The Status Bar#
Week 7. The most honest object on the desktop.
It promises information#
How much of it does anyone actually read?
The modules everyone adds#
- the CPU temperature, updating every second
- the memory graph, the current track
- the weather in a city you are already standing in
Each was added because it could be. Each is read approximately never.
workspacesCPU 12%MEM 4.2G21°CTue 23:18
The real design problem#
- what earns a permanent place in your field of view
- what belongs in a menu you open on demand
- what is there only because the empty space felt wrong
Restraint is the hard part#
A dashboard for a life that does not generate that much data is easy. The disciplined bar shows only what its owner will look at.
Before next week#
Build a bar, then remove every module you did not glance at for a whole day. Keep a note of what you removed and how it felt.