it's due to enlightenment libraries, or qt or gtk+ library incompatabilities, or just plain ol' conflicts with the X server. Anyway, there's plenty of bells and whistles. Enough to customize from one end of the spectrum to the other. |
| gus3 Mar 03, 2011 12:27 PM EDT |
About that "this is very bad" message: I tried the Bodhi RC CD image last night, in a QEMU session. Taking the default boot, I consistently got that message. The only way not to get it, was to burn a CD, or take the Failsafe option in the QEMU session. The message exemplifies everything I've come to expect from the Enlightenment team, and how they follow the Principle of Least Surprise. "We want you to like our product, but if we have to tell you something you might not like, we'll at least do you the favor of being honest with you, and hope you don't count it against us." If only I knew enough about CD packaging to make a Slackware-based answer to Bodhi. That would be sooooo sweet. |
| jdixon Mar 03, 2011 5:50 PM EDT |
> If only I knew enough about CD packaging to make a Slackware-based answer to Bodhi. Enlightenment DR17 is available at Slackbuilds.org, and can be installed via sbopkg. You can tell sbopkg to create the necessary packages, add them to a standard Slackware disk, and then edit the installation files so they're required packages. Now, that gives you Slackware+Enlightenment, which may not be all you want, but it's a good start. |
| Steven_Rosenber Mar 03, 2011 9:14 PM EDT |
I think Jeff and the Bodhi team are looking at Bodhi spins on distros other than Ubuntu. I seem to remember them wanting to do Fedora, so maybe Debian and Slack are in their sites as well. |
| jacog Mar 04, 2011 10:33 AM EDT |
Some kind of rolling release distro would be nice too. |
| Bob_Robertson Mar 04, 2011 2:31 PM EDT |
> Some kind of rolling release distro would be nice too. That's why I use Debian SId. |
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