Unity launcher for Quantal Beta 2 has too many items, scrolls off the screen on 1366x768

Bug #1054167 reported by Jeremy Bícha
52
This bug affects 10 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
Ayatana Design
Won't Fix
Medium
John Lea
unity (Ubuntu)
Won't Fix
Low
Unassigned
Quantal
Won't Fix
Low
Unassigned
Raring
Won't Fix
Low
Unassigned

Bug Description

The addition of two new launcher items to the default launcher (bug 1046840) adds too much to an already overcrowded launcher. This will make items scroll off the edge of the screen (aka, the accordion effect) on 1366x768 screens, which is the most used screen resolution today.[1]

That feature hasn't finished landing today, so I'm including screenshots of today's Quantal to demonstrate what happens when adding 1 or 2 new items to the launcher.

This is made worse by Software Center adding newly installed apps to the launcher by default. The launcher can't handle more items on average laptop screens. It is even worse on netbooks.

What I'd like to see
==============
* Follow a philosophy oft-invoked on the Ayatana mailing list and drop 2 launcher items to make room for the 2 new ones.
Possibilities for removal:
   - System Settings, which pitti & I complained about in bug 764744 when it was added last year as GNOME 3 has many ways of reaching System Settings. (The user testing leading to that decision was done on 11.04 which used GNOME 2.)
   - Ubuntu One could be removed if the indicator-sync FFE/MIR gets approved
   - LibreOffice Calc & Impress don't need to be there, as it's possible to create or open spreadsheets from LibreOffice Writer, or open the apps directly from the Dash.

[1] http://gs.statcounter.com/press/screen-resolution-alert-for-web-developers

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.10
Package: unity 6.6.0-0ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.5.0-15.22-generic 3.5.4
Uname: Linux 3.5.0-15-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.5.2-0ubuntu4
Architecture: amd64
CompizPlugins: No value set for `/apps/compiz-1/general/screen0/options/active_plugins'
Date: Fri Sep 21 11:43:17 2012
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

Revision history for this message
Jeremy Bícha (jbicha) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Jeremy Bícha (jbicha) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Jeremy Bícha (jbicha) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Jeremy Bícha (jbicha) wrote :

Oh, and the live environment has an extra icon too, for the Install Ubuntu button. So let's add 1 more to my sample screenshot.

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

Changed in unity (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Ivanka Majic (ivanka) wrote :

The accordian effect is functionality designed precisely to accommodate a longer list of launcher icons and I can't agree that its invocation in the default install is a reason for concern.

Default apps and icons are under regular review and I recommend that we include the feedback in this bug in the discussions for the next cycle.

Changed in unity (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Won't Fix
Changed in ayatana-design:
status: New → Won't Fix
importance: Undecided → Medium
assignee: nobody → John Lea (johnlea)
Revision history for this message
Jeremy Bícha (jbicha) wrote :

Sorry, but that plus3 screenshot shows that the UI is broken. Basically, the first time Ubuntu experience is broken and it only gets more broken the more apps are ran or even installed.

The accordion effect is not all that usable and it should be an overflow fallback.

I also really get annoyed when design bugs like this are closed WONTFIX within 2 hours without the chance for much input. I'd expect that you'll get more people complaining later (today?) when the webapp feature finishes landing.

Revision history for this message
Jeremy Bícha (jbicha) wrote :

Oh, never mind my last paragraph. I see that Kate added an R-task so the bug is still open for consideration when we have more time. Thanks!

Revision history for this message
YannUbuntu (yannubuntu) wrote :

see also Bug #1054333 (about the "Workspace switcher" launcher)

Revision history for this message
zerwas (zerwas) wrote :

In Bug #864057 i already suggested aggregating the three Libreoffice launchers into one launcher which starts the Libreoffice "StartCenter". Please help change the bug status from "Incomplete" to "Confirmed".

Changed in unity (Ubuntu Raring):
status: Confirmed → Triaged
importance: Undecided → Low
Changed in unity (Ubuntu Quantal):
importance: Undecided → Low
Changed in unity:
importance: Undecided → Low
status: New → Triaged
Revision history for this message
Rolf Leggewie (r0lf) wrote :

raring has seen the end of its life and is no longer receiving any updates. Marking the raring task for this ticket as "Won't Fix".

Changed in unity (Ubuntu Raring):
status: Triaged → Won't Fix
Andrea Azzarone (azzar1)
Changed in unity (Ubuntu):
status: Triaged → Won't Fix
no longer affects: unity
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