Blacklisting stuff from being logged, has been a feature in Zeitgeist for a long time now. Yet we never came to develop a UI for it.
So upon popular demand we started to mockup this feature.
The UI is simple and straight forward. (I sketched it using Pencil)
It uses much from what Sezen has to offer, in this case we use the same categories and the searching functionality. So when you search the categories with results get highlighted to allow you to control the logging of the results.
- You can go toggle Incognito mode by setting Logger Status to inactive. This will block everything from getting logged in Zeitgeist.
- Under General you can choose which Applications you want to log. In this case I am allowing Firefox to be logged but disabling Cheese and Banshee. The application lists will be pulled from the what has been logged by Zeitgeist as well as the applications installed. The option to add new applications to be logged manually is also possible through the add and remove buttons. Same applies for Directories.
- The Documents/Music/Videos/Websites/People/Notes and Other Categories all use the same widget layout. You can enable and disable logging for all items of types of each category. In this case by toggling the Allow Logging Documents and controlling single items from a list populated by manually adding items using the Add Button. Remove Button on the other hand will ask you to remove all instances for all time. We will think of a way to delete single instances but for now it can be done over the Activity Journal.
This is just some initial mockups. If you want to join the development please join #zeitgeist on irc.freenode.net and don’t hesitate to ask for guidance. If you have a better idea for mockups please don’t hesitate to present it to us.
{ 12 } Comments
Hi Seif! Its not totally intuitive if the check boxes disables or enables logging: The terms whitelist and blacklist are a little technical. Is there some other way to do this that would make it more obvious to your casual user.
Iasssegs +1, I am also not sure users know names of applications (i.e. “music player instead (or rahter in addition to) of Banshee). Otherwise it looks sleek.
@lassegs ok I changed it to blacklist. You can add files to not be logged… If you uncheck them they are logged again… then check/uncheck is for fast toggeling between the logging and not logging a file
Hi Seif,
I am curious, what software do you use to create you GUI mockups? I have not been completely happy with the tools that I have found for Linux for creating quick mockups and I am wondering if I have overlooked a tool.
Thanks
The UI really doesn’t look that simple to me.
For instance, what happens when I think that I’ve disabled web logging by disabling Firefox, but oops, Epiphany is still allowed? And when I want to disable logging for certain websites but I don’t want their URLs to be visible in the UI at all?
@ReinoutS you go to the websites tab and uncheck “Allow logging Websites”
+1 for lassegs:
I have a minor remark about the design: The design shows a “Logging Blacklist”, but this could be a bit confusing. It’s like having an option “Don’t log”, which you have to uncheck if you want to log [1]. More logical would be to have an option “Log”, which is checked by default. So .. long story short, I guess it’s better to make it a “Whitelist” instead.
Maybe just name it “Toggle logging”. In this case the checkboxes speak for themselves.
[1] As a programmer, that’s really confusing as well: if(! $no_log) …
Seif: I think Iasseges had an issue with the wording (I have now idea how common expression “blacklist” in English is, but it does not seem to me to be that common to use it in a GUI like this.)
I know most of the comments were already on the same lines, but a few suggestions:
- instead of Logger Status, maybe just a single checkbox saying “Log user activity” with a highlight text of something like “If unchecked, disables all logging”.
- instead of “Logging Blacklist”, maybe “Do not log events for”
- also the negative “blacklist” with a positive toggle “allow” in the middle is extremely confusing
- does Zeitgeist respect the Incognito mode or Private Browsing on the browsers that support it?
Nice idea! Needs work, but definitely a good idea.
Do you know what else there needs to be, in my opinion? A Zeitgeist Log Backup manager. Let’s say I’m running Ubuntu and every 6 months, when they release a new version, I backup my personal files and install the new system from CD. Therefore losing all my Zeitgeist log information as well. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to backup your Zeitgeist log into some sort of text format or something, like backing up Firefox bookmarks, then when you have a new installed system you can “import” the backed up log data.
Doh! Sorry….not sure how I missed the software plug for Pencil in the post.
This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.
{ 3 } Trackbacks
[...] Seif Lotfy [...]
[...] it just lacks a user-friendly graphical window to do it in. To rectify this Zeitgeist supremo Seif Lotfy has mocked up a potential UI to give the feature greater accessibility and is seeking some feedback back from you [...]
[...] on Seif Lotfy’s blog that they plan to develop a more comprehensive log manager. Check out Zeitgeist Log Manager (Mockup) – Giving Control to the User for additional [...]
Post a Comment