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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: KDE4 and KRDC4 usability
From:       brian () amason ! net
Date:       2008-11-19 15:00:30
Message-ID: 47392.173.21.159.76.1227106830.squirrel () www ! amason ! net
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On Wed, November 19, 2008 1:58 am, Stefan Monov wrote:
> Also, kde@kde.org for user support.
>
> For item 4, however, i can suggest pressing maybe Ctrl+M or right click.
>
> Stefan

Thanks Stefan. I'll try the Ctrl+M. I tried a number of things including
right-clicking, and several other things, but not Ctrl+M. Which I'm sure
is described in some FAQ somewhere.

As far as the other responses. I wrote here first, because it's not
necessarily true that most of the things I reported are necessarily bugs,
and bug lists are notorious for flaming people who submit things that are
not considered bugs. Certainly, it could be argued they are wishlist
items, but they go directly to usability. If you can't change the font
size of the digital clock and it doesn't automatically resize itself when
repositioned, that is not a a bug, but a design flaw and makes the clock
unusable in any configuration than that which the author foresaw.

Same thing with hiding the menu. If there is no easy and obvious way to
restore the menu, that is a usability flaw. I don't have the time to
search through piles of FAQs anymore, so if I need help with an
application I go to the help for that application. A better usability
function for KDE apps would be to include at least a link to the relevant
parent WM help section on mouse and key bindings, which I'm assuming is
where the Ctrl+M command is found. When I write help documents, I always
include info on how to navigate an interface. While I realize, that it is
unrealistic to expect every FOSS app to do the same. It would be a
fantastic boost to usability if some method of rapid linking in FAQ based
answers into apps for the WM which is in use. It would be better for the
help system to do this so as to bypass the need for every project to do
this.

I wasn't really expecting bug help from the list. Since I wasn't certain
they were all bugs. Sorry about the confusion. I'm good at that.

Also, I was complaining about the awful panel, it's a leap backwards in
usability. It's a showstopper for me. I have a 1280x800 screen and I need
as much of that 800 as I can get. The panel for me needs to be small and
readable if I must have it on the bottom, but to be usable needs to work
well on the side. Furthermore, the default panel should include the hiding
panel. But this may be a distro issue and not a KDE4 issue. I simple don't
know which is why I posted on this list, as I figured the KDE4 experts
would know.

Hope at least some of this is useful for future usability design.

Brian

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