Centralized management for online accounts

Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:17 pm

This idea describes a centralized user interface to configure and manage accounts for various online services.

I've always liked the idea of the central data store offered by akonadi, but the one thing lacking is a central configuration utility. Currently I have to manage my mail accounts with kmail, calendars with contact and chat accounts with kopete. Each of these configuration tools has a different UI.

Configuring a google account is quite a hassle, as you need to configure mail (with some settings I need to look up each time), chat (it took a long time before I figured out that google talk is jabber), calendar (I actually haven't even managed this yet), RSS,...

To resolve this problem I suggest the following: create a central Akonadi UI, that contains the possible accounts (google, yahoo, microsoft, twitter, facebook,...), in which the user can select and configure the accounts he uses. The user configures the accounts in this window and the necessary configurations are made under the hood. This would allow the user to configure accounts instead of protocols and would greatly improve usability.

This UI could for example look like this (mind you, this UI is just a suggestion as to how this could be implemented. The idea itself is for the functionality behind such an interface):

It contains images for the different account types. At the top the configured accounts are shown, in the middle the installed account types are shown and at the bottom existing (but not installed) account configurations are shown. Clicking on a configured account allows you to edit its configuration, clicking on an installed account allows you to configure it (after which it'll be added to the configured accounts). Clicking on one of the not installed account types installs them.

A way to achieve this (technically) could be by making configuration files for each account type, referencing the used protocols and a configuration for them. These files could then be shared by GHNS. A google configuration could consist of multiple parts:
- chat: A file containing a reference to the jabber-protocol, all the needed configuration values (exept for user name which is supplied by the UI when the user enters it)
- mail: A file containing the default mail configuration for google (again with everything except username already in it).

Creating a user interface similar to this one (or an entirely different UI delivering a similar functionality) would greatly improve KDE's ease of use and would allow us to tuly benefit from the Akonadi concept.

cloudslayer Registered Member Posts 16 Karma 0 OS	Centralized management for online accounts Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:17 pm This idea describes a centralized user interface to configure and manage accounts for various online services. I've always liked the idea of the central data store offered by akonadi, but the one thing lacking is a central configuration utility. Currently I have to manage my mail accounts with kmail, calendars with contact and chat accounts with kopete. Each of these configuration tools has a different UI. Configuring a google account is quite a hassle, as you need to configure mail (with some settings I need to look up each time), chat (it took a long time before I figured out that google talk is jabber), calendar (I actually haven't even managed this yet), RSS,... To resolve this problem I suggest the following: create a central Akonadi UI, that contains the possible accounts (google, yahoo, microsoft, twitter, facebook,...), in which the user can select and configure the accounts he uses. The user configures the accounts in this window and the necessary configurations are made under the hood. This would allow the user to configure accounts instead of protocols and would greatly improve usability. This UI could for example look like this (mind you, this UI is just a suggestion as to how this could be implemented. The idea itself is for the functionality behind such an interface): It contains images for the different account types. At the top the configured accounts are shown, in the middle the installed account types are shown and at the bottom existing (but not installed) account configurations are shown. Clicking on a configured account allows you to edit its configuration, clicking on an installed account allows you to configure it (after which it'll be added to the configured accounts). Clicking on one of the not installed account types installs them. A way to achieve this (technically) could be by making configuration files for each account type, referencing the used protocols and a configuration for them. These files could then be shared by GHNS. A google configuration could consist of multiple parts: - chat: A file containing a reference to the jabber-protocol, all the needed configuration values (exept for user name which is supplied by the UI when the user enters it) - mail: A file containing the default mail configuration for google (again with everything except username already in it). Creating a user interface similar to this one (or an entirely different UI delivering a similar functionality) would greatly improve KDE's ease of use and would allow us to tuly benefit from the Akonadi concept.
anda_skoa KDE Developer Posts 783 Karma 4 OS	Centralized management for online accounts Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:52 am Something like this is actually being worked on (currently for PIM accounts only, but IM could very likely be easily added). http://www.omat.nl/2010/05/13/accountwizard/ It can even do GHNS anda_skoa, proud to be a member of KDE forums since 2008-Oct.
Moult Global Moderator Posts 663 Karma 2 OS	Centralized management for online accounts Sat Sep 18, 2010 12:56 pm I don't quite think so, that feature is basically an account wizard. It's still locked in within PIM. The idea is about a centralised, modular account manager. Moult, proud to be a member of KDE forums since 2008-Oct. thinkMoult - source for tech, art, and animation: hilarity and interest ensured! WIPUP.org - a unique system to share, critique and track your works-in-progress projects.
anda_skoa KDE Developer Posts 783 Karma 4 OS	Centralized management for online accounts Sat Sep 18, 2010 1:02 pm Moult wrote:I don't quite think so, that feature is basically an account wizard. It's still locked in within PIM. The idea is about a centralised, modular account manager. My point is that there is already infrastructure for account creation, managment should be doable the same way anda_skoa, proud to be a member of KDE forums since 2008-Oct.