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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: [RFC] Clock Defaults
From:       Electronic Eric <whalesuit () softhome ! net>
Date:       2002-08-23 7:52:33
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Hi Michael,

> I keep the blinking colon "on" to remind me that the Window Manager is
> still functioning normal. Whenever a GUI application freezes, I check the
> blinking colon. If the colon is blinking, then I kill the apps with X-kill.
> But if the blinking colon stops, it cues me that the Window Manager's
> stuck, and it's time to press Ctrl - Alt - <--. The blinking colon does not
> only provide visual cues that the clock is functioning okay, but is also an
> indicator of the Window Manager's well-being.

Your point that it's a nice tool for a quick assessment of the desktop is a 
good one, but it's unlikely that new users will be able to do this kind of 
diagnosis, or fix things using X-kill.  However, we are only talking about 
turning it off by default, and you can of course turn it back on.  In fact, 
w/ luck, you can hang on to your KDE settings for some time to come, so you 
won't even have to deal with it.

> If the blinking colon is used to diagnose the Window Manager's state,
> wouldn't it be more helpful whenever KDE freezes, a dialog pops up and
> says:
>
> KDE is stuck or has crashed. Press Ctrl - Alt - <-- to restart KDE.
Interesting idea.  Getting the dialog sort of depends on the type of crash, 
doesn't it?  I don't think I get the kind of crash that could be solved by 
this dialog - I get either completely locked display (doesn't respond to any 
input), or Kicker/Kwin stops accepting keyboard input, and I can only get out  
by using the mouse to choose logout.
	It's sort of a double-edged sword telling people what to do when the system 
crashes, because you might make people think you expect it to crash....

Cheers,

Eric
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