AboutUbuntuRevisited

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The use cases are mostly unchanged from AboutUbuntu, with the caveat that we now want the ability to support our derivates, such as Kubuntu, Xubuntu just as easily. The use cases are mostly unchanged from AboutUbuntu, with the caveat that we now want the ability to support our derivates, such as Kubuntu or Xubuntu just as easily.

Summary

To make Ubuntu more polished and easier to support, it will have an About box that displays the Ubuntu derivate (if any), Ubuntu version and basic information about the system.

Rationale

The orginal AboutUbuntu specification was fine to be proposed and get accepted for inclusion for the start of the Breezy cycle, however the Ubuntu landscape has changed remarkably since then, and AboutUbuntu needs to cope with this change. The below paragraph is from the original specification.

People are used to "About Name of Program" showing a window that gives the software version details, and copyright info. Since many people do not distinguish between the computer and the operating system, other operating systems also include in their About box basic info about the computer the system is running on. Ubuntu should be just as polished.

Use cases

The use cases are mostly unchanged from AboutUbuntu, with the caveat that we now want the ability to support our derivates, such as Kubuntu or Xubuntu just as easily.

  • Stephanie installed Ubuntu a couple of months ago, from a CD she picked up at an Internet cafe. Now she has found the Ubuntu Web site, sees that the latest version of Ubuntu is x.y, and wants to know whether she's running the latest version.

  • Jeff, a marketing hack and propagandist, wants to make sure people using Kubuntu can find more information about the system.
  • Claude, a recent Gentoo convert, follows the bleeding edge of Grumpy Groundhog. He wants an easy way of seeing what kernel version he's running.
  • Jacinda, a sysadmin, wants an easy way for his users to check some basic specifics of their system, so he can diagnose problems more quickly.

Design

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.

  • Choosing the "About Ubuntu" menu item should open the About window, visually centered on the screen. It should behave properly with respect to startup notification and session saving. The window should be closable using either Ctrl+W or the close button.
  • The About window should include:
    • Derivate name, their logo and the version number (most prominent)
    • computer model, if available
    • CPU speed and amount of RAM on the system
    • a "Hardware Details" button that opens the Device Manager
    • Linux kernel version number
    • Gnome or other session manager's version number.
  • Any of the informative text should be drag-and-droppable as plain text into another program.

Implementation

Code

Data preservation and migration

  • The current "About Ubuntu" page should be removed from ubuntu-artwork, as it is redundant with the front page of ubuntu.com, which is linked to by the About box. See also BrowserDefaults.

CategorySpec