--- Comments --------

“With things like Fluxbox/Openbox, GNOME Do, and Compiz, this thing is completely doable. Get a design-loving programmer to fork Openbox and you'd be a good bit of the way there. Love it. :D”

@PROGRAM_IX ~ 2 months ago

“I'm glad you say that, for I really was a Fluxbox lover :) I loved how lightweight, fast and productive was.. :_)

Yup, sure it can be done.. But I should work more on it and find someone to do it.. Not an easy task :)

Anyway, thanks!!”

Diego ~ 2 months ago

“It's funny because for a time I thought about programming mine too. Something without distractions-just like your idea! Though it seemed like too much for one person only (with my knowledge at least).

Some feedback on this thought experiment:

- I like that windows that aren't in the foreground get grayed out (fog style). Most managers tend to apply 50% alpha to background windows and it ends up being a translucent mess :-S
- I'm not so sure about having to manage their z order manually, even with the mouse wheel it might get a bit cumbersome
- The IE icon .must.go.away. It's incredibly disturbing!!
- Although I like the launcher window
- Invisible scrollbars a la Lion are "nice" until you get to use them. I got to use them recently and finally ended up enabling visible scrollbars instead. Most of the time I didn't quite click where the "invisible area" was and it was frustrating. Maybe this could be fixed with some more allowance when invisible, not sure.
- The clock on the center... nooo!! It's like having someone reminding you what time is it at all times. I'd rather have it hidden or visible only (fade in) when hovering near the top area. Ideally it should be configurable. E.g. have it as an area for putting stuff that fades out when not active, so you can put things like the clock and other notifications there.
- Ideally I'd like to be able to put windows on top of the "clock" area, not sure if you considered that.

Did you think of the concept of workspaces? This is something you either loathe or love. I'm curious about your opinion on this. It seems "artists" tend to avoid workspaces while "programmers" abuse them.”

sole ~ 2 months ago

“Hi Sole! :)

It's funny because for a time I thought about programming mine too. Something without distractions-just like your idea!

haha cool :D I think the 90% of users don't really use the 95% of the stuff what is visible on the screen. That means something is wrong!

Though it seemed like too much for one person only (with my knowledge at least).

yes, for mine too.. I guess we could do something eventually, but we would need a lot of time to learn all the stuff you have to put between the OS an the Applications.. buhf, too much stuff..

I like that windows that aren't in the foreground get grayed out (fog style). Most managers tend to apply 50% alpha to background windows and it ends up being a translucent mess :-S

well, they get grayed out because the background is gray X) but yes, my intention is to fade background windows as much as possible, with LOT of transparency (30% and more) and blurring.. In fact, maybe the big background windows in the mockup are too visible yet..

I'm not so sure about having to manage their z order manually, even with the mouse wheel it might get a bit cumbersome

I'm not sure too, I think that should be something you have to test a lot with prototypes..

The IE icon .must.go.away. It's incredibly disturbing!!

haha XD it's like saying "look, you can EVEN use IE on it". Yes, it's a bit disgusting, sorry.

Although I like the launcher window

I think the launcher could work, definitively. Like a small swiss knife always ready and convenient. And it's something I/we could actually program! :D


Invisible scrollbars a la Lion are "nice" until you get to use them. I got to use them recently and finally ended up enabling visible scrollbars instead. Most of the time I didn't quite click where the "invisible area" was and it was frustrating. Maybe this could be fixed with some more allowance when invisible, not sure.

Yup, you're right. I guess something in between could be better.

The clock on the center... nooo!! It's like having someone reminding you what time is it at all times. I'd rather have it hidden or visible only (fade in) when hovering near the top area. Ideally it should be configurable. E.g. have it as an area for putting stuff that fades out when not active, so you can put things like the clock and other notifications there.

That's true, too.. I thought of it more as a simple decoration, as "this is the only thing you'll have, with no windows open". I like the hovering on top idea. And we should allow some space for notification stuff. I thought the launcher could be a place, but near the clock -as the email icon- could work too.

Ideally I'd like to be able to put windows on top of the "clock" area, not sure if you considered that.

hmm.. maybe that could be configurable.

Did you think of the concept of workspaces? This is something you either loathe or love. I'm curious about your opinion on this. It seems "artists" tend to avoid workspaces while "programmers" abuse them.

The idea of workspaces are cool, but at the end of the day, you/I don't use them. I used to have two workspaces 8 years ago, but not today. Maybe is that I'm getting old and my attention span is much shorter, or maybe is that having workspaces you lose track of what you have opened, or that is not really productive. If you don't really see the window, why having it opened in another workspace? don't know.. it does not work for me anymore, at least.

Thanks for your time! :D”

Diego ~ 2 months ago

“Hi Diego,

Have you tried GNOME 3? When you press the "windows" key it shows you the opened windows in tile mode plus a launcher on the left and it let's you type to immediately find an application.
I think you might like it.

Maybe you can see a bit of its usability from this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wLGWc3y22w”

Joaquim Rocha ~ 2 months ago

“I had seen bits and pieces, but the video is quite cool. I like it indeed, the whole thing seems very slick and neat, with some nice ideas (the clock/calendar is quite similar to what I was thinking!)

Impressed too of how much they got 'inspired' by the macosx! but well, that's for good :)

Thanks for sharing! But I'm afraid Linux still has the same problem as when I left it. Too much fragmentation and lacking a bit of cohesion, and underlying overcomplexity. Well, the fragmentation is not a real problem, but the core of all Linux philosophy.. It's difficult, but it's improving the user experience *a lot*, that's for sure.

Thanks!!”

Diego ~ 2 months ago

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