[sugar] On improving Sugar performance

[Eben Eliason]

>  Catering for subjective human response is tricky, but once you've
>  passed some minimum threshold for utility** you can often win more
>  hearts and minds going for the subjective. A concrete example I'd
>  point to is smooth animation; activity switching with no nasty redraw
>  flicker; pulsing icons with no visible strobe; and frame/notification
>  transitions that glide smoothly onto the display giving the illusion
>  of effortlessness.

Yes!  This is exactly right.  Perceived responsiveness is, in some
cases, more important than actual speed.  I think you've nailed the
most crucial elements here, as well.  The redraws are really ugly, the
Frame is slow, pulsing is a bit better these days but not perfect, and
the notifications should slide (and smoothly).  Of course, we're
limited in what we can do without compositing.  I long for the day
that gets turned on, if only to improve these points and nothing else.

- Eben