Notices

This week, we want to focus on improving application names (both in the app manager and the menu), their descriptions (mostly the one-line description available in the application manager list) and on getting the information (name, description and screenshots) on http://maemo.org/downloads/ in a better state, so that the screenshots reflect the most up-to-date version of an application, and that the screenshots are also representative of how the application looks like when "in use" (e.g. for content-creating apps, the screenshot should already contain some content or be in the middle of an editing session).

This is also for names in the applications list that are too long and are cut off because of that.

Of course, as all UX-WEEKs, this is for all applications, independent on wheter they are in Extras-Devel, Extras-Testing or Extras. Of course, content on the downloads page only makes sense for apps that are in Extras already

Ok a quick starter for me :

• Desktop downloads

maemo.org theme
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/maemo-org/
The description needs some work!

ussd-widgete
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/ussd-widget/
Needs a screenshot or two.

Desktop Photo Slideshow Widget
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/M...p-photoapplet/
The description seems to describe the update - not the application.

• Programming downloads

mad-developer
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/M...mad-developer/
Needs a screenshot.

• Games downloads

nspeed
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/nspeed/
Description is repetetive

gltron
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/gltron/
No Screenshot


(Will do more later, back to work!)

Some useful references:

• http://wiki.maemo.org/Packaging
• http://wiki.maemo.org/Packaging/Guidelines

One-line descriptions

Some "rules" that I propose for the one-line description that appears under the package name in Application Manager:

• Try not to repeat the app name. So instead of "Conboy is a note taking application", just have "Note taking application". Harder with something like "Countdown Timer" though!
• Use sentence case. That doesn't mean it needs to be a proper sentence, but it should start with a capital letter, and no need for other capital letters after than apart from for proper names and acronyms.
• Do not end in a full stop (period).
• No need to mention Maemo or Fremantle or N900 or similar. Exception: Turkish localization, to make it clear this is a localization for Maemo itself.
• Make sure not too long. I'm not sure how many characters but enough so that it doesn't get cut off in Application Manager in landscape mode with the default font size.
• Avoid jargon like "GUI", or technical stuff like what language an app was written in, or what libraries it uses. Exception: "PyQt4 Demo" and "PyQt4 Full install".

Here are some apps that "break" these proposed "rules":

Repeat name of app:

• capsule
• Conboy
• De-Lite
• Desktop Activity Manager
• easypark
• eCoach
• free42 - suggest just "HP look-alike RPN calculator"
• FriendStatus IM Statuses Aggregator
• healthcheck
• Lybniz
• maelstrom
• Mancala
• nako
• OpenVPN Applet
• orrery
• Password Safe
• pygtkeditor
• Pyrecipe
• Sensitive Motion
• SeriesFinale
• Time Workshop

Not sentence case:

• belltower
• Conky
• fbreader
• feedhandler
• FeedingIt
• Gonvert
• healthcheck
• Hex-a-Hop
• Irssi
• Leafpad
• liqflow
• liqtorch
• MediaBox Media Center
• msid
• OpenVPN
• Personal Dataplan Monitor
• Personal IP Address
• PrBoom
• Pyrecipe
• Recorder
• Sensitive Motion
• Sopwith
• TouchSearch

End with a full stop:

• 100boxes
• AccDisplay
• Attitude
• battery-eye
• bluezwitch
• Cellular Modem Control Buttons
• Conboy
• Copernicium
• cpumem-applet
• DateToday Home Desktop Widget
• Desktop Command Execution Widget
• Desktop Photo Slideshow Widget
• DiceJinni
• easypark
• eCoach
• evopedia
• Flashlight
• freecell4maemo
• Gnuplot
• healthcheck
• Hermes
• Kandis
• KMPlayer
• Load Applet
• Lybniz
• MaStory
• mclock
• MooBox (several!)
• Nameday Applet
• OpenVPN Applet
• proximityd
• pygtkeditor
• pypianobar
• Queen BeeCon Widget
• RAW Viewer
• recaller
• StockThis
• stopish
• Storage Usage
• TabletBridge
• Thai fonts
• Tickstill
• Time Workshop
• TouchSearch
• Tuner
• Turkish localization
• uremote
• Wifi Switcher
• worldtv99
• XChat IRC Client

Too long text:

• adflashblock-css
• ncalc
• OMWeather
• Pedometer Home Widget
• Petrovich
• sleeper
• witter

Mention Maemo, Fremantle, N900 etc.:

• Array Theme
• battery-eye
• Desktop Photo Slideshow Widget
• Easy Chroot
• Easy Debian
• feedhandler
• FM Radio Player
• free42
• freecell4maemo
• gPodder Podcast Client
• All livilSteel themes
• mauku - suggest just "Micro-blogging client"
• MMagnetic - suggest "Interpreter for text adventures by Magnetic Scrolls"
• Mplayer
• msid
• ncalc
• Ogg Support
• OMWeather
• PicoDrive
• Pidgin Internet Messenger
• pygtkeditor
• Reflect Theme
• vncviewer
• XChat IRC Client
• xournal

Jargon:

• blubbels
• Conky - suggest just "Highly configurable system monitor"
• fAPN
• fm-boost
• GUI frontend for rsync - suggest something like "Synchronise folders locally and remotely"
• OpenSSH Client
• OpenSSH Server - for both of these, most people have never heard of rlogin, rsh etc.
• pypianobar
• QStarDict
• recaller

Other problems:

• DialCentral - ends with double-quote
• DiceJinni - "dices" should be "dice"
• fschedule - ends with colon
• mad-developer - not at all clear what this is!
• mclock - suggest "including" instead of "incl."
• PackageView - ends with comma
• pypianobar - doesn't explain what pianobar is (i.e. Pandora client)

The one-line description comes from the first sentence of the control file's Description field. I thought Debian's policy was that this was of the form:

However, that appears not to be the case:

http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-pol...-f-Description

A bug raised against Hermes would be much appreciated.

I've updated mine.
Removed "Maemo" mention and using:

"Application for note taking and PDF annotation"

Aniello

Does this data feed through to the application manager? If so what is needed imo is a consistant way of providing information about what an updated app updates.

I agree these are good ideas, except for the prohibition of full stops (periods). If your description is a complete sentence, what's wrong with ending it with a period? I think a full stop is useful, because without a full stop, it is not as clear that the description has not been truncated.

Pelagio: I noticed you mention my chroot apps as unnecessarily mentioning Maemo, Fremantle, or the N900. Why should I not mention it? These scripts are very tailored to Fremantle.

Maybe because it is available only in maemo5 repository anyway