GNOME3 and au revoir WAS: systemd: please stop trying to take over the world :)

[Dennis Jacobfeuerborn]

On 06/17/2011 01:02 PM, Richard W.M. Jones wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 17, 2011 at 06:48:14PM +0800, Mathieu Bridon wrote:
>> On Fri, 2011-06-17 at 12:20 +0200, Henrik Wejdmark wrote:
>>>>> Since you recommend not using the application menu, in other words,
>>>>> you agree that the application menu is useless?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> It is useful when you are looking for something and you don't know what
>>>> exactly it is. In that case, it is much much better then the previous
>>> menus,
>>>> because you have nice overview on one page and moreover you have the
>>>> possibility to filter by groups for example.
>>>
>>> On my desktop it's not on "one" page, it's a mile long listing so you get no
>>> overview at all. In Gnome2 at least all the apps are categorized. If the
>>> graphical user interface _requires_ you to use the keyboard to type the
>>> command
>>
>> It doesn't require you to type the command.
>>
>> You can search for "bro" and among the results will be Nautilus and
>> Firefox (hint: Gnome Shell also searches in the application description,
>> and both are "bro"wsers).
>
> I can't believe real usability testing was done on the final version
> of GNOME 3.  I keep hearing about all these completely undiscoverable
> keyboard shortcuts that appear to be necessary to use GNOME 3 with any
> sort of effectiveness.  When I struggled with GNOME 3 for about a week
> I didn't discover or use any keyboard shortcuts.

I think what is required is an application that starts when the desktop is 
launched for the first time and that offers the user a short introduction 
to the basic principles of the desktop.
Easy discoverability and good usability may sometimes go hand in hand but 
also at times are mutual exclusive. Having a short introductory "pamphlet" 
would help the user understand the basics without resorting to awkward 
tool-tips or pop-ups to nudge the user in the right direction.

Regards,
   Dennis