Hi, On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 8:37 AM, Mark Shuttleworth <m...@ubuntu.com> wrote: > Here's the problem. Most users don't discover the dodging by moving a window > till it touches the launcher. They first encounter it when they maximise a > window. So, they login to the desktop. Good. They start an app. Good. Then > they maximise a window, and the launcher "disappears". To these users, the > behaviour is deeply uncomfortable, random. And these are in fact the > majority of users.
Yeah, I've seen that happen to my friends and family too, so I've learnt to set the launcher to always-visible when I install Ubuntu for others and then everyone is happy. Another benefit of always-visible is that the small indicators are always visible, which makes them more useful. > It also turns out that users who can work with dodging launchers can also > work perfectly well with launchers which always hide when not used. There's another issue with dodge-windows, that I personally find very annoying, which is that the launcher changes state when I move from one workspace to another, when one has a maximised window and another doesn't. I found this behaviour quite distracting. For example, I'd switch from my maximised browser workspace to my non-maximised Empathy worksapce to chat with someone and all of a sudden this thing would slide out from the left. > only usable option on smaller screens such as netbooks (always-hide is > too confusing when first logging in, and never-hide takes too much > space). > > We agree on both the facts, just not your conclusion :). Yes, always-hide is > a poor starting point for new users. And yes, never-hide wastes space on > small devices. But the current approach is clear at the start and > accommodates efficient use of space for those who need it or prefer it. Something I've taken to doing is dialing down the launcher icon size to 32px. This makes quite a difference on a small screen for at least two reasons: - It doesn't take up as much horizontal space. - You can fit more icons in the visible vertical space. That combined with always-visible makes it quite usable on a netbook. You can change the launcher icon size in CCSM. I hope that doesn't go away too! ;) Thanks, J. -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~unity-design Post to : unity-design@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~unity-design More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
