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Re: Wireless signal icons: msg#00229

Subject: Re: Wireless signal icons


Joseph Hill wrote:
I just subscribed to this list so I don't know what has been discussed, so if this has already been discussed and resolved, just tell me and I'll shut up (or point me to where it's been discussed so I can read up). I'm a huge fan of the new default theme and icon set, which surprises me because I'm usually a minimalist. I like that it isn't copying anything.

I'm in the same position as Joseph. In fact, bug ##34521: https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/ubuntu-artwork/+bug/34521 is the reason I subscribed to this list. I looked on the archives, but could not find any discussion about it.

First, I also think it takes up too much horizontal space. (Especially when you make your panel 50px, like me.) Rotate the status bar 90 degrees, and that problem's solved.

Second, I think it's completely non-intuitive. I'm a heavy computer user and I pride myself on not having to read instructions, etc. (Also, UI's happen to be a personal interest). But I could not figure out what was going on with the indicator - I had a single orange square on the far right of the bar, and it never fluctuated. I thought the network monitor had broken between dist-upgrades (entirely possible: new artwork, it could be a work in progress...).

It wasn't until after I was going to file a bug on the network monitor that I discovered this was the intended behaviour. I quickly ran to my laptop, dist-upgraded, and verified with its lesser signal. Only after thinking it was broken, searching for bugs before filing a bug report, following links and reading references did I realize it was not broken and accepted the behaviour. That is not intuitive.


Third, it's inconsistent. Nothing I can think of behaves this way. Nothing. Perhaps, it would make sense if the rest of the theme behaved the same way, but it doesn't. As soon as you click the network monitor, you're presented with a horizontal status bar *filled* to the percentage of the signal, not marked with a cursor. It's not even consistent within the application.

For the wireless status, I would suggest using the 3-4 vertical bar system that is used on mobile phones. That seems quite internationally accepted. Or even the radio tower icon with the percentage written beside it. If it must be done using a "marker" method, then use something that more people can relate to: a line with increments and an arrow? The reason given for this design, if I recall, was that a full bar of orange is too distracting. I think this could be resolved by spacing out the segments, like in the default gnome icon.

My 2 c.

References (that I could find):
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=143278&highlight=network+monitor+icon
https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/ubuntu-artwork/+bug/34521

Steve



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