Re: [Tails-dev] Tails-greeter UI redesign

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Author: sajolida
Date:  
To: The Tails public development discussion list
New-Topics: Re: [Tails-dev] Tails-greeter UI redesign
Subject: Re: [Tails-dev] Tails-greeter UI redesign
On 04/10/12 21:21, alan@??? wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Some time ago, I wrote:
>
>> From: alan@???
>> Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:44:15 +0200
>>
>> As you have probably experienced, tails-greeter UI is far from
>> ergonomic. Thus, some of use discussed plans to improve the situations[1].
>>
>> These plans include asking for your input on UI design proposals.
>> We will then propose 1 or 2 implementations, get them tested and see
>> what happens.
>>
>> So it's time for those who care to send what you find relevant, be it
>> suggestions about something not to forget about, proposals or user
>> experience workflow, UI mockups or anything else.
>
> Well no answer so far... but I took some time to play on this, and have
> some mockups to propose. Please test!
>
> Everything is on the ticket, under the title "Prototypes":
>
>     https://tails.boum.org/todo/tails-greeter:_revamp_UI/

>
> Download everything in
>
>     https://tails.boum.org/todo/tails-greeter:_revamp_UI/mockups/

>
> or better clone the git, go to the directory and:
>
>     $ ./mockup.py [-v <variant>] [-p]

>
> Dependencies: gtk3, python gobject introspection (basically debian wheezy)
>
> My goals for the interface was:
>
>     - read in "natural" order: top to bottom
>     - no hidden windows/options
>     - easy to adapt to right-to-left languages RTL
>     - inspired/similar to GNOME3 "system perferences"

>
> I'd like to hear about:
>
>     - your overall impression?
>     - should keyboard selectable independently from locale in one click?
>     - your navigation experience?
>     - where should the locales box be?



First of all, it's really great to be able to test UI mockups like this!
And I think they all improve on the current Trail Greeter.

Regarding the comparison with GNOME System Settings, I feel that the
idea of Tails Greeter is to offer a nice way of navigating between
possible options, changing none or many of them, and then log in. On the
other hand, GNOME System Settings is more focus towards helping you to
find the particular setting that you want to modify and then be done
with it.

I felt this idea of moving back and forth between possible options work
better in version 3, where the set of possible options always stays
visible and the settings for a particular option appears in another
pane. Otherwise, if the possible options disappear when you select one,
you might think that you are in a sequence of windows, like in the
current Greeter.

But I also like better the horizontal listing of the options from all
the versions. I see we can fit nicely two rows of 6 options, but I fear
that wouldn't work with the more vertical setup.

Regarding the language and persistence options. I also prefer version 3:
I think it's enough to have the language option that can be expanded in
the side pane just as the other ones, as long as it is the one shown be
default when opening on Tails Greeter.

But then I would separate it from the “Persistence” which would be
another option, say the second one in the list. I would group Language
with Keyboard and have “Language & Keyboard” that would show widgets to
choose the language, the region and the keyboard. If the keyboard widget
is smart and adapts to what's in the language and region options, then
that's perfect.

To sum up, I would go for version 3 but with an horizontal layout and
separate “Language & Keyboard” and “Persistence” options.

Does that make sense?