Launchpad and the GNOME panel

[Doug Loss <dloss@csrlink.net>]

Here's a thought I had while coming to work this morning.  We had
briefly discussed the simplified user interface At Ease that Apple has
for the Macintosh, and whether something similar might be a good idea
for student labs for younger students.  Most people who had used At Ease
didn't seem to like it.  Micah Yoder has done some work on a program
launchpad that could keep track of students' progress in various
launchpad-compliant programs and grant or deny access to various options
based on the levels reached by those students.

What I was thinking is that if Micah's launchpad could be made to work
with the GNOME panel it could give us the benefits of At Ease without
dumbing down the standard user interface of GNOME.  I freely admit that
I don't know enough about the GNOME panel to know if this is a
reasonable idea to pursue, but if it is this could allow a standard
interface useable by all students that gave them access appropriate to
their demonstrated abilities at all times.

Do any of us here know if this is worth looking into?  Micah, how about
you?  If the answer is that no one here knows either way I'll contact
the GNOME panel developers to see what they think about it.  I won't do
that till Wednesday or so though, to give some time for discussion about
it.  What do you think?

-- 
Doug Loss                 It is impossible to imagine Goethe
Data Network Coordinator  or Beethoven being good at billiards
Bloomsburg University     or golf.
dloss@bloomu.edu                H. L. Mencken