Unified download dialog
#1
I thought topfs2 already mentioned this, but it looks like his diamond polishing list might have left this out.

Problem: When downloading something like a new skin, the download will be running all the way until it hits 99%. And then it will appear to freeze. As I understand it, what's actually happening is dependencies are still being downloaded in the background. The problem is, the user doesn't know that. So it looks like XBMC is just stuck hanging for the user. Then suddenly they'll get an announcement saying various other addons have been downloaded, and then they'll get the change skin dialog.

Solution: IMO, XBMC should have a unified download dialog. I may be using the wrong word there. Essentially, right now when we update the library, a little bar in the top right of the screen pulls out and tells us that folders are being scanned, downloading artwork is in progress, etc.

It seems to me that dialog should be substantially more universal. If downloading a skin, it should show the skin being downloaded, along with any other dependency addons the skin requires, so that the user will always know what step in the process they are in.

It should naturally show other non-skin addons being downloaded also.

Essentially, any time a user or XBMC initiates a behavior that requires an internet connection (updating the weather, scanning for addon updates, checking for newer versions, etc.), that little window should pull out and tell the user where they are in the process.
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#2
and also what is mentioned in this ticket as it's closely related:
http://trac.xbmc.org/ticket/13918

indeed actually telling you what it's going to do would be very nice Smile
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#3
The proposal in the ticket might be used for controlling the install percentage. It's a little tricky, as the install time is sometimes longer than the download time (for very small add-ons) but we might be able to come up with some heuristic.

I'm not sure about putting the install procedure on the extended progress. In some ways it's nice (as you get more info about what is going on) in others it opens it up to information the user maybe doesn't really need (installation of dependencies they don't know exists as they're actually libraries) so we'd need to control it.

Both steps could be implemented independently I think.
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#4
I'm not especially bothered by the idea of telling users everything they're downloading, but I would also be fine with simply keeping the window open to let them know that the download and install is still happening, perhaps noting only addons that would result in the little "this addon has been installed" pop up on the bottom right of the screen.

The secondary benefit of this is that users would be able to keep an eye on download progress while they navigate away from the addons section of XBMC.
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