A Control Panel

[cobraJoker]

Hey there every one

I have to admit it , there are very good Salix tools in the system already .
SO why dont you group in them in a nice categorized "Control Panel " where every thing is there , its more nicer and more user friendly .
Thanx

[Akuna]

Yep, we had some talks about it. Some of us like the idea while some don't... so for the moment did not seem that important.

[sqlpython]

Apparently, Cobrajoker is using the Xfce Desktop as the KDE Desktop already has a Nice Control panel..

[thenktor]

He is talking about the system tools, not the desktop tools

[cobraJoker]

I am looking forward to seeing it in salix , i am making one for myself ... i will be posting it here when i finish hopefully .

[woodsman]

I add my vote for a centralized location.

I'm uncomfortable that a second control panel is an appropriate solution. I've seen this on distros such as PCLOS. Two control panels gets confusing to non-computer people as they do not distinguish "system tools" from "desktop tools." Such people struggle to find tool applets in one control panel, let alone two.

Perhaps a better approach is to merge the Salix system tools into the existing desktop control panel.

Or, create a master control panel --- and then configure the system and pop-up menus accordingly --- in which one of the icons in the master control panel is a link to the desktop control panel. I think the Linux Mint folks do this.

I appreciate that people who tinker with Salix or Slackware are going to be more computer savvy than most users, but a single portal is more sensible and creates less clutter.

Just my thoughts.

[cobraJoker]

I add my vote for a centralized location.

I'm uncomfortable that a second control panel is an appropriate solution.

This is cool but somehow not valid as the change in the XFCE desktop ( or whatever flavor )is needed and actually Salix chose to be 100 % compatable with slackware .

[Akuna]

OK... since we are talking about this quite regularly, here is an early mock-up of what I'm working on:



It would probably be possible as an option to include either Xfce or KDE Desktop panel to it & even remove doubles entires from the menu for those who prefer it that way, while leaving things untouched for others... We shall see.

Let's start simple and build on it.

[mimosa]

My feeling is this could be an excellent idea if it can be done without obscuring what's really going on. I remember finding OpenSUSE's control panel pretty confusing, for instance. I knew less then, but a panel is meant to help not hinder in that situation.

Maybe the underlying complexity simply can't be effectively represented in an attractive and transparent way; but if anyone can, Salix can.

Just as an example, I recently had a problem with sound configuration that I still haven't really got to the bottom of:

http://www.salixos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=2080

and in spite of a fair amount of research, I can't understand the interaction between gstreamer and alsamixer along the path from .mp3 file via sound card (if any) to speakers. I think it's probably just complicated; the result is that I still haven't achieved full control.

The naive user may tend to think they've chosen their hardware, turned up the volume from its zero default, and then saved the new default using a different console application (well done Salix for changing that one ) - so it should now just work. My point is that if the panel doesn't reflect the real complexity, it may actually make it harder for the user when confronted with an unusual situation. Streamlining the front end for alsa utils isn't hiding anything important, but anything going further than that could well be.

That's my understanding of how the KISS principle might apply here. I'm not suggesting the new panel would make the mistake of sweeping anything under the carpet; but (it's obvious really) the design will need to be very carefully thought through. And maybe it will turn out to be squaring the circle.

[cobraJoker]

Amazing mock up
Hoping to see it soon