On Fri, 2007-11-23 at 12:17 +0100, Thomas Goettlicher wrote: > Hi everyone, > > we want to redesign the YaST Control Center. Therefore we are looking > for a radical new design. > > This is your chance to share your ideas regarding YaST Control Center. > > Please feel free to contribute with mockups and (unconventional) ideas > here: http://en.opensuse.org/YaST/Development/New_Control_Center > > > Thanks, > Thomas > > --- > SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, GF: Markus Rex, HRB 16746 (AG Nürnberg) > I would be curious what your initial ideas about a radical change are.
Personally, I like the look and feel of Yast2, it is easy enough to get around. What I would like to see is a stronger attached documentation scheme. Perhaps a link within Yast modules to view related man pages? The whole idea of Yast is to simplify administration and enable administrators to get away from the CLI if at all possible. Although the geekier we are, the less likely we are to use Yast in the first place. :-) What frustrates me personally is the lack of documentation/explanation within Yast modules. For example, the other day, I posted a query here on the mailing list asking where I could go to get definitions of the multiple options available in Samba shares as presented by Yast. People pointed me to SWAT, which turns out to be a very cool tool to use. From a "competitive" perspective, Yast loses its audience to SWAT hands down. Should there be some flexibility, where if you click on Yast SAMBA Server, either the Yast module or the SWAT interface comes up, depending on how the administrator configures default action of a module? (i.e., Yast icon links either to a module or to an external tool?) I also wish there were "definitions" of the modules. How about something where, if you hover your mouse over a module, it will output a brief definition of the module? For example, hover over "NFS Server" and a popup appears "This is the Network File Services module. It will enable you to share your directories on multiple machines." When people, especially newbie administrators, have to google elsewhere to find definitions, that loses audience as well. I also would like to see something where, within the module, it tells you what configuration files are related to the changes you are making. Yast2 shouldn't just be a place to administrate, but also a place where administrators learn *more* about what works on their system and how it works. And last, but definitely not least, is the Help function. Although, this is probably more a fault of the module's author than the Yast design itself, some of these help screens are just downright idiotic. When you click on Help, and all it says is "To enable function, click box. To disable function, unclick box." is a good way to make us eventually ignore the help button altogether. When I'm looking for help, its not because I want to know how to click/unclick. Duhhh. It's because I want to know WHAT is that function for??? Now that I think about it. How about an additional Help sub-function where administrators can enter notes about a particular module/function? That way, in a multiple-administrator environment, we can keep better track of information related to a module. So, all in all, bottom line here. I am not sure we need to radically change the look and feel of Yast, but I do think there needs to be more built-in documentation/information methods for administrators. For just about any tool, it isn't about *how* you do something, but rather, *why* do you something. -- ---Bryen--- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
