Comment 98 for bug 733349

2011/5/17 Ed Lin <email address hidden>

> Back to the real topic:
>

Good.

> "all windows belonging to an application" is the same as "the application"
> from a Linux user's perspective. Both would work for them. That doesn't mean
> the chosen terminology doesn't matter to the user at all. I already
> delivered the counterargument (in fact "argument" because there -still- is
> nothing to counter) but I'll repeat it in case it got lost somehow:
> "All windows of an application" is not the same for:
> - OS X users (the only app-centric desktop interface that already had
> "users" to speak of)
> - people confused by "all windows of an application" vs. "all windows on
> the desktop"
> - Interface designers using accurate terminology (those aren't "users" but
> bug reports aren't really intended for users either)
>

This bug report explicitly refers to "Minimize Application's Windows upon
clicking it's Launcher Icon ". Not "minimize application" but "minimize
application windows".

The fact that applications without visible windows exist is *completely
irrelevant* to this bug report and resulting discussion.

> As for minimize vs hide:
> One minimizes a window *to* a taskbar button (usually depicted graphically
> by a "_" or "v" like sign), while the other "hides" a window completely,
> it's gone from the desktop. It's not just a question of terminology (which
> *is* important when we are discussing interface design). The difference has
> important consequences for the user. Hidden windows behave very differently
> in a mental model, a user has to be somehow reminded that they are still
> open, he needs to know beforehand how to get the window "back" (animations
> can only be hints that which don't really change that). Minimized windows
> are simple, on a busy desktop they behave just like open windows behind
> other windows.
>

Great. This bug report is about *minimizing* windows, so please open a
different one for hide vs minimization and/or terminology matters. The rest
is line noise that has little to do with the topic at hand.