{#} Replies are directed back to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
{#} To reply to the author, write to Jonathan Baumgartner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
On 2/5/02 6:38 PM, "Ben Rister" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Cons (with brief discussion):
> * Requires dock on left or right, won't work with dock on bottom. This is
> the biggest problem, as it appears that most people have left the dock on
> the bottom. One could put it at the top under the menu bar, but that is a
> significantly poorer solution from a mouse-targeting perspective, not to
> mention possible interference with the menu bar. However, it would retain
> the other benefits. Any comments or suggestions on this are highly
> requested.
What if you made an option where it could function like the Dock, with the
tooltip concept? That way you could have a very thin BuddyBar only
displaying icons going down the left or right hand side, and a mouse-over
would show the buddy's name. That would conserve space too, even if you've
got it on the bottom.
I can't quite tell in your mock-up, because the image is shrunk, but it
looks like even with only a few buddies, the bar extends across the entire
width of the screen. I would prefer it be more like the Control Strip from
OS 9, where it extends only to the width it needs. And maybe a minimize
widget that would shrink it to either completely hidden except for a
maximize widget, or a "use the smallest amount of real estate while still
displaying minimal information" state, with maybe icons indicating the
number of online buddies per service (like Mail's icon.)
> * Issue with apps placing windows with resize controls behind the bar? Only
> applies to when floating, but maybe we can tell the system to not autosize
> windows there, like the dock does (for the apps which listen). Can always
> hide Fire momentarily if it is an issue for a second.
Another nice option would be auto-hide. That would take care of this
problem.
> If this sounds like something that many people would like, then I'll start
> working on it, and a while down the line we'll have a great new feature that
> puts Fire above everything else in another way. If not, well, then we can
> all just keep using the buddy list all the time. I have a TiBook, I guess I
> can spare a couple inches on the side. =)
I think it sounds like a great idea!
jon
{#} ----------------------------------------------------+[ fire ]+---
