In a previous email I suggested that we should borrow some inspiration from BitTorrent clients. Here are some examples:
Transmission: http://transmission.m0k.org/screenshots.php This one is interesting because of its simplicity, just a toolbar across the top with the basic functions, and a list of files being uploaded and downloaded, along with a progress bar for each (I prefer the appearance of the mac version). Each progress bar has a magnifying glass symbol next to it which (I believe) causes a pop-up window with more detailed information about the download or upload in question. I think I prefer this approach to Thaw's current approach of having a permanently present "side bar" with detailed status information (much of which the vast majority of users won't understand). We shouldn't present users with too much information unless they ask for it. In general, I think a problem with Thaw's current UI is that a lot of functionality has a permanent place on the UI, where really the functionality should be present in a pop-up window that only appears when needed. I think this applies to both the upload and download tabs, which we should consider replacing with separate windows that appear when the user needs to upload or download a file, and also the status area to the right of the UI. Azureus: http://azureus.sourceforge.net/screenshots_v2.php This one is Java, and has a more complicated interface, IMHO probably more complicated than it needs to be. I think they make the mistake of assuming that their users need to know about every detail of what is going on - where this is clearly not the case for most users (and even users who understand this detailed information, probably grow tired of it quickly). Again, I'm just trying to give some helpful feedback here, you can take or leave any of it. I would strongly encourage other people to help Jerome by offering their first impressions of the UI too. Ian. Ian Clarke: Co-Founder & Chief Scientist Revver, Inc. phone: 323.871.2828 | personal blog - http://locut.us/blog -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <https://emu.freenetproject.org/pipermail/thaw/attachments/20060718/3f754c52/attachment.html>
