On Wed, 2008-03-12 at 15:41 -0500, Shawn Walker wrote:
> On Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 2:59 PM, Peter Tribble <peter.tribble at gmail.com> 
> wrote:

> >  Something that's just occurred to me, though - why is the mail client
> >  a launcher on the panel? I use panel items for things I launch multiple
> >  copies of (or multiple windows of) - so terminals and firefox windows.
> >  I only have one mail client window ever running, and it gets started
> >  when I log in, so why have mail as a panel launcher?
> 
> I guess so it's visible right away, since email and web are probably
> the most frequently used things for network-connected users.

Right.  And don't forget about the person who's logging into their
Indiana desktop for the first time-- they won't have a saved session,
there may not be much (if anything) in the way of icons on the desktop
to direct them where to go next, so chances are the first thing they're
going to look for is a way to launch a web browser, and second thing a
mail client.  (Although the 'first time login' experience may launch a
browse anyway; that's yet to be decided.)

The point about how many people configure mail and web as session
startup apps vs. just launching them manually when they log in is an
interesting one though, and probably one we ought to get more data on--
I'm sure I can't be the only person who always runs them manually, even
though I rarely go through a session without them.  

(A couple of reasons I do that:  I want as quick a
login-to-usable-desktop time as possible; starting up mail and web apps
just slows things down.  And it's just more annoying to have to shut
down something you didn't want to use right away, than to start
something you do want to use, even though the former is the less common
scenario.)

Cheeri,
Calum.

-- 
CALUM BENSON, Usability Engineer       Sun Microsystems Ireland
mailto:calum.benson at sun.com            GNOME Desktop Team
http://blogs.sun.com/calum             +353 1 819 9771

Any opinions are personal and not necessarily those of Sun Microsystems


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