Activity log for bug #860501

Date Who What changed Old value New value Message
2011-09-27 12:00:13 Jeremy Bícha bug added bug
2011-09-27 12:00:57 Jeremy Bícha description Ubuntu ships with a useful pre-installed User Guide, but it's rather difficult for users to find it. Amanda has always used Windows but is frustrated with her computer because it might have a virus. She hears on the radio about something new called Ubuntu that doesn't get viruses and manages to install it. The new user interface is a lot different than she was expecting so she looks for clues about how to use it. For Amanda to find the pre-installed Ubuntu Desktop Guide, she'll have to figure out how to open the Dash and type Help. She could also click "More Apps" and "See more results" and scroll down and find Help. Once a user has mastered the Dash enough to find Help, they already know a fair amount of what people need the Help for. Help is one of the more important parts of the interface because it can help people find System Settings or how to troubleshoot their network or how to enable accessibility and much more. It is possible to come with a whole bunch of others user scenarios where users at all ability levels won't know how to do things without guidance. This is a regression as every Ubuntu release before 11.04 had a Help button very prominently displayed as a default launcher in the panel next to Firefox. Even Evolution was removed in later releases but not Help. As Phil Bull said, "I think the conclusion with help launchers is that they should be (a) *particularly* easy to discover, to the point of being obvious, but (b) unintrusive, to avoid annoying people who don't want to use them. There can be a fine line between the two, but I think a help button on the dash sounds quite sensible." Possible Solutions ============== In bug 778289 the Documentation Team suggested adding a default launcher item shortcut for Help. This has the advantage of being very easy to add, even after UI Freeze. If it's done without a quicklist then it shouldn't even need translations to be updated. Or it could be a first-run popup like is done in Windows Vista and higher or in recent releases of Linux Mint. http://beginlinux.com/images/desktop/linux-mint/linux-mint-install12.jpg The presence of a Ubuntu help button on the default Firefox page helps with this problem but since the Google custom search on that page is so much worse than normal Google, some users quickly change their homepage to something that works better. Some type of contextual help could be a better solution, possibly for 12.04 but we need at least a partial solution now for 11.10. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10 Package: unity 4.18.0-0ubuntu1 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-12.19-generic 3.0.4 Uname: Linux 3.0.0-12-generic x86_64 ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu1 Architecture: amd64 CompizPlugins: [core,bailer,detection,composite,opengl,decor,mousepoll,vpswitch,regex,animation,snap,expo,move,compiztoolbox,place,grid,imgpng,gnomecompat,wall,ezoom,workarounds,resize,fade,unitymtgrabhandles,scale,session,unityshell] Date: Tue Sep 27 04:56:19 2011 SourcePackage: unity UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) Ubuntu ships with a useful pre-installed User Guide, but it's rather difficult for users to find it.   Amanda has always used Windows but is frustrated with her computer because it might have a virus. She hears on the radio about something new called Ubuntu that doesn't get viruses and manages to install it. The new user interface is a lot different than she was expecting so she looks for clues about how to use it.   For Amanda to find the pre-installed Ubuntu Desktop Guide, she'll have to figure out how to open the Dash and type Help. She could also click "More Apps" and "See more results" and scroll down and find Help. Once a user has mastered the Dash enough to find Help, they already know a fair amount of what people need the Help for. Help is one of the more important parts of the interface because it can help people find System Settings or how to troubleshoot their network or how to enable accessibility and much more. It is possible to come with a whole bunch of others user scenarios where users at all ability levels won't know how to do things without guidance. This is a regression as every Ubuntu release before 11.04 had a Help button very prominently displayed as a default launcher in the panel next to Firefox. Even Evolution was removed in later releases but not Help. As Phil Bull said, "I think the conclusion with help launchers is that they should be (a) *particularly* easy to discover, to the point of being obvious, but (b) unintrusive, to avoid annoying people who don't want to use them. There can be a fine line between the two, but I think a help button on the dash sounds quite sensible." Possible Solutions ============== In bug 778289 the Documentation Team suggested adding a default launcher item shortcut for Help. This has the advantage of being very easy to add, even after UI Freeze. If it's done without a quicklist then it shouldn't even need translations to be updated. Or it could be a first-run popup like is done in Windows Vista and higher or in recent releases of Linux Mint. http://beginlinux.com/images/desktop/linux-mint/linux-mint-install12.jpg The presence of a Ubuntu help button on the default Firefox page helps with this problem but since the Google custom search on that page is so much worse than normal Google, some users quickly change their homepage to something that works better. Some type of contextual help could be a better solution, possibly for 12.04 but we need at least a partial solution now for 11.10. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10 Package: unity 4.18.0-0ubuntu1 Date: Tue Sep 27 04:56:19 2011
2011-09-27 12:01:24 Launchpad Janitor unity (Ubuntu): status New Confirmed
2011-09-27 12:03:06 Jeremy Bícha bug task added unity
2011-09-27 12:03:28 Jeremy Bícha bug task added ayatana-design
2011-09-27 13:11:08 Robert Roth bug added subscriber Robert Roth
2011-09-27 17:58:42 jhfhlkjlj bug added subscriber Chauncellor
2011-09-27 18:28:28 manny bug added subscriber manny
2011-09-27 21:54:36 Adolfo Jayme Barrientos bug added subscriber Fitoschido
2011-09-28 07:29:24 Mirco Müller unity: status New Opinion
2011-09-28 07:29:27 Mirco Müller unity: importance Undecided Wishlist
2011-09-28 07:54:07 Jeremy Bícha unity: status Opinion New
2011-09-28 09:07:07 Mirco Müller unity: importance Wishlist Medium
2011-09-28 13:31:57 Omer Akram unity (Ubuntu): importance Undecided Medium
2011-09-28 13:31:59 Omer Akram unity: status New Incomplete
2011-09-28 13:32:01 Omer Akram unity (Ubuntu): status Confirmed Incomplete
2011-10-05 21:13:54 iGadget bug added subscriber Matthijs ten Kate
2011-12-11 18:59:50 Heimen Stoffels unity (Ubuntu): status Incomplete Confirmed
2011-12-11 18:59:52 Heimen Stoffels unity: status Incomplete Confirmed
2011-12-11 19:00:00 Heimen Stoffels ayatana-design: status New Confirmed
2011-12-11 19:02:28 Heimen Stoffels bug added subscriber Vistaus
2012-01-03 23:20:22 Sean DS bug added subscriber Sean DS
2012-04-13 16:11:43 Matthew Paul Thomas ayatana-design: assignee Matthew Paul Thomas (mpt)
2012-04-13 16:11:47 Matthew Paul Thomas ayatana-design: status Confirmed In Progress
2012-04-14 11:12:05 John Lea description Ubuntu ships with a useful pre-installed User Guide, but it's rather difficult for users to find it.   Amanda has always used Windows but is frustrated with her computer because it might have a virus. She hears on the radio about something new called Ubuntu that doesn't get viruses and manages to install it. The new user interface is a lot different than she was expecting so she looks for clues about how to use it.   For Amanda to find the pre-installed Ubuntu Desktop Guide, she'll have to figure out how to open the Dash and type Help. She could also click "More Apps" and "See more results" and scroll down and find Help. Once a user has mastered the Dash enough to find Help, they already know a fair amount of what people need the Help for. Help is one of the more important parts of the interface because it can help people find System Settings or how to troubleshoot their network or how to enable accessibility and much more. It is possible to come with a whole bunch of others user scenarios where users at all ability levels won't know how to do things without guidance. This is a regression as every Ubuntu release before 11.04 had a Help button very prominently displayed as a default launcher in the panel next to Firefox. Even Evolution was removed in later releases but not Help. As Phil Bull said, "I think the conclusion with help launchers is that they should be (a) *particularly* easy to discover, to the point of being obvious, but (b) unintrusive, to avoid annoying people who don't want to use them. There can be a fine line between the two, but I think a help button on the dash sounds quite sensible." Possible Solutions ============== In bug 778289 the Documentation Team suggested adding a default launcher item shortcut for Help. This has the advantage of being very easy to add, even after UI Freeze. If it's done without a quicklist then it shouldn't even need translations to be updated. Or it could be a first-run popup like is done in Windows Vista and higher or in recent releases of Linux Mint. http://beginlinux.com/images/desktop/linux-mint/linux-mint-install12.jpg The presence of a Ubuntu help button on the default Firefox page helps with this problem but since the Google custom search on that page is so much worse than normal Google, some users quickly change their homepage to something that works better. Some type of contextual help could be a better solution, possibly for 12.04 but we need at least a partial solution now for 11.10. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10 Package: unity 4.18.0-0ubuntu1 Date: Tue Sep 27 04:56:19 2011 Ubuntu ships with a useful pre-installed User Guide, but it's rather difficult for users to find it.   Amanda has always used Windows but is frustrated with her computer because it might have a virus. She hears on the radio about something new called Ubuntu that doesn't get viruses and manages to install it. The new user interface is a lot different than she was expecting so she looks for clues about how to use it.   For Amanda to find the pre-installed Ubuntu Desktop Guide, she'll have to figure out how to open the Dash and type Help. She could also click "More Apps" and "See more results" and scroll down and find Help. Once a user has mastered the Dash enough to find Help, they already know a fair amount of what people need the Help for. Help is one of the more important parts of the interface because it can help people find System Settings or how to troubleshoot their network or how to enable accessibility and much more. It is possible to come with a whole bunch of others user scenarios where users at all ability levels won't know how to do things without guidance. This is a regression as every Ubuntu release before 11.04 had a Help button very prominently displayed as a default launcher in the panel next to Firefox. Even Evolution was removed in later releases but not Help. As Phil Bull said, "I think the conclusion with help launchers is that they should be (a) *particularly* easy to discover, to the point of being obvious, but (b) unintrusive, to avoid annoying people who don't want to use them. There can be a fine line between the two, but I think a help button on the dash sounds quite sensible." Possible Solutions ============== In bug 778289 the Documentation Team suggested adding a default launcher item shortcut for Help. This has the advantage of being very easy to add, even after UI Freeze. If it's done without a quicklist then it shouldn't even need translations to be updated. Or it could be a first-run popup like is done in Windows Vista and higher or in recent releases of Linux Mint. http://beginlinux.com/images/desktop/linux-mint/linux-mint-install12.jpg The presence of a Ubuntu help button on the default Firefox page helps with this problem but since the Google custom search on that page is so much worse than normal Google, some users quickly change their homepage to something that works better. Some type of contextual help could be a better solution, possibly for 12.04 but we need at least a partial solution now for 11.10. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10 Package: unity 4.18.0-0ubuntu1 Date: Tue Sep 27 04:56:19 2011 ---------------------------------------------- Desired Solution: - A 'Ubuntu Help' option will be added to the system menu, see the Indicator specs at http://design.canonical.com/the-toolkit/ - The home page of the user documentation should prominently feature a link to http://askubuntu.com/ - The visual design of the user documentation should be brought into line with the Ubuntu brand. See http://design.ubuntu.com/ for the full set of brand guidelines and materials
2012-04-14 11:12:45 John Lea description Ubuntu ships with a useful pre-installed User Guide, but it's rather difficult for users to find it.   Amanda has always used Windows but is frustrated with her computer because it might have a virus. She hears on the radio about something new called Ubuntu that doesn't get viruses and manages to install it. The new user interface is a lot different than she was expecting so she looks for clues about how to use it.   For Amanda to find the pre-installed Ubuntu Desktop Guide, she'll have to figure out how to open the Dash and type Help. She could also click "More Apps" and "See more results" and scroll down and find Help. Once a user has mastered the Dash enough to find Help, they already know a fair amount of what people need the Help for. Help is one of the more important parts of the interface because it can help people find System Settings or how to troubleshoot their network or how to enable accessibility and much more. It is possible to come with a whole bunch of others user scenarios where users at all ability levels won't know how to do things without guidance. This is a regression as every Ubuntu release before 11.04 had a Help button very prominently displayed as a default launcher in the panel next to Firefox. Even Evolution was removed in later releases but not Help. As Phil Bull said, "I think the conclusion with help launchers is that they should be (a) *particularly* easy to discover, to the point of being obvious, but (b) unintrusive, to avoid annoying people who don't want to use them. There can be a fine line between the two, but I think a help button on the dash sounds quite sensible." Possible Solutions ============== In bug 778289 the Documentation Team suggested adding a default launcher item shortcut for Help. This has the advantage of being very easy to add, even after UI Freeze. If it's done without a quicklist then it shouldn't even need translations to be updated. Or it could be a first-run popup like is done in Windows Vista and higher or in recent releases of Linux Mint. http://beginlinux.com/images/desktop/linux-mint/linux-mint-install12.jpg The presence of a Ubuntu help button on the default Firefox page helps with this problem but since the Google custom search on that page is so much worse than normal Google, some users quickly change their homepage to something that works better. Some type of contextual help could be a better solution, possibly for 12.04 but we need at least a partial solution now for 11.10. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10 Package: unity 4.18.0-0ubuntu1 Date: Tue Sep 27 04:56:19 2011 ---------------------------------------------- Desired Solution: - A 'Ubuntu Help' option will be added to the system menu, see the Indicator specs at http://design.canonical.com/the-toolkit/ - The home page of the user documentation should prominently feature a link to http://askubuntu.com/ - The visual design of the user documentation should be brought into line with the Ubuntu brand. See http://design.ubuntu.com/ for the full set of brand guidelines and materials Ubuntu ships with a useful pre-installed User Guide, but it's rather difficult for users to find it.   Amanda has always used Windows but is frustrated with her computer because it might have a virus. She hears on the radio about something new called Ubuntu that doesn't get viruses and manages to install it. The new user interface is a lot different than she was expecting so she looks for clues about how to use it.   For Amanda to find the pre-installed Ubuntu Desktop Guide, she'll have to figure out how to open the Dash and type Help. She could also click "More Apps" and "See more results" and scroll down and find Help. Once a user has mastered the Dash enough to find Help, they already know a fair amount of what people need the Help for. Help is one of the more important parts of the interface because it can help people find System Settings or how to troubleshoot their network or how to enable accessibility and much more. It is possible to come with a whole bunch of others user scenarios where users at all ability levels won't know how to do things without guidance. This is a regression as every Ubuntu release before 11.04 had a Help button very prominently displayed as a default launcher in the panel next to Firefox. Even Evolution was removed in later releases but not Help. As Phil Bull said, "I think the conclusion with help launchers is that they should be (a) *particularly* easy to discover, to the point of being obvious, but (b) unintrusive, to avoid annoying people who don't want to use them. There can be a fine line between the two, but I think a help button on the dash sounds quite sensible." Ideas ============== In bug 778289 the Documentation Team suggested adding a default launcher item shortcut for Help. This has the advantage of being very easy to add, even after UI Freeze. If it's done without a quicklist then it shouldn't even need translations to be updated. Or it could be a first-run popup like is done in Windows Vista and higher or in recent releases of Linux Mint. http://beginlinux.com/images/desktop/linux-mint/linux-mint-install12.jpg The presence of a Ubuntu help button on the default Firefox page helps with this problem but since the Google custom search on that page is so much worse than normal Google, some users quickly change their homepage to something that works better. Some type of contextual help could be a better solution, possibly for 12.04 but we need at least a partial solution now for 11.10. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10 Package: unity 4.18.0-0ubuntu1 Date: Tue Sep 27 04:56:19 2011 ---------------------------------------------- Desired Solution: The following changes have been signed off by the design team. - A 'Ubuntu Help' option will be added to the system menu, see the Indicator specs at http://design.canonical.com/the-toolkit/ - The home page of the user documentation should prominently feature a link to http://askubuntu.com/ - The visual design of the user documentation should be brought into line with the Ubuntu brand. See http://design.ubuntu.com/ for the full set of brand guidelines and materials
2012-04-14 11:12:49 John Lea ayatana-design: status In Progress Fix Committed
2012-04-14 11:13:09 John Lea tags amd64 apport-bug oneiric regression-release amd64 apport-bug oneiric regression-release udp
2012-04-17 16:13:55 Nicolas Delvaux bug added subscriber Nicolas Delvaux
2012-04-24 10:41:21 Matthew Paul Thomas ayatana-design: importance Undecided Medium
2012-05-18 09:19:32 Matthew Paul Thomas ayatana-design: status Fix Committed New
2012-07-12 00:47:27 Jeremy Bícha unity (Ubuntu): status Confirmed Fix Released
2012-07-12 00:47:31 Jeremy Bícha unity: status Confirmed Fix Released
2012-07-12 00:47:41 Jeremy Bícha ayatana-design: status New Fix Released
2012-09-05 10:26:15 Christian Giordano tags amd64 apport-bug oneiric regression-release udp amd64 apport-bug oneiric regression-release reviewedbydesignq