Unity

Bug #668415
Comment #235

Comment 235 for bug 668415

Revision history for this message

John Lea (johnlea) wrote on 2011-12-20:

#235

@s-roesgen; think about this: every alternative configuration that is included in Ubuntu by default has to be both designed and tested with every other possible configuration of every element with which it interacts. So making the Launcher position configurable would be a *very large* amount of work. In addition, a additional maintenance burden would be created that would have to be carried through all future versions of Ubuntu.

Now we only have so much resource, and we have to choose where this resource is spent. To do this we weigh cost versus benefit. In the long list of quality improvements and features we would like to introduce, this change has a low cost/benefit ratio. "Won't fix" is the correct designation for this bug, because there are so many more important items on the list, and honestly we will not be able to get to this item any time soon.

Regarding the placement of the Launcher on the left hand side, we could spend days discussing the trades, exploration and user testing we conducted before settling on the left hand side position, but suffice to say that we feel this was the correct decision to make, including with the benefit of hindsight. Note this is not saying that things are perfect, there are loads of bugs to fix and improvements to make but I am confident we are travelling in the right direction. Remember that although you are not happy with this decision, there is a majority of users who are.

Any design decision that anyone makes will make *someone* unhappy, it is impossible to please all people all of the time. However for technical users there is a solution to this, patch it to make it the way you want! As long as you are happy with the majority of features and functionality, this is how you can close the gap to make the product *exactly* as you personally would wish it to be. Yes it costs time, but having this option is part of the beauty of open source. And if your change becomes sufficiently proven and popular, and the time is right with regards all the other aspects that have a bearing on development, the chances are that it will eventually get included. Just don't expect to snap your fingers and have your wish granted instantly! Rather get involved with development, and the more you contribute to a component, the more influence you will find you have.

@s-roesgen; think about this: every alternative configuration that is included in Ubuntu by default has to be both designed and tested with every other possible configuration of every element with which it interacts.   So making the Launcher position configurable would be a *very large* amount of work.  In addition, a additional maintenance burden would be created that would have to be carried through all future versions of Ubuntu.

Now we only have so much resource, and we have to choose where this resource is spent.  To do this we weigh cost versus benefit.  In the long list of quality improvements and features we would like to introduce, this change has a low cost/benefit ratio.  "Won't fix" is the correct designation for this bug, because there are so many more important items on the list, and honestly we will not be able to get to this item any time soon.

Regarding the placement of the Launcher on the left hand side, we could spend days discussing the trades, exploration and user testing we conducted before settling on the left hand side position, but suffice to say that we feel this was the correct decision to make, including with the benefit of hindsight.  Note this is not saying that things are perfect, there are loads of bugs to fix and improvements to make but I am confident we are travelling in the right direction.  Remember that although you are not happy with this decision, there is a majority of users who are.

Any design decision that anyone makes will make *someone* unhappy, it is impossible to please all people all of the time.  However for technical users there is a solution to this, patch it to make it the way you want!  As long as you are happy with the majority of features and functionality, this is how you can close the gap to make the product *exactly* as you personally would wish it to be.  Yes it costs time, but having this option is part of the beauty of open source.  And if your change becomes sufficiently proven and popular, and the time is right with regards all the other aspects that have a bearing on development, the chances are that it will eventually get included.   Just don't expect to snap your fingers and have your wish granted instantly!   Rather get involved with development, and the more you contribute to a component, the more influence you will find you have.