From Fedora Project Wiki
< Design
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) | GNOME Bug 681150 | Needs to be integrated into System Settings or spun out into a separate app | Incomplete (needs design) | |
| 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 | Incomplete | |
| 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 | This is a second launcher for Aisleriot. This is broken - the launcher is labelled 'Freecell Solitaire', but the app menu reads 'Aisleriot Solitaire'. Also, 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 is very low. A game that provides a million different card games isn't a good default. | TBD | |
| Iagno | iagno (gnome-games) | Could be a nice game, though it needs some polish | No action required | ||
| Mines | gnomine (gnome-games) | Don't install? | 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.