<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 6:32 AM, Michael Kozakewich <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mkozakewich@icosidodecahedron.com">mkozakewich@icosidodecahedron.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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It sounds like the "hidden page" idea is just the solution you thought up to the problem of keeping a page running. How many other reasons are there for it?</blockquote><div><br></div><div>Not sure what other motivations there may be, but one shouldn't underestimate the value of keeping a page running. It's one of the major differences between desktop and web apps. </div>
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<br> - Data up-to-date: Even Outlook checks online every X minutes, and has an options panel where you can set that value. Google Reader checks for new feeds, for me, <b>if I just leave it open on my desktop.</b> It works great.</blockquote>
<div><br></div><div>Exactly - but you have to leave it open on your desktop. I can't tell you how many meetings I've missed because I've inadvertently closed (or crashed :) my browser, and forgotten to start up my web calendar when I restart. What I'd like, as a user, is some way to pin selected apps to run in the background - whether that's something I initiate through the UI myself, or via a prompt from the application is really a matter of UX.</div>
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-- Notifications: I don't think I've ever had Outlook notify me of new mail when it's not running. It usually starts up with Windows, and it runs in the background. If you turn it off from the tray, it stops.</blockquote>
<div><br></div><div>The way I've envisioned any of these "persistent running workers/pages" operating is the browser would have a status bar icon which would allow background apps to display status, and also give the user the opportunity to exit the browser or (possibly) close down individual apps. So it's a very similar situation.</div>
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If browsers could tear off tabs, minimize them to tray and allow them to send pop-up notifications, I think it would solve your main problem. Chrome seems to be halfway there, with the "Create Application Shortcuts..." option, but I believe only Chrome and Firefox support tear-away tabs. This sounds largely like a browser issue. If Chrome does it first, I'm sure the others will see and follow along.</blockquote>
<div><br></div><div>Agreed. I like this way of looking at the issue - framed in this manner, it highlights this as primarily a UX challenge ("how to present the idea of 'pinned' tabs to the user").</div>
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