Talk:Viewer Visual Update

Feedback and Ideas

• In the Mac instructions, if you start with 'Make a copy of the Second Life application with "Duplicate" and rename it "Second Life Visual Update"...' and move on from there then the "uninstall" step won't be needed, and people can more easily compare the two. -- Argent Stonecutter 06:14, 22 October 2007 (PDT)

• Would like to see a flash layer, where flash widgets could communicate to the UI via an API and either replace or partially replace bits and pieces of it. This could be a big market for companies wishing to have customized clients but still take advantage of Linden Labs robust source.

• • I would actively NOT want to see a layer that can only be programmed with a closed system like flash. -- Argent Stonecutter 06:07, 22 October 2007 (PDT)

• Great work on the graphics! Definitely shows off the potential for what can be done.

• Well how novel: ripping off the Mac OS X metallic buttons and giving them an Aqua feel... Well, don't stop there. Read Apple's Human Interface Guidelines and implement them. Then we'll not only have the feel too, but then the whole thing may work as standard instead of being buggy, bloated, roll your own code. We would have international settings and keyboards that worked, standard window behaviour, one menu bar not two, and text editing handling that worked properly, and properly transposed keyboard shorcuts. Get that stuff sorted first then you can think of moving on to skinning.
  • I would like to point out, that SecondLife client is Cross-Platform. If they stuck to the Mac guidelines, then it wouldn't fit windows or linux. To be honest, as SecondLife is effectively a game, the interface has to be a roll your own (Read Apples guidelines, it actually says that somewhere) --Nik Woodget 02:37, 22 October 2007 (PDT)
    • For the Mac port, at least, the way that command and control are reversed is really hard to deal with. It would be nice if there was an option to reverse the command and control keys for XUI only. -- Argent Stonecutter 06:07, 22 October 2007 (PDT)

• Would like more than anything to see the UI windows capable of being moved onto a second monitor off the main viewer window. Now that would be very cool and make life a whole lot easier.
  • This would also mean making that the second life viewer would have to use system controls. Again its a pain for cross-platform software. Though not impossible. --Nik Woodget 02:38, 22 October 2007 (PDT)

Feedback on the style itself

• The problem I'm having is with the fact that most of the text in search results is white on a bright blue/gray background, which makes it hard to read. Also, text in profiles and (non-editable) group descriptions is difficult to read for the same reason. I think that adding more contrast would definitely improve the usability (not to mention the accessibility) of this skin.

• I don't think it looks Mac-like at all. In fact while Apple popularized the glossy look the "shiny metallic" look isn't really their schtick, and they have been moving away from the aggressive glossiness of the early OS X versions to a smoother and more professional look in Panther and Tiger. I would much rather see the glossiness eliminated and something less overpowering like Max Rudberg's "Milk" theme being used as inspiration.
  • With a light background ALL the text needs to be dark.
  • The window close and minimize buttons look smaller in this style, even if they aren't, and I keep slowing down to hit them more precisely.
  • The translucent menu bar is an improvement. It needs to extend under the menus themselves, of course. The backdrop for the button bars on the bottom should be translucent as well, for symmetry... and with the new style I don't think the little "loops" over the buttons above the chat bar are really useful.
  • The glossiness of the buttons is a problem, and they also look more like tabs than buttons. A flatter more "matte" style would work better.
  • The 3d look of floating text is definitely a problem.
• At the moment I think the original style is preferrable. I would say that the dark color scheme works better, particularly for translucent windows... if the ghosted windows could turn dark (but with light text) that would work, but that's probably more than XUI can handle. -- Argent Stonecutter 06:25, 22 October 2007 (PDT)