- About padding stuff (aka HIG), i’ve already fixed that;

- About notification icon: The default behavior is just like we have currently, in 2.20: The icon is showed when there is someone connected. About the two other options:
– Always: This means that the icon will be visible when the server is started, telling you that there is an active service (desktop sharing) in your computer.
– Never: a father who wants to monitor his child asked me for such option (something like ‘silent mode’)

- OK, i can move that option to ‘advanced’ tab;

- About “local connections only”: There is a bug opened in bugzilla (488354) wishing we could select the eth interface or ip address to listen to. I guess we should do that for 2.24, unless somebody have the patch. In the meantime, we can let this option, which means ‘localhost’, or ‘this machine’ (aka ssh tunneling).

- All those options come with a tooltip;

- About the ‘require encryption’: There are some clients that don’t support encryption (vncviewer is one of them), so, that option comes disabled by default;

- I liked the idea to create a handler to uri’s like vnc://a.b.c.d

- Such features like that above can be implemented in vinagre, a new VNC client for GNOME: http://www.gnome.org/projects/vinagre

- I know it’s hard to please every sort of people. That’s why i separated things in two tabs. Maybe an ordinary user shouldn’t even look at ‘advanced’ tab;

- About the ip address, there also is a bug opened (167690).

Thanks for your suggestions and comments.

About Project Aardvark. That actually sounds like a good solution for at least one the most common of the use-cases. But we need some server-side stuff for that.

“You have already lost 99% of the population.”

Exactly. What about the other 1%? Are we going to loose half of them too because they know how to forward the port (they did before to make MSN/Torrents/Skype work), but can’t figure out which port?

There are solutions for this as well. Most modern multi-pc-modems and routers support uPnP. So we should be able to cut this in half. Making it work for at least half the population.

Also, 99% is a little over the top. 90% of the populution would be more correct. You forget the fact that most people will actually invest time and learn something if they really have to and they are taken by hand. There were days that same population was capable of using Word Perfect on DOS. At least providing some information (or linking to it) how to do this would help.

More importantly, if what you are saying is true.
Why are we designing the interface for the 99% of the population that can’t use it? Why even consider them?

Shouldn’t the target be a little bit more advanced users? The group that can’t make it work now, but would if you give them a little bit more information. Aren’t those the people we should be targetting with usuability improvements?

I know more people capable of forwarding ports than I know people with experience with installing linux. Like I said before, this sitation is quite common in broadband land.

Even when they don’t know how, a windows guy can help forward the port. It might be a scary message, but not telling it is going to make things worse.

*Bleep* You have already lost 99% of the population.