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List:       kde-bugs-dist
Subject:    [Bug 109581] [USABILITY] Control center module is unintuitative
From:       Stefan Winter <swinter () kde ! org>
Date:       2005-07-30 16:02:32
Message-ID: 20050730160232.27508.qmail () ktown ! kde ! org
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------- You are receiving this mail because: -------
You are on the CC list for the bug, or are watching someone who is.
         
http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109581         
swinter kde org changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 CC|                            |kwifimanager-
                   |                            |misc lists sourceforge net
             Status|UNCONFIRMED                 |ASSIGNED
      everconfirmed|0                           |1
            Version|unspecified                 |3.3.0



------- Additional Comments From swinter kde org  2005-07-30 18:02 -------
Wow, what a huge report. I'll try to go through this one by one...

[Problems]
> Network configs in tabs are unintuitative: 
> - For users who only need 1-2 networks, there's extra, useless stuff shown. 
> - Doesn't cope with users who need >4 networks (#102193) 

These two are already solved in the current SVN: the user can set how many configs he \
would like to see in a range of 1-10. (See comment #5 of the bug report you \
mentioned... that's why I marked it RESOLVED/FIXED)

> - There's no clear seperation between the global and network-specific
> configuration. 

I used to think the separation is that the network-specific ones are in the tab \
widget with a big border around it and the global ones aren't. They are below. Of \
course, binding the interface to theglobal part is wrong (see below).

> - 'Config N' conveys no information about the network to the user, making
> the tabs very confusing. 

This is true, but I don't know what to do against it. There are situations where the \
SSID is identical, but settings below are different (PM, or a different set of keys). \
If I'd call the configs after the SSID, they might not be unique any more.

> - Tabs are very hard to use once the number of tabs exceeds the horizontal
> space available. 

True. But what to do about it?

> - Inconsistent use of checkboxes in network config: 
> - For 'Execute script on connect,' the control is enabled; for all others,
> a button which leads to the actual controls. 

Yes, this is not good. I might change that so that the same mechanism as for PM and \
WEP is used.

> - Bad prioritization of options in network config: 
> - Very few users will need 'Execute script on connect,' but many will need
> PM/WEP configuration. 

Really? I _never_ used PM myself. And execute scrip on connect is a _very_ handy \
thing if you want to call "dhcpcd wlan0" or similar.

> - WEP config dialog defaults to hex key entry: 
> - Most users will want string entry. 

Then most users are stup^Z not very aware of security problems. The key space for \
brute forcing a network gets so much bigger if you use hex keys... Of course, there \
are cases where you need to use strings, namely when you use Win XP SP2, which \
(stupidly) doesn't allow hex key entry. But even then you can use multiple keys on \
your AP. I'd be cautious about qualifying statements like "most people will want \
that".

> - No clear format for the hex; are colons used? How many digits are needed? > Also, \
> you can enter non-hex values in the field. 

3.5 has an updated documentation that tells you the format. How many digits are \
needed depends on the encryption strength in your network. I tried to validate if the \
input is valid hex, but there were problems with doing this properly (see if it can \
be converted into a unsigned long long) and I had to postpone it. It is on my agenda \
                though.
BTW: current SVN detects automatically if you are using hey or string, and warns \
about unknown entries.

> - Power Mgmt. settings are only applied on a per-network basis. If you want 
> to use PM for all configurations, you have to set up each one, which is
> repetitative and unnecessary. 

When I look at your suggestions below, they describe a very complicated way of either \
doing this per-network or global. I think this confuses people quite a bit. And using \
different profiles on a per-network basis seems to make sense for me, say if you are \
at work and have your laptop plugged in but when visiting a customer you don't.

[Suggestions]
> - Split the config into two sections; network-specific, and global config.

This is the case (see above), just the interface selector is in the global section, \
which is not good. I will correct that for KDE 4.

> Network config should have a list, which displays the network name (ESSID),
> with an icon/color to represent if the network is open or encrypted. Just the
> open/closed lock, with a green background for WEP networks would do, similar
> to how Konqueror represents SSL sites. 

Well, in order to detect whether a network is encrypted or not, a network scan needs \
to be done. This in turn interrupts connectivity to the current network. And there \
are cards that can't even scan.

> An indicator for the current
> network(s) is also essential. Perhaps also an icon to represent the speed of
> the network. To the right, 'New,' 'Properties,' and 'Delete' buttons.
> Selecting a network and clicking 'Properties,' or double-clicking an entry in
> the list would bring up a properties dialog for that network. Also, an
> up/down control to prioritize networks would be handy (I'm about to file a
> bug on that, but it's clearly a wishlist item.) 

Why only does this remind me of the Win XP style? Prioritization is a very good idea, \
but it needs to be done properly (Win XP is _not_ proper, and fails under certain \
circumstances). I will try to get this into KDE 4 as well.

> - Global settings should include power management settings. 
> - 'Power management' in network props. should also be a pulldown. It should
> default to 'Global settings,' but have a 'Custom' option for per-network PM
> settings. As with the WEP config, the controls should be present on the
> network props dialog, but disabled until 'Custom' is selected. 

Huh? As said above, this seems very confusing to me. I don't think John Doe would \
intuitively know how to use this, and I think that's bloat.

> - In the props dialog, the script to execute on connect (or disconnect, there
> was a bug on this) should be in an 'Advanced' section. It could either be a 
> b, or a button which opens a separate dialog. 

Good point. As said above, I will put this on my agenda.

> - 'Channel' control should be added, and moved to the advanced controls tab. 

I can't think of a single use case where the user would need to maually control the \
channel. Give me one, and I will consider putting that in. Otherwise, I again think \
that's bloat.

> - 'Auto' in 'Speed' pulldown should, perhaps, be changed to 'Fastest
> available' or 'Best Available.' It seems like a good idea to me, but may not
> be. 

Hm, I like Auto. Sounds appealing to users who don't know what this is all about. And \
yours are both too long, IMO.

> - 'Encryption' should be a pull-down, with 'None,' 'WEP' etc. The correct
> controls should be visible but disabled until the correct option is selected.

It was like that very long ago, but it made the widget look incredibly cluttered. KDE \
core develoeprs already thought about dumping the whole thing for usability reasons. \
The current version is completely redesigned (not by me, but someone who probably has \
more knowledge over UI design). So I don't think this is a very good idea.

> Or perhaps there should be separate tabs for WEP, WPA, WPA2 etc, which are
> disabled until the right option is selected. WEP key entry should default to
> strings, with an advanced dialog for hex key entry. Hex entry should have an
> appropriate number of 2-character input boxes, which only accept hex digits. 

Well, this sounds sensible as soon as WPA and WPA2 are actually possible with \
KWiFiManager. Up to now, only None and WEP are supported, and so the layout as it is \
now is sufficient and easy to use.

> - 'Settings apply to interface' should be moved from the global settings to
> the per-network settings. Otherwise, it's impossible to set up two networks
> on the same machine. If the input is empty, it should act as if the user
> clicked 'Autodetect,' i.e. default to something reasonable instead of
> remaining empty. 

As said above, you are completely right here. I will move it for KDE 4. You of course \
mean "two interfaces" instead of "two networks".

> - 'Scan for networks' should be integrated into the CC module. I should be
> able to scan, then create a profile for any network found. Also, I should be
> able to create a new network, then scan and have it fill in the correct info
> (ESSID, speed, managed/adhoc etc.) 

Very interesting and worth a closer look!

So, after bashing your agenda, the following action items remain for me:

* move "Settings apply to interface" from global to per-config.
* possibly move script execution behind a button to align with PM/WEP
* prioritization of the configs with auto-apply if it can be done cleanly
* integrate "Scan for networks" into CC module

Luckily, this list is not as big as I feared. All of these things will make it into \
KDE 4 at best, since 3.5 feature freeze is about tomorrow. If you want to help by \
coding, you are very welcome. You know, I do have a day job.


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