A few things aside (tap-n-hold bug, fewer brightness levels,etc) I really like the UI changes I've seen with this early OS2008 release.

However the one thing I just can't get my head around is the decision to make all the system menus thumb sized. (rather then "smart" toggling per OS2007)

I've seen a few comments about it, but on the whole it seems to be pretty much accepted(?).

I guess I'm wondering, do people really prefer this? Could this (hopefully) just be a "pre-release" issue?

I'm definitely up for starting a Bugzilla issue, once the OS is out, if this "feature" stays.

I just can't see why the OS would go backward regarding menus. Before we had the best of both worlds. Now my bookmark tree (via the main system menu) is insanely large/long/wierd/clumbsy.

Personally, I prefer the new way for menus. I use it all time with the thumbs, and are perfect for me now.

I prefer it too, even when using the stylus. Especially now that the menu scroll speed has been fixed, scrolling through those thumb-sized menus is not a chore.

Didn't they toggle to thumb size for you in OS2007 when using your finger ?

I guess I'm curious why they would remove functionality unless it didn't work for people. It seemed to work fine for me.

Well I guess I'm in the minority so far. But I'd have to dissagree about it not being a chore to scroll though a LARGE bookmark set at thumb sizes.

Actually with the latest OS2007 I had to press really hard to get the big menus.

I feel the same way, Moonshine; so I'll certainly vote for it if/when you file it.

Judging by the comments here, it would appear that there are at least two types of users on the N800, ones that touch their screens, and the rest of us who don't. I don't really care for the fingerprints on my screen, so I only use the stylus, therefore I don't need HUGE menus designed for thumbs, and I prefer the smaller menus of OS2007.

But apparently there are many out there who do use their thumbs and I can see where this would be a nice feature. Still Linux is all about choice. It would be very nice if there were a config file (even if I have to edit it with vi) to choose which menu I get.

Craig...

I prefer it.

In the past the selective thumb/tap menus wouldn't work effectively (time and time again using my thumbs - say before I set off in the car - the menu pops up in tap mode.) Additionally I think selection between two modes this way is counter-intuitive; we need a GUI design team to really sit down and figure out Hildon HCI properly - dare I say it - the way Apple try to. It's a step in the right direction to reduce "options" this way [I'm sure there are workarounds for people to customize this later.]


Screen DPI is very high, and screen size way too small on our Nxx0's; because of that - when tapping on the menu I'd occasionally load the wrong application on OS2007. It's literally a case of missing one of the options by a few pixels.


Oddly enough this doesn't happen as often with application menu options; it seems to affect me most with the application list.



I do agree smaller menus are more useful - simply because of the increased information available. But it's really a case of usability vs usefulness.

In theory the toggling (putting your finger on the screen instead of the stylus) worked, but in practice it didn't, for me at least.

Most of the time I tried to use my fingers with the menus, they would give me the stylus version.

What would be great is if there was the option to set this to your particular preference (big, small or toggle-operated), that way everyone would be happy.