> > > > I think he means something like the "LAN" systray icon in XP. > > > > AFAIK > > > > XP has one icon for every interface and it "lights up" when an > > > > interface > > > > is active. > > > > > > Yes, exactly! Finally, somebody understands me. :) > > > I prefer this behaviour over the BeOS one because the icon > > > represents > > > the connection and thus it only exists when the connection > > > exists. > > > > I like the BeOS behaviour. > > [...] > > I have dial on demand enabled, but I still like to be able to > > connect > > manually with just a couple of clicks. > > What is this good for? Why would one want to enable the connection > manually if the app could do it for you? > I can understand that some people would prefer having an icon for non > -dial-on-demand connections because it is too complicated to open the networking preferences, etc..., but OTOH, enabling a dial-request dialog and dial-on-demand are totally okay for this case, too. > Is there any improvment in the possibility to connect manually? Save > these two clicks. I prefer connecting manually if I remember - sometimes the connection takes longer than others, sometimes it fails and needs redialing, and in these cases the apps that have requested some network data often time out. Also apps like mozilla can take up to 10 seconds before they open and cause a dial-on-demand, by starting the connection process manually then loading mozilla, I can be on the net quicker. Finally I don't like seeing apps on the "connecting to server..." display for too long, seems like nothing is happening, and I guess goes back to the first point where I feel like it's a race against time between the app timing out and the connection being made. Having said all that, dial-on-demand is still enabled as a catch all for when I forget to connect manually, or if some automated process needs to access the net when I'm not around. > > Axel's user-space net_server seems a good idea - this could also > > create > > deskbar replicants to show traffic on other network connections > > (like > > Win XP's monitors). > > Yes, that is a good suggestion. > > Bye, > Waldemar >