[Bug 130943] Kubuntu KDE quicklauncher is confusing usability-wise

[Martin Böhm]

Public bug reported:

Kubuntu's quick-launcher is dangerously similar to the system tray and
it has other usability problems.

In theory, it should be quite easy to distinct those two, especially for
novice users who may have no experience with computers at all.
Furthermore, the different visual appeance will "warn" the user that
those two sets of buttons do something else.

Currently, it is very hard for a common user to find out what the
difference between the set of icons on the left side and on the right
side is. The only hint a user has is that in Microsoft Windows, the
quick launcher and tray icons are positioned that way.  However,
trusting the user to know the Windows inner workings is a bad practice.

There should be a simple way for any user to recognize the system tray
and the quicklauncher. For example, all the "Launching" buttons could be
one size and the tray icons a significantly different size. Currently it
is not so, as the "K Menu" launcher button or the Show Desktop launcher
button is different in size to the other quicklauncher buttons.

Another option might be to change the icon set for the tray icons.
Apple's OS X deals with "tray icons" this way, they are black and white
while the launcher icons are big and colourful.

The current quicklauncher size is problematic in more ways, for example:
at the current size, it is quite hard for a user to recognize what each
icon means. The "envelope" symbol in Kontact and the "globe" symbol in
Konqueror are too small to be easily recognizable.

** Affects: kubuntu-meta (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

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Kubuntu KDE quicklauncher is confusing usability-wise
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/130943
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