proposal to remove the "Start Here" icon

[Jeff Spaleta]

On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 10:37:45 -0400, Owen Taylor <otaylor at redhat.com> wrote:
> I'd much rather see a menu used only as a short list of favorite
> applications and common actions like "logout" and have a real app
> browser for everything else.

I think this is a good idea. A "browser" view for all installed
applications backup by some logic or editing ability so the main menu
could be used as a favorites or a most recent/frequeny hotlist for the
user. A "Browse All Applications"/"Find an Application" action in the
main menu that opened up an application browser, would complement a
short menu of frequently used applications, instead of one big menu
for everything installed. But certaintly implementing this as a main
menu action button instead of the desktop icon, would be better if the
intention is to have an application browser thats meant to be used
regularly and not just on first contact with the gnome desktop,
because it would be very difficult to get to the icon under all those
spatial nautilus windows people regularly have open.

As an crude example of how this could work, and something I already do.
Start using the commandline panel applet instead of the main menu to
launch programs.
The history list on the applet acts as a recent applications menu.
Sadly the browser button on the applet just lets you search the
filesytem for executables and has no knowledge of the application
.desktop entries, so you'll have to use your imagination as to how
wonderful it would be if the browser button on the applet let you
browse applictions instead of the filesystem.

-jef