I’ve used 4.3-rc3 for a couple weeks now, and I love most of the GUI changes. The simple but descriptive symbols are a lot easier to understand and I think makes it a lot easier to look at. That being said, there are a few quirks I think should be addressed:
Qubes manager: “User qubes” section should include named disposables
There should be an option to explicitly remove some qubes from view, instead of only explicitly allowing them. It may be a good thing to put in under the ‘view’ menu
Qubes menu: I would like to see the ability to explicitly remove groups from view, like service or templates
Qubes manager: a green checkmark shouldn’t be used, since that communicates something is right that could be wrong. Possibly the 1-in-0 power symbol instead?
The way ‘service’ qubes are handled shouldn’t be networking, since it indicates that it should include more than just networking qubes. I don’t expect this to be in 4.3, but it’s something to think about. Possibly by using a tag?
Issue: "Qubes Manager: Qube Started Status Icon is difficult to see"
Affected component(s): Qubes Manager
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
Open Qubes Manager, start a qube
Expected behavior:
Users can easily and without thought see whether a qube is started.
Actual behavior:
Having a qube highlighted makes seeing the status icon very difficult; current checkmark icon is hard to process based on color (too much empty space) and could be confusing (a checkmark usually indicates something in a desired state that could be undesired, like being done/undone or right/wrong).
Proposed Solution:
Use a Play Triangle icon in a circle, with the circle filled in green and the triangle empty to indicate a qube is started. Also, use high-contrast shades for selected/highlighted lines.
In the future, stick to solid shapes and high-contrast color combinations when choosing icons and colors.
Not only that but when i click on the name / highlighted,the green check mark disappears under the blue thick line and i cannot see if VM is on or off.
I’m just glad I can do something of service, even though it’s just glorified complaining. I hope it helps.
I forgot about that. I would assume many users would also have named disposables though. Maybe it could include named disposables and filter out sevicevms, or maybe this could be renamed to AppVMs/App Qubes?
Yes, and as for the Qubes Menu I mean hiding the Templates or Service tabs (also presumably the Apps tab, but I don’t know who would use that.)
As for tri-state checkbox, I tried left-, middle-, and right-clicking. I am fully updated as of right now, but Global Config says I’m still on rc3, so maybe it’s on rc4?
I sympathize, and ultimately I care more about improving Qubes than my preferences. That being said, aren’t people supposed to expect changes like this while it’s an RC? I’d think it would be better to lump it in with all the major GUI changes than let people get truly used to it than change it later.
I think this is a contrast thing. It was much easier to see in 4.2. Maybe it should be a lighter blue when highlighted, or maybe a different highlight method? Idk, because IIRC, the current color is the Qubes blue, and it wouldn’t make thematic sense to change it. Likewise, I think changing the highlight method would be a change current users are likely to dislike. Though, at the end of the day, it is more important things be usable. I kind of think maybe the dots were better for contrast and recognition, even though I like the descriptive symbols better. Maybe it would be best to choose a different shade of green?
Actually, I was just working with another system, and I saw they used play (triangle) and stop (square) symbols. I think this would be a great addition in line with the current icons. @marmarta, since IIRC you’re in charge of UI, does this sound like something that should be done?