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List:       kde-active
Subject:    Re: GSoC proposal - Network management for PA
From:       Thomas Pfeiffer <colomar () autistici ! org>
Date:       2013-04-26 13:18:48
Message-ID: 517A7EB8.10704 () autistici ! org
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On 26.04.2013 13:45, Sebastian K=FCgler wrote:
> Hi Jan,
>
> On Thursday, April 25, 2013 08:33:22 Jan Grulich wrote:
>>>> 4) Add support for activities
>>>
>>> Why? What use cases do you have in mind? (I'm not saying it's nonsense,
>>> just that it does not directly pop up in front of my virtual eye what
>>> will happen here.)
>>
>> For example: 1) Home - try to automatically connect to your home wifi
>>                        2) Work - automatically connect to VPN
>>                        3) Travel - turn off wifi and mobile broadband or
>> active mobile broadband connection
>>
>> The fact is, that NetworkManager automatically connects to some
>> available and configured connection so maybe activities support will be
>> useless.
>
> That could be very useful. I can also imagine to have it switched off (al=
so
> bluetooth, and everything), when you're on a flight or train and want to
> conserve battery -- although that should be possible in any activity).

While implementing support for Activities in network management sounds =

like a natural thing to do, I'm not sure if it works so well with the =

way Activities are used in PA. In PA, users are likely to have way more =

activities then just "work" and "home" and also switch between them much =

more often, since Activities on PA are useful as a container for each =

larger task / topic instead of just one per _context_. Though of course =

Activities can be used in both ways in any Plasma Workspace, the way we =

designed Activites in PA leans more toward the former.
However if I often switch Activities, I would not want the network =

config to change each time.

However, there is another PA feature which seems almost forgotten by now =

because nobody worked on it since the end of the basyskom project, but =

which I think could work very well with network management: The =

Recommendations framework, with its plugin for the detection of context.

If the systems detects "Ah, my information suggests that you're =

currently on the train, where there is no WiFi anyway", for example, it =

may recommend switching WiFi off (or maybe even doing it automatically), =

until GPS information suggests that the user has arrived at her office =

or home, where it switches on WiFi again and in the office case =

initiates the VPN connection as well.

We currently have all that nice code for the Recommendations engine =

which continuously collects information, but which is currently not put =

to any real use at all. This would be a good use from my perspective.
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