Ambiance theme and applet display glitches

Asked by roger64

Ambiance theme and applet display glitches.

I have been for five years a full time but plain Ubuntu user. I am French. So please forgive some probable technical and spelling inaccuracies.

Maverick Ambiance has been my first try with a dark theme. I was stunned by its elegance. However, I also spotted some minor but unpleasant glitches. I tried to correct them and I intend to report back to you my plain user experience.

It all revolve about applets background transparency and applet icons choice.

Description of the problem

Out of the happy few applets "made in Ubuntu" , one can also find probably hundreds of others, created either by Gnome or elsewhere. Some of them are just coming straight from the past and their specifications can be somewhat below today's expectancies. I recently had the opportunity to fiddle with some icons of the sulphurous notification area, and with the workspace and windows switchers . I could appreciate not only their qualities but also their limitations, particularly in the field of color management.

Two images just to be clear about it, using Ambiance:
Try to set up the desktop display button. Very practical. But what do you do if you do not like its violet icon ?
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/img/1289446165.png
Or another, about background and transparency for the notification area
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/img/1289216666.png

The average user has to face these problems. He wants to use one applet, but its icon (or its background) really does not fit with his desktop. Must he really either swallow it or give it up ? Of course, he can look for a solution. I just tried.

Looking for a solution. The "classical" way.

A plain user has not many convenient ways to deal with this. Let just examine how I tried to do it at desktop level. The situation seems to be far from ideal.
- As far as color is concerned, the Gnome Color Chooser, a powerful program without any manual nor even examples, is not the kind of tool I would recommend to innocent persons and this seems to be going to last.
- On the other hand, the hunt for applet icons, an elusive and nyctalope species, provide sometimes exciting rewards but most of the time ends up as a frustrating experience. I tried.

Looking for other solutions. The "inventive" way.

I found two and a half solutions, though there are probably more than that.

1. Let's begin by the half one.

It's just a half one because it deals only with the icons of the notification area. It just consist of getting rid of this area and replacing it by another, more transparency-compliant Ubuntu packet, named trayer. I described it in detail here (you'll find images).
http://forum.ubuntu-fr.org/viewtopic.php?pid=3840444#p3840444

2. The first "full" solution.

The first one is at the individual applet level.

This solution is about providing each of them with a real "Settings "menu. Though it looks more complex, it is in fact a rather intuitive one. When we face a problem with some object, we first try to find a solution within the frame this object. Only if we fail do we address the problem at a higher level (say Gnome Color Chooser). I will comment a little further about this intuitive way which can be illustrated by the talika revelation (Not Bible related)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/talika/files/

I had the opportunity to install recently the talika applet, which is a kind a new generation windows switcher. I understood then what could be a modern applet.
Why am I favorably impressed with talika ?
- it is very respecful of current theme specifications
- it can also be configured according to user's wishes thanks to a "Settings Menu" which allows for example (and not only)
 - to deal with background transparency
 - to set up monochrome icons (so fashionable in these Ubuntu-mono times)
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/img/1289446521.png

Just install it and study its Settings Menu, both rich and easy to use. It very favorably compares with other much shorter Settings Menus from the above mentioned switchers (when there is one). Defects ? Sure, its name which is not very helpful. Out of that, I let you inform me about them.

3. The second "full" solution

The other solution derives from the choice of a more convenient theme.

I had the opportunity to try another nice dark theme called Elegant Gnome installed from a PPA. I will not try to describe it in detail. Suffice it to say that there are no more background transparency problems regarding applets or system tray programs.
I provide you with a screenshot and a link.
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/original/1289726464.png
http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Elegant+Gnome+Pack?content=127826

Conclusion

I just hope that the release of your future dark Ubuntu theme will provide a solution for these problems, whatever this solution will be. Users need it.

NB: Closing remarks.

Just to finish, allow me a short remark about applet your naming conventions. For a plain user, it's a little confusing to name several applets with an "indicator" name. Too many indicators (notifications in French) kill indicators. I would prefer plain and explicit applet names:
- there is maybe a need for a "social" applet, with messages, IM, personnal coordinates and blogs
- then a "session" applet is very much expected
- then an "audio" applet ... And so on, function by function.

It also would help if I could find or add my favorite Ubuntu program in its own functional applet. I would expect for example to find or be able to add Checkgmail, Thunderbird and Radio Tray in their function related applets...

Thanks for reading and heartfelt thanks for your very nice job.

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