[Tails-ux] Greeter mockups

Delete this message

Reply to this message
Author: spencerone
Date:  
To: tails-ux
Subject: [Tails-ux] Greeter mockups
Hello there,

>
> Alan:
> Hey,
>
> (I'm only quoting here the parts that need an answer)
>


No worries.

>
> I like the "Take a tour" wording, which seems me to make clear the user
> will be guided in the choices, rather than "learn more about Tails"
> which sounds me like documentation.
>


"Take a Tour" it is. Logic: "Learn more about Tails." "How?" "By taking
a tour." "Oh, okay."

>
> I like this two buttons very much as it seems me to:
>
> - make it clear there are two alternatives
> - make emphasize the suggested one
>


A button as the actionable element to begin the guided configuration
(tour) it is.

>
> I get the idea of reducing the number of steps to see, but making them
> more easy to understand seems me a good reason to add a label even
> though it looks like one more step.
>
> If you think it's good to visually have three elements, I'd be for
> separating the action bar from the canvas.
>


Action bar on the top of the canvas it is.

>>
>> Spencer:
>> What kind of
>> settings are in this group? How would we describe/label them?
>>
>
> We currently have here:
>
> - windows camouflage (might be removed in next Tails): make Tails look
> like windows to look less suspicious in places like Internet cafes
> - spoof MAC: randomize hardware network card address of not (randomized
> by default, but it my be good to disable it e.g. if using a public
> computer)
> - network configuration: this allow to use bridges or other plugable
> transport to access the Tor network where it's censored
>


I am not sure if you mean temporarily or permanently. However, I think
'Windows Camouflage' is an important tool and that it is important to
accommodate for more.

The blueprint says that the third goal is *not* to have an OSX
Camouflage, but that conflicts with the first goal, which is to "avoid
attracting unwanted attention when using a computer in public" while
running Tails, and, to effectively do so, the display "should look
similar to the display of a computer running [respective native OS]"

The most appropriate resolution might be to have a 'Desktop Camouflage'
preference option that contains three options:

• Windows Camouflage (Because many people use Windows)
• OSX Camouflage (Because many people have Macs)
• Ubuntu (Unity) (Because many people want to be seen as "using
corporate FOSS, nothing fishy going on over here")

There is more to this than just the "camouflage" effect, as many people
will prefer to use a desktop environment that resembles their preferred
OS, even if only a tiny bit. Also, by saving 'Privacy' settings
changes, this then supports a more traditional use case which includes
having the boot flow appear to be as native of an experience as possible
to nosy Nancy (the Greeter is a giveaway, so being able to save 'Desktop
Camouflage' settings is important). True, this could easily evolve into
Tails being a security-first distribution of your preferred OS, but I
think focusing on just the desktop appearance is plenty.

>
> I'm not sure to understand what you mean here. You're explaining why
> you think there should be no section icons?
>


Yes. Section Label = No Icon. Line-item Label = Yes Icon. To
summarize:

• The icon/text combination is the most universal in softlists and seems
most appropriate for the line items.
• Tails currently uses colored and monochromatic icons to accompany line
items for almost every list, and displays no icon for section labels.
• The visual conflict that arises between icons with different alignment
with such close proximity, ex., the Section vs Line-item labels, becomes
first a visual beauty issue, then a visual clarity one.

>
> Option 1A looks very clean to me. 1B would be fine but looks less
> "modern" and
> GNOMEy.
>


1A it is.

>
> When we'll have polished all remaining questions, I think we should:
>
> - make a summary of the decisions so that we can ask others to review
> them
>


Here is a brief surface level explanation[0]. However, if people don't
think it is too much to dig into, we can certainly write an email and
list every decision by title, list each of the options to choose from
below the respective title, include a sentence or two describing why we
chose one over another, and include a image sample to better visualize,
but that might be too much.

>
> - have a mockup that I can build a prototype implementation from
>


Here ya go[1]. If people are cool with the decisions, this is good to
go. Would you want a Redline document with stuff called out?

>
> - dig into the detailed wording and icons for each option
>


The words and icons should be quite suitable as logical foundations to
build off of. The styling of the wording and the icons will be cool.

Does Tails have a dedicated graphic designer like the Tor Project does?

Also, I did my best to size everything to GNOME 3.14 standards but had
trouble locating anything definitively accurate. Screenshots from Tails
didn't align with the buttons available from the GNOME website though I
couldn't find info on the buttons being updated. Neither of these
aligned with images found online, nor with people's comments. But the
spacing and text should be close if not accurate.

Would you please direct me to the proper source of button and dialog
window sizes?

>
> I'm looking forward to see all this for real. It looks very promising
> to me!
>


Yay! Thanks for all the help!!

Wordlife,
Spencer

[0] Tails.Greeter.png
[1] Tails.Greeter.svgz