Public bug reported:
Binary package hint: computer-janitor-gtk
The 'Really clean up?' message in Computer Janitor needs to be more
helpful to the user in deciding whether to continue.
I ran Computer Janitor for the first time (on Jaunty) and it displayed
18 .deb files that it could remove. When I asked it to Clean Up, it
popped up a message.
The message says:
Really clean up?
You are removing 18 .deb packages. This may break your system, if you need
them. Do you want to continue?
No/Yes
This message didn't help me at all in making the decision of whether to
continue. Yes, the removal of .deb packages from the system *might*
cause problems, but you can't expect me to make an informed judgement
about that (I had no idea whether the removal of those .deb packages
would break my system; I could only trust that Computer Janitor was
showing me packages that could be safely removed). CJ shouldn't list
packages that *might* cause problems if removed; it needs to be
absolutely sure that it won't break my computer. The message needs to
help me decide what to do.
All the message provides at the moment is:
a) doubt and uncertainty in the user as to whether the Computer Janitor will in
fact do what it says it will do (or whether it will just break their computer),
and
b) an impression in the user that the developer isn't confident that their code
will in fact do what it's meant to do
Neither of which, IMHO, is a good thing (for either the user or for
Ubuntu).
If Computer Janitor is not going to do what it's meant to do, it
shouldn't be in the release. If it will work as designed (it's so far
worked fine for me - but then I've not rebooted yet... ;-) ), why
confuse the user?
You could warn the user of the potential impact of running Computer
Janitor up front (if you really think that's necessary). You could
provide a brief intro in the app itself (ie after CJ starts but before
the user has chance to do anything with it); for example, at the top of
the window, or even on a message that has to be OK'd before the main CJ
window opens (though that might put anyone off using it...). Even then,
though, provide useful information that helps the user make an informed
decision, like:
"Computer Janitor removes unused packages from your computer. It is
possible, if the package has not been used in a while [or whatever
reason CJ might be mistaken] that Computer Janitor will remove packages
that are needed by your system. If that happens, you can reinstall the
packages [or whatever action the user has to take to rectify the damage]
by...[or link to instructions of how to rectify the damage]."
On a separate note, is it not possible for this clean-up to be done
invisibly as part of the upgrade process? I always assumed it would be
and was surprised that I got an increasingly long list of kernels during
startup.
** Affects: computer-janitor (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
** Summary changed:
- Computer Janitor message refuses to take responsibility
+ Computer Janitor message doesn't help user decide whether to continue
--
Computer Janitor message doesn't help user decide whether to continue
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/371918
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