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
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:
Code:
Description: One-line summary, shorter than 72 characters.
Further description.
.
Wibble.
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.
Some "rules" that I propose for the one-line description that appears under the package name in Application Manager:
...
Do not end in a full stop (period).
...
Here are some apps that "break" these proposed "rules":
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.
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
