GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 540301
Proposal for a new assistant
Last modified: 2020-06-06 16:31:32 UTC
Hello, The main idea is to reduce the user choice to avoid opportunities for errors. This is a half-way proposal to ensure fast implementation. Pages for the new assistant: 1- Welcome in Ekiga message 2- a form: Please provide the necessary informations: * name * surname (ekiga need 2 entries anyway, thus I think it is better to have 2 fields) ----------------------------------------------------- | Ekiga.net account (optional) | * Username | * Password | Link to ekiga.net+usual warning text | You need to wait the acknowledgement mail before proceeding this step. | You can close and restart Ekiga later, this screen will be proposed to | you until you completed this process. | [] I do not want to register to ekiga.net ----------------------------------------------------- * Connection type 3- a test (all 3 devices are set to PTLIB/ALSA/Default /!\ This default should be different depending on the platform: sun audio for SUN, OSS for BSD, winstuff for windows,...): The audio test ------------------ ---------------------------- | Test settings | |Call the echo test service| ------------------ ---------------------------- > Advanced audio configuration (the "test settings" button is the same as the assistant in 2.0.x, page 7; allowing you to record a message and it will replay it, i do not remember if it has a volume control for mic and speackers, this will be nice to have this controls here) (the "call the test echo service" button place a call to 500 with *only* audio, using PCMA if enough bandwidth, iLBC if not. This button shows up only if there is a registration to ekiga.net! !please note iLBC is not distributed by Debian or Ubuntu! I do not know for other distros. Maybe we should replace(/add) iLBC by speex NB on the asterisk server...) The "> Advanced audio configuration" can be expended: v Advanced audio configuration Please choose the ringing device: * Default (recommended) Please choose the output device: * Default (recommended) Please choose the input device: * Default (recommended) (just as it is now in trunk, page 5 of 7, only "PTLIB/ALSA/Default" is replaced by "Default (recommended)" ) 4- "Congratulation, You have now finished the Ekiga configuration. All the settings can be changed in the Ekiga configuration. Full name: John Doe <if registration to ekiga.net> Your sip address is: <b>sip:john.doe@ekiga.net</b> This is what you should give to your contacts. If you loose your password or have question about our service please visit http://ekiga.net </if registration to ekiga.net> Enjoy!" The video configuration is done automatically with HAL, default setup is: if video device found, select it and use the V4L2 API. if no device found, disable video. At a later stage, it would be nice to have a preview in the preferences->video->devices window, to allow configuration within the prefs window. Best regards, Yannick
If you look at the current assistant, what would you change ? I do not think calling 500 from the assistant is very practical, because the assistant window is *above* the ekiga window and in general hides it. For that reason (calls happening in a different window), I don't think it is a good idea to initiate a call from the assistant.
Hello, As it is now, if I exclude big changes, the most important is the lack of feedback. 1- You can register to ekiga.net but your not sure it will work until your are in the main window. Feedback might be: you enter the nick and password and the assistant tell you if you can register. 2- The same could apply to the call out service. 3- Step 5, the "connection type" should disappear at some point in the future, in favour of some automated mechanism... This is too much technical for some users. 4- Step 6, the audio configuration should have a test button (local test like we had in the 2.0.x series) to prove the configuration at least work with the audio system. 5- Step 7, if no video device detected by HAL, this step should not exist -> disable video. If video device is detected it should be a test button to test the video locally. 6- The "configuration complete" page should highlight useful information for communication : the SIP addresses with some comparison with the e-mail addresses to point out how you should use them. Other informations should have been tested previously using feedback mechanism, thus are much less important. Best regards, Yannick
and one last thing: page2, please provide 2 fields as it is required to continue.
For comment #3: not needed anymore, since Next becomes active as soon as you have a character in the edit box (no need to have a space anymore).
I would merely put everything on one page. About your proposal, Yannick: the first page is unneeded. The 4th one is unneeded if pages 2 and 3 are put in one page. So the assistant becomes only one page, which is much better. Another proposal: When ekiga starts, the assistant is called if and only if there is no account set up. In fact, there is no assistant anymore. ---------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to ekiga assistant Name and surname: xyz abc [edit box, already filled] You do not have any account set up. Please set up an account in Edit->Accounts menu. [We can also open the Accounts menu automatically, like it is done on pidgin. Note that this avoids to have two places doing the same thing, ex. setup account in assistant and Accounts window.] Connection type: by default, I assumed that you are behind a DSL/Cable (128kB/s). If it is not the case, please go to Edit->Preferences->... and change the type. [Connection type is not found in Prefs, we need to create an entry for it.] [We should ensure that audio/video are setup correctly by default.] Two buttons: - Test audio card - Test video card (like video preview, or cheese, or nothing is not possible). ----------------------------------------------------------
I have created a window replacing the assistant, what do you think? You invoke it with Edit->ShowAssistant. Set up account opens "New ekiga account" dialog.
Created attachment 135240 [details] Screenshot of the proposed assistant (1st try)
Created attachment 135241 [details] [review] Patch
Ekiga is not under active development anymore: https://gitlab.gnome.org/Infrastructure/Infrastructure/-/issues/273 Ekiga saw its last release 7 years ago. The last code commits were 4 years ago. Closing this report as WONTFIX as part of Bugzilla Housekeeping to reflect reality. Please feel free to reopen this ticket (and transfer the project to GNOME Gitlab, as GNOME Bugzilla is deprecated) if anyone takes the responsibility for active Ekiga development again in the future.