[openbeosnetteam] Re: Network preflet, the future?

  • From: "Philippe Houdoin" <philippe.houdoin@xxxxxxx>
  • To: openbeosnetteam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 00:41:42 GMT

> The reason I put the buttons to manage the profiles on a separate 
> tab,
> is because I like to preserve some screen estate. (It's not much 
> anyway), 

Agreed, it's why Axel and me find the smallest screen estate version, 
aka a popup menu, the better one.
He's right about my layouts with real buttons: too much space wasted 
for unusual stuff. 

> I also think it doesn't have any significance to create and edit 
> profiles
> on every settings page. But that's just my opinion.

Rights. Just switch the one user want to modify and/or apply.
So, only both profiles list and the apply command should be obvious to 
use and find for user.

However, putting in a tab let user think that's extra feature, when 
it's a central feature: the preflet 
allow him to manage network settings of one profile at time, and apply 
them as a whole.
It should be seen by user thru the gui layout.
I always feel Boneyard broken on that topic, but we all know that 
boneyar was far from being 
finished at 7a *leak* time.

Give a look at what's YTab guys have done to finish it:
http://yellowtab.com/products/tour.php?id=9

They choose to put the Profile (They call it "Location", like MacOS X 
does) at top.
I think that make sense.

> It would be a small effort to change the bind to use the
> driver_settings.

We can do that too, or just place the related files under /etc/network/
* directory.
A quick change to string #defined in posix/netdb.h and posix/resolv.h 
will do that.
 
> True, but I was actually trying to replicate the 'status' list found 
> in
> the MacOS X preflet. The best way to replicate this, is by having the
> main app have a method for add-ins to post status messages.

The MacOS X Network preference "Status" sub-panel *is* an add-on, like 
others.
 I like the quick overview it give to user, but the preflet host don't 
need to do 
anything special to support that kind of non-settings panel/tab/group/
view/whatever.

However, nice job.
Now, how come we could continue from both of our work on the subject?
Do you have time and plan to work fully on this task, in which case 
I'll step down (but keep send advice and critics, that the fun of being 
team leader :-) ), or 
should will look at code written and decide?

-Philippe

--
Fortune Cookie Says:

Tact, n.:
        The unsaid part of what you're thinking.

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