Design/F18 Launcher Purge

Fedora includes an extremely large number of application launchers by default. Many of these are confusing, unnecessary and irrelevant to the majority of users. Problems caused by these issues:

• A high number of launchers makes launching applications inefficient and difficult - it takes a long time to find the launcher you are looking for, and is an unpleasant experience.
• Creates work for users. Every time they want to launch an application, they have to process a large number of launchers, many of which are uninteresting to them.
• Prevents personalisation. Installing apps is an important way in which people can change their system to make it suit them. If installed applications are lost within a sea of preinstalled launchers, the OS will never feel like it belongs to the user.
• Makes people feel like the OS isn't designed for them. 'If it contains lots of launchers which I don't understand or don't care about, it obviously isn't for me.'

This page tracks the progress of an initiative to tackle these problems by reducing the number of application launchers included in a new Fedora install. It requires making improvements to upstream software as well as fixing distribution-specific issues.

Status

Some applications need to be removed from the default install, others just need to have their launchers hidden.

Name	Command (package, if different)	Bugs	Action	Notes	Status
Authentication	system-config-authentication (authconfig-gtk)		Don't depend on it, then don't install by default	Required by firstboot, but then first boot should be going away for F18.	In progress
Desktop Sharing Preferences	vino-preferences (vino)			Is this needed? If it is, seems like it should be in System Settings	TBD
Firewall	system-config-firewall		Don't install?		TBD
IBus Hangul Preferences	ibus-setup-hangul	GNOME Bug 662489	Integrate into System Settings, then hide launcher		In progress
Input Method Selector	ibus-setup	GNOME Bug 662489	Integrate into System Settings		In progress
Messaging and VoIP Accounts	empathy-accounts (empathy)	GNOME Bug 662489	Remove the desktop file		In progress
Network Connections	nm-connection-editor		Hide launcher	GNOME Control Center currently uses nm-connection-editor for settings dialogs	Incomplete
Power Statistics	gnome-power-statistics (gnome-power-manager)		Don't install	Part of gnome-power-manager - this can be dropped from the desktop spin (nothing else depends on it right now)	Incomplete
Printing	system-config-printer		Don't install		Incomplete
Release Notes	xdg-open file:///usr/share/doc/HTML/fedora-release-notes/index.html		Remove	This is already added as a Firefox bookmark. It can potentially be linked to from other webpages, also.	Incomplete
Search for Files...	gnome-search-tool		Don't install	Might need some improvements to searching in Nautilus	Incomplete
SELinux Troubleshooter	sealert		Nothing for now	Provides access to logs, which means that we can't hide the launcher; in the long run this needs replacing by a generic desktop logging/error reporting app	On ice
Software Settings	gpk-prefs (gnome-packagekit)	GNOME Bug 676445	Hide launcher (can be accessed via Add/Remove Software (which needs a better name))		Incomplete
Software Updates	gpk-update-viewer (gnome-packagekit)	GNOME Bug 676445	Hide launcher (needs to be accessible via Add/Remove Software (which needs a better name))		Incomplete
System-Config-Date	system-config-date	Fedora Bug 803833	Don't depend on it, then don't install by default	Required by anaconda, firstboot and system-config-kickstart.	Incomplete
Users and Groups	system-config-users		Don't depend on it, then don't install by default	Required by firstboot, but then first boot should be going away for F18.	In progress
Games
AisleRiot Solitaire	sol --freecell (aisleriot)		Remove the desktop file	Fedora includes two launchers for Aisleriot, with different names. We only need one. Furthermore, this is broken - the launcher says Freecell Solitaire, but the app menu says Aisleriot Solitaire. And you can't run Aisleriot Solitare and Freecell Solitaire at the same time.	Incomplete
Freecell Solitaire	sol (aisleriot)		Don't install?	A card game makes sense as a default app, but the quality here is low and it feels unsuitable	TBD
Iagno	iagno (gnome-games)			Could be a nice game, though it needs some polish	No action required
Mines	gnomine (gnome-games)			Feels very Windows 95; might be better not to include	TBD?
Sudoku	gnome-sudoku (gnome-games)			A good game to have in a default install	No action required
Swell Foop	swell-foop (gnome-games)		Don't install?	This is probably the best quality GNOME game right now, but it has an arcade style which makes it feel unsuitable as a default app	TBD
It should be possible to individually add and remove games					Incomplete

Tetravex could make a good addition as a default game.

Additional Notes

Designs for a GNOME 'Usage' application would combine Disk Usage Analyzer, Power Statistics and System Monitor into a single launcher.