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this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025
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Does seem worse IMO. There is nothing wrong with the windows tray, should just copy that and call it done.
The complaint against the app indicators is that apps tend to throw their icon in there for no reason. Why does Steam need to show itself there? Why doesn’t Firefox?
There’s also some technical reasons why they’re bad. There’s quite a few different protocols to show the icons up there, all each with their own pros and cons. But none can handle sandboxing properly, so work is being done towards a new protocol.
Steam has a bunch of runtimes that run in the background even if the main window isn't visible (due to being closed or in game or whatever) while Firefox is only open when it's main window is
But you don't need a status icon to run in the background.
If Firefox wanted to, they could make Firefox continue running in the background. They could even app a system tray entry for Firefox to access recently visited sites or favorite sites, like what Steam does.
This paradigm is actually the norm on MacOS. When you X out of an app, it doesn't actually close. It will just have no open windows but stay open on your dock.
Steam provides a quick launch menu, thats a good enough reason for me.
Technical issues are worth resolving, but I want the UI to remain the same as the windows one. Its a pattern that works just fine.
All those same options are available by right clicking on the app. Though thinking some more, the status icon being dynamic does give it some extra flexibility, I think it can show recently launched games. Still, does that mean Firefox should get a status icon so that you can access recently opened sites? Should your file manager?
If they can be hidden, like in Windows, I dont really mind if every app has one. I'll hide the ones I dont care about.
The app dock isnt visible by default, so thats a partitial solution, but I'd prefer to be able to access it directly without opening a menu or overview first.