bklaas;564929 Wrote:
>
> - Ability to hide submenu items (nice-to-have)
>
Just in case you aren't aware of it, Alan has added a third party API
in the onebrowser branch of the server that will make it possible for
third party developers to implement a plugin that hides the library
browser menus. I still think it would be good to have this kind of menu
configuration on the client, since you may want to cofigure "Dad's
remote" and "Kid's remote", but if you feel need to prioritize...
Alan's onebrowser stuff will only handle the local library browsing
menus so it's not a generic solution for all menus since that was out
of the scope for his work. It will cover most but not all menus under
My Music, for example "My Music/Random Mix" will not be possible to
hide. Also, it will not cover any menus under "Internet Radio" or
"Extras".
bklaas;564929 Wrote:
>
> Certainly I'd like to hear about bugs, nor do I have any problem with
> feedback
>
I also thought about another thing. Currently the configuration is the
same independent which server and player you are connected to.
Is there some usage scenario that would require possibility to
configure different menu layouts dependent on which server/player you
are controlling ?
Is there some usage scenario where different users of a specific
controller would like to have different menu structures ?
For example, one structure for me and another simplified structure for
the other members of the family ?
How does the support for the multiple users enhancement earlier planned
fit into all this ?
bklaas;564929 Wrote:
>
> provided it's not what's already been said.
>
Ben, I suspect you probably don't want to here this, since I'm partly
repeating myself, so feel free to ignore the rest of this post if you
aren't interested. I will try to not repeat this again after this post,
I just want to make a last try to explain my thoughts.
Do we have some idea what kind of problems we are trying to solve with
this functionality ?
That is, why do we feel that people need to reconfigure menus ?
I'm not saying that it isn't needed, I just thought it would be good to
know if the reason people want to reconfigure menus is the same as I
think they are. If we are only trying to create possibility to
reconfigure menus without knowing the problem there is a risk we are
prioritizing the wrong things and doesn't choose the best solution,
which will make this device more geeky than it currently is.
The main needs I personally suspect exists are:
1. Possibility to make it easier to access the functions I'm accessing
often, the current interface requires too much scrolling and have too
deep menus to make it effective for people that are only playing local
music or only playing internet radio music.
2. Possibility to make the device permanently easier to use for spouse
or kid where a lot of menus will confuse them while still allowing me
to access all the menus in an effective way.
3. Possibility to secure the device so it can't be reconfigured by
people that don't know what they are doing.
4. Possibility to make the device easier to use temporary during a
party for people who aren't used to using Squeezeboxes.
Point 2, 3 and 4 is probably about making it possible to hide different
kind of menus and they are also a bit related. Regarding point 1, think
about Windows for an example, it has the possibility to reconfigure
menus but how many people use it ? I think most people just accept the
default installation menu structure and instead use the commonly used
application list that automatically appear directly in the start menu.
Windows also have a way to automatically hide menus which are rarely
used. Yes, I know a computer isn't completely comparable with a
Squeezebox, I'm just trying to say that, if we know the problem there
might be better solutions than adding additional configuration options
that makes the system even more geeky.
Based on the experience from some of my plugins, I know that the
easiest short term solution if you don't know the usage scenario, is
always to add another configuration option, but in the end it can turn
out unusable because it gets too complex or requires too much work for
most potential users.
--
erland
Erland Isaksson ('My homepage' (http://erland.isaksson.info))
(Developer of 'many plugins/applets'
(http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/User:Erland). If my answer
helped you and you like to encourage future presence on this forum
and/or third party plugin/applet development, 'donations are always
appreciated' (http://erland.isaksson.info/donate))
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