Gnome 2.8 RC1 Released 442
FlipmodePlaya writes "Linux Today reports the first release candidate for Gnome 2.8 has been released. A look at the new stuff can be found here. Notably, the possible inclusion of Evolution, and some networking goodies. My opinion: the GUI changes look too much like Windows/Internet Explorer for my tastes; I guess it's not just KDE."
Site is slow, article text here (Score:2, Informative)
Sep 1, 2004, 18
(Other stories by Jeff Waugh)
Release Candidate 1 marks the start of our Hard Code Freeze, on the way towards the final GNOME 2.8 release in a couple of weeks. The final lap! Let's just hope we're not dragged off the track at the last minute by a strangely dressed Irishman. Even though it almost sounds like fun... At last, without further ado, THINK ABOUT YOUR BREATHING!
platform: http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/platf
Too much like MS? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:5, Interesting)
I just checked the Apple store to see if I'm still correct. In their store, I tried ordering a Mac. A couple different models actually to be certain. The only option was a one button mouse. The two button mice are in another section of their store, and must be bought seperately. So if you want a two button mouse, you essentially have to buy 2 mice, the one button mouse that came with it (which you'll either burn for heat or use to decorate your christmas tree), and the two button mouse you'll actually use with the Mac. And of course they only resell two button mice. They don't have their own. Same goes for the tiny vs full keyboards. If it's a teeny tiny keyboard or one button mouse, it's made by Apple, if it's a 2+ button mouse or full sized keyboard, it's it's not.
But it's not the mouse and keyboard that bothers me, it's that I can't find the reason for it.
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:4, Interesting)
(i.)Knowing how to design good GUI software and interfaces (both physical and graphical) means knowing what to leave out.
Software ought not to require users to use context sensitive menus to perfom an operation - if it does so then it is badly implimented because most users will simply not figure this out (and if and when they do, it won't be until after a significant of time wasted searching for the way to do it).
Context sensitive menus should assist 'power users' in accessing things or performing operations more quickly, but should never be the only way to perform a given operation. I would further say that developers ought to be striving as much as possible to remove the need for right clicking from their interfaces.
These tennets hold true even when an application is targeted at what are preceived as 'advanced' users. Sooner or later someone not as advanced as you think is going to end up using the software (or alternatively someone just having a bad day) and they are going to run in to problems because they can't find the way to perform the operation because they didn't realise they had to (or even could) right click to perform this operation.
(ii.)People who don't know that context menu's are avalible are the exact same people who are better off with a one button mouse in the first place.
The 'average joe' still replies to instructions of "click that icon" with "With what mouse button?" Most people are casual users of computers at best, and they are still daunted by having two butttons. The situation could be possibly be improved by having graphical (and possibly textual) representations of the behaviour on the mouse buttons themselves but that is not common.
When they are ready for added complexity it is there, just like the Unix command prompt is there for those who want it, but it's completely hidden from the majority of users.
(iii.) Dispite being a unix software developer I have come to prefer the design of Apple's own mouse over my 5 button scroll wheel mouse when using Mac OS X.
The primary reason being that I don't have to hold down a specific area of the mouse, just push down on it generally (the physical level of pressure required is adjustable). I have found this much better for my hand/wrist postioning (meaning I spend less time with my fingers crawled up in a ball).
I also find that on Mac OS (this applies to both classic too) software is generally designed in such as way as to be completely usable without the need to right click, largely thanks to things like more comprehensive drag and drop support.
It's not without sacrifices, I like scroll wheels for example, but when using OS X I don't find the lack of scroll wheel nearly as much of a problem as I do when using Gnome or Microsoft Windows, largely due to three factors relating to scrolling:
1). Window scrollbar indicators are always proportional (with a 'sensible' minimum size).
2). When I click on a scroll bar the visible area of the window jumps to exactly where I have clicked instantly (not just generally scrolls 'up' or 'down' a page).
3). Both Scoll Up AND Scoll Down arrows at the top AND bottom of each scollbar.
These of course are toggleable through the Preferences panel but I find with them I no longer miss having a scroll wheel enough to give up my 'no button' (push-to-click) Apple branded Bluetooth mouse when using OS X. Though it is something of a close call (mostly I miss having back/forward buttons and scroll wheels are still very useful with FPS games).
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:5, Insightful)
One must learn to drive a car, ride a bike, row a boat, swim, operate power tools, et cetera. Why should one not have to learn to use a computer?
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:3, Insightful)
the ultimate goal of any interface is to be so intuitive that you look at it and say "duh." just because we haven't reached this level of design in cars, or boats, etc doesn't mean that we can't strive to achieve th
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:3, Insightful)
Here is another school of thought (this happens the one applied in Mac OS X, and also in classic):
Design for people who *don't* know how to use a computer AND for those who do, at the same time. That is not exactly a huge relevation...
Mac OS follows this principle - Macintosh computers do not come with one button mice but why the operating system inherently supports context sensitive menus for multi
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:3, Insightful)
That's most people you know that's quite distinct from the same thing as most people. Most people have a wide variety of demanding things going on in their life (children, work) and only barely grasp how to use their computer. Most people have trouble doing 'fairly simple' things like installing an operating system (because they find it daunting), even upgrading drivers in Microsoft Windows is a con
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:3, Insightful)
| Most people have a wide variety of demanding things going on
| in their life (children, work) and only barely grasp how to use
| their computer.
I would say this is a baseless assertion.
Not only do I think that's a very bizarre statement to make you apparently go on to contradict yourself later by bemoaning the tolerance in society for those who are less computer literate.
there will always be a place for easy, simple, intuitive tools that can cater to the occasional computer user. However, an enormous
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:4, Funny)
'LEFT' and 'RIGHT'?
I can imagine the jokes about Mac users that would have ensued...
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:5, Insightful)
Fundamentally, a mouse is a pretty horrible tool to do a lot of things. Things like a second or third button and adding a scroll wheel all only attempt to overcome various limitations in control design inherent in trying to use a pointer in a 2D space. It's also a core reason why people are so attached to their keyboard, as it's often the case a lot quicker to just type a number into a spinbox or type in part of a url and arrow down to the right one (or finish it most often since your history has deep urls). Anyways, enough of that rant.
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:4, Informative)
Pet peeve: the "hold button for context menu" only works in the dock. How inconsitant. Doesn't work in the finder, doesn't work in safari.. doesn't work anywhere but the dock.
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:3, Informative)
(Which just proves your point, of course. My point is that Firefox rules!)
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm not sure which context the parent poster was using when he said "accessible". When I read it, I thought of accessibility.
Which makes your response hilarious in the context of, say, people with one arm. Just hold down one key with your nose, then use your good hand to click the button, boom your context menu.
If God had wanted us to use one button mice (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:2)
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:5, Insightful)
It helps that my menu items are named after the FUNCTION rather than the application that provides it. When you see 'music' it runs juk, when you click 'web' it opens firefox, etc.
The Windows-style taskbar interface is pretty weak if you intend to keep your session running for days or weeks instead of hours.
Everyone remarks how 'clean' and 'simple' my layout is, and the geekier note that 'it takes a lot less mousing around to get stuff done'.
The trick is that every corporate desktop needs to be uniform and MANAGED by someone who does the stuff like rename menu items to functions and remove all the excess cruft that the heavier desktop environments populate interfaces with.
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:3, Insightful)
That only works for the case where you have a single application that provides each function, though. For example, were I to rename the shortcut for Mozilla to "web", what would I call the ones to Opera, IE and firefox? Sure, I'm a special case, but everyone working in the web is (or should be) in terms of using multiple browser
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:5, Informative)
Certainly with Kopete, and presumably with other multiple desktop aware IM programs, a new message notification can be made to appear briefly on all desktops; this can be configured on a per-contact basis.
Thus, when my close friends IM me, I get a prompt no matter what virtual desktop I'm on. When it's IM spam, or a stranger, I don't get prodded.
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:3, Informative)
Oh - you mean badly implemented virtual desktops? Yes, those tend to suck. Interestingly that's mostly what you get for virtual desktops in windows (if you download the addon) - it does the basics, but has none of the finesse.
A sensible virtual desktop system allows sticky notificaton windows. Cunning systems manage to understand which notifi
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:3, Informative)
I am notified of a new IM message via my gnome taskbar (there is a notification applet). I have become so comfortable using virtual desktops that if I ever find myself on some windows machine somewhere, i feel claustrophobic.
Re:Forgot the almost (Score:3, Insightful)
I agree that Windows is more usable than Linux, but next-to-worst can still be pretty bad. And Windows is Bad. And there are several better examples out there. There are even a few Good examples out there.
Assuming the goal is to be good (or even mediocre) and not bad, trying to copy Windows (here I'm talking about how it acts, not how it looks.) is totally the wrong way to go about it.
Re:Too much like MS? (Score:2)
more like windows? (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally (as a long time KDE user) I don't find windows all that much like KDE. I sat down at an XP box the other day to try and accomplish some simple editing in a word document with embedded visio and felt lost. Perhaps Gnome is becoming more KDE like?
BTW: open office has trouble saving (via crashes) documents with a large number of embedded visio drawings. :(
.dn
Re:more like windows? (Score:3, Interesting)
Windows is the dominant desktop paradigm right now, so it makes sense to emulate it for the defaults. You have a different idea, go right
cache? (Score:3, Informative)
try here [nyud.net].
Re:cache? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:cache? (Score:4, Informative)
It's not KDE (Score:5, Insightful)
It looks to me like it's just the GNOME 2.x that I know and love, with subtle, very incremental bits of polish. FlipmodePlaya, perhaps you could be a bit more specific?
P.S. I'm really looking forward to some of the new features, specifically Volume Manager and the new MIME handlers. GNOME 2.8's MIME features won't just be easier to use than previous GNOME versions--they will actually be easier to use than Windows's application association system.
steveha
Re:It's not KDE (Score:2)
It appears he links to his own site rather than to an offical ChangeLog. Perhaps its simply an effort to get hits.
Maybe someone could post a link to the changes on gnome.org or somewhere.
Re:It's not KDE (Score:2, Informative)
Sorry, I forgot about the formatting requirements with Slashdot.
Re:It's not KDE (Score:4, Informative)
No. Hey, you asked -- I just answered. They *do* share a commonality with dialogs that are designed to be clear and consise -- some Windows dialogs meet this criteria but others certainly do not.
Outsider's Take (Score:4, Interesting)
I haven't looked at GNOME since the very early versions. I've always been a waimea/blackbox fan. The look and feel is very impressive--and nothing like MS Windows in my opinion. It looks crisp and business-like. This is attractive enough to get me to try it out. I wonder how long it would take to build on my P3 FreeBSD box...
Re:Outsider's Take (Score:5, Insightful)
The real test is how FUNCTIONAL your desktop is. Does it have modern internationalization and accessibility featurs. Does it provide a framework for application cooperation? Does it provide a framework for user management of desktop features that is consistent, even for external elements?
Pretty baubles are easy and relatively universal. Functionality is hard.
Re:It's not KDE (Score:3, Insightful)
If you don't see any striking similarities between KDE and Windows, then you've been using Windows too long. GNOME has a lot of the same similarities that KDE has with Windows, though oftentimes they seem to steer away from the level of borrowing that KDE does. It could be independent thought on the part of the GNOME developers, or they may just be borrowing from other sources, which is fine by me.
A lot of folks don't really see many similaritie
Re:It's not KDE (Score:3, Informative)
KDE, definitely (my KDE desktops have PDF files without ".pdf" at the end of the file name, and when I double-click on them the PDF reader starts up).
GNOME, possibly (I don't have a GNOME desktop I use much).
Mac OS pre-X, probably.
Mac OS X - not as far as I can tell. It's pretty much file extension-based.
Re:It's not KDE (Score:5, Insightful)
Most clueful windows people enable file extensions immediately. They are very useful between separating safe-to-click files and unsafe-to-click files. They are also a hint to the user about what will happen when they click on the file.
And if the above is not enough. I haven't seen anyone proposing elimination of
Re:It's not KDE (Score:3, Insightful)
For example, not all objects come from the filesystem. You might get an image object shunted to you by some sort of Web application. The "filename" (e.g. URL) might not have an extension, or the extension might be ".cgi". You have to be able to work with other mod
Re:It's not KDE (Score:3, Insightful)
Never mind that it's based on some excellent human factors research. The Mac OS/GNOME button placement is much, much better for users: faster & safer.
Yeah (Score:5, Interesting)
Honestly I'm getting a bit tired of this march towards boring copied GUIs that only half-work. I mean, KDE is becoming almost unusable with all the crap in the menu and little parts and whatnot. I mean, I suppose it's nice for new users but I really don't like it.
That's why I went with the little mouse [xfce.org].
No disrespect to the GNOME and KDE hackers, but it's good to have choices. The big desktops are becoming more difficult and time consuming to customize "just right*.
Re:Yeah (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Yeah (Score:5, Insightful)
If XFCE is customized "just right" out of the box for you, then great. Someone must have been reading your mind. But for me and a lot of people, it is NOT customized just right out of the box for the way we like to use the desktop. Frankly, there's way too many people and way too few desktops to expect very many instances of people finding a desktop whose default settings perfectly match their preferred customizations.
Submissions (Score:5, Insightful)
You know it wouldn't kill the slashdot editors to EDIT submissions instead of just dumping them as is into the main site. Especially when one is as unprofessional as this. Flaming does NOT belong on the front page of slashdot. This is absolutely rediculous. First "four of parts", and now this bull? Why, Slashdot, do you feel like you can ask me for money when you pull crap like this?
Re:Submissions (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Submissions (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyway, I don't understand people's outright negative reactions when things "look like" Windows. Some parts of most desktops look like some parts of others, it's just a matter of choosing which parts are best for inclusion, or building something better if that's possible. Windows may not be the best in all areas (I'll be the first to admit my annoyance with some of its behaviour), but in some areas it has good UIs -- and I don't see why making a similarly good UI is frowned upon. However, in no way do all of either KDE or GNOME resemble Windows or Apple, and both desktops have their own pluses over other systems.
Re:Submissions (Score:5, Insightful)
Looks exactly like the OSX copy/move dialog box. No reason to be different just for the sake of being different.
Re:Submissions (Score:3, Insightful)
EXACTLY! People seem to get all upset that their "alternative different" thing is becoming just like everything else. Gnome is growing up, get used to it. Gnome isn't trying to be different from Windows, it isn't trying to be the same as Windows, it's trying to do the best job it can at providing an interface. So is Windows, so is Mac OS. Reason dictates that when they all get it right, they'll look very similar.
This is like complaining
Re:Submissions (Score:5, Insightful)
The snide and brain-dead remarks/trolls/flamebait should be left to the posters, rather than be in full view on the front page.
Otherwise you end up with patronising posts such as this one =)
Cheers
Stor
Evolution does not belong !! (Score:3, Insightful)
Evolution should not be part of Gnome - it should be added by the people who build the distro's.
If you start adding applications to Gnome, where do you stop? Are they going to add OpenOffice or AbiWord/Gnumeric to the next version of Gnome? After all, a word processor is pretty basic.
The Gnome people should focus on making it easy for distro builders and end-users to add (well integrated) apps. Don't build the apps into the desktop.
Re:Evolution does not belong !! (Score:5, Informative)
And I'm not even an Evo user, I just understand the logic behind one of the reasons to include it. I'm sure there are other reasons too.
Re:Evolution does not belong !! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Evolution does not belong !! (Score:5, Informative)
The component of Evolution that handles storage of calendar and address book data has been split off into a separate evolution-data-server module. This is the module that other programs use for calendar and address book integration.
It would also be possible for other mail clients to make use of e-d-s for address book storage, in which case they would also benefit from the desktop integration.
Re:Evolution does not belong !! (Score:2)
Re:Evolution does not belong !! (Score:2)
Re:Evolution does not belong !! (Score:3, Informative)
I need some karma (Score:4, Informative)
So that you all can avoid those google searches here are the links:
Storage [gnome.org] Beagle [gnome.org]
Dashboard [nat.org]
Re:Evolution does not belong !! (Score:2)
3-tiers for Evolution! (Score:2)
Re:Evolution does not belong !! (Score:2)
I'll probably get flamed for this, but I don't see why we can't use the mbox style for mail, just like mozilla and everything back to pine and some things prior uses. Address books should be human readable and easily parseable as well. Just because Microsoft has it's *.pst format doesn't mean we need an open source copy - Outlook is widely used because it comes bundled, not because of some of its nasty design flaws.
Don't i
Re:Evolution does not belong !! (Score:2, Interesting)
Evolution is included because every single library in the entire Gnome install (about 784,197 of them at last count) has a hard dependency on some obscure 2K feature widget (usually the HTML library).
Gnome is the undisputed galactic champion of dependencies. Last time I tried to install Evolution from an RPM, I thought I was following a treasure map through the Saskatchewan tundra.
Explorer Easy to use? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Explorer Easy to use? (Score:4, Insightful)
I only ask because the skills learned in Windows are easily portable to any current GUI, and visa versa. I personally believe that I could sit down at any computer and figure out the GUI, but then again I was like this when I first started using computers with Windows 3.1 on them. So it's really important to look and see how GUIs are alike and how they are different.
Today, the main functionality of a GUI is virtually the same in any operating system, under any Windows Manager (minus a few frenge ones...); we are getting to the point that we are "desktop-agnostic". The only thing that remains in Linux is to get video accelleration up to Windows/MacOS X levels, and once there, start sprucing everything up with a bit of eye candy (drop shadows rock eye-candy wise, fast window transforms like in Mac OS X, etc). But I do have to admit that Linux, at current, is far more themeable than either Windows XP or Mac OS X, and I believe it will probably remain that way for a long time... (bad for new users, good for established users).
Not necessarily bad... (Score:4, Insightful)
I agree... (Score:5, Interesting)
1) Things work.
2) They look good.
3) Few options available, but most are hidden in the registry. Those few options seem more than sufficient for the teeming masses.
Now take someone from that environment and put them on Gnome. What does he/she experience?
1) Stuff works.
2) It looks good.
3) Few options available, but most are hidden in the registry. Those few options seem more than sufficient for the teeming masses.
Now, let's take a windows power user
1) Things work, but always looking for ways to make them work faster.
2) It looks good, but always looking for ways to customize it.
3) Few options available, so the user always has some program Xteq XSetup Pro to tweak hidden settings all over the place.
Take THAT user and put him/her on KDE:
1) Things work and work fast. User is quite happy.
2) It may or may not look good, but hey, it's VERY customizable, so it WILL look good after a week.
3) Tons of options available all over the place - the former windows power user is in heaven.
So to sum it up, KDE and Gnome in my opinion, both serve a VERY good purpose - they cater to the needs to both ends of the spectrum of Windows users - and they're both getting better/faster with each new version.
Now since we're celebrating Gnome 2.8 RC1 here, kudos go out to the Gome devs out there for capturing the essence of Windows' ease of use and porting it to Linux. You guys are doing a great job.
It would be nice to have a unified Desktop one day, but hey, I'm not complaining right now, even tho I'm a KDE fan - GREAT WORK GNOME! - I'm seriously thinking of setting up Gnome 2.8 as my mum's default Linux account and see how she likes it - she currently uses KDE 3.3
Re:I agree... (Score:3, Insightful)
1) Stuff works.
2) It looks good.
3) Few options available, but most are hidden in the registry. Those few options seem more than sufficient for the teeming masses."
And for the power user...
`4) They find Gnome registry actually isn't a registry, but a nicely organised set of XML files that are easy to navigate and edit, and not swamped with the crap you get in, say, the Windows registry.'
I don't know why people thi
I see these +0.1 releases discussed often, but.. (Score:4, Insightful)
I use linux and 'doze both daily, but spend ~70% of my time hacking code on linux. The WM doesn't matter that much to me, because it just needs to be a good way between 4 desktops full worth of bash shells and vi windows.. but both gnome and kde feel weak when it comes to the 'everyday' stuff I usually do on windows
-
the real BUT, though, is this thought - Would it help the (big) open source groups to start being more feature focused?
Look at many dot releases from M$ or Apple.. 90% is NEWNEWNEW and a little is 'does xyz better, zyx works now'
The geek stuff needs to be available, sure, but "higher level" messages might go far to boost adoption.
My thinking is, Average Joe just dipping a toe into 'non-conformist' ways, and sees a big new announcement.. he looks in and sees a ton of stuff he doesn't understand, and a long list of bugs fixed that makes him think 'ugh, this still has too many problems.'
If he looks in and sees mostly "Now imports Word 2006 docs with perfect formatting!
$.02
Re:I see these +0.1 releases discussed often, but. (Score:2)
open source is much more evoluationary, than revolutionary. just because it doesn't have a wizz bang release cycle doesn't make it any less productive for getting major features done over time.
Re:I see these +0.1 releases discussed often, but. (Score:2)
I suppose this isn't the focus of this post. But since you tossed this in... I'm curious as to what apps you're specifically referring to. I was going to refute your statements until I realized my examples weren't GNOME or KDE specific. For browsing, I use Firefox - on both Windows and Linux. For office apps I use Open Office - on both Linux and Windows (although som
Re:I see these +0.1 releases discussed often, but. (Score:2)
I have to deal with think like that at work too much, to tolerate it at home on my desktop. I don't want new features, I want a desktop that WORKS!
Commercial software does this because it has to persuade people to fork over more money for another release. But GNOME (and KDE) are free. As in free beer. There is no compelling need to force people to upgrade. If they upgrade they upgrade, if they don't they don't. Considering the price, most people will upgrade anyway.
Re:I see these +0.1 releases discussed often, but. (Score:2)
And to the new people, it's ALL features! There's no need to add new features to entice them in, because as a new desktop, it's all new features to them.
I just bought a new car last month. Compared to the old car, the only new feature it had was a CD player. Let me assure you that the reason I spent $15,000 was *not* to get a CD player! Honda didn't need to add a superflous feature in order to get me to buy a new car. All they needed to do was to make it good and
Re:I see these +0.1 releases discussed often, but. (Score:3, Insightful)
And these point releases aren't meant for Average Joe anyway; they're bleeding-edge and unstable. Joe doesn't want this stuff.
This
Mirror! (Score:2, Informative)
http://tuggy.home.sapo.pt/gnome/ [home.sapo.pt]
(Here's hoping this doesn't get Slashdotted too quickly!)
Re:Mirror! (Score:2)
Official Mirror (Score:5, Informative)
If someone could update the story URL, that would be great
Re:Official Mirror (Score:2)
"Not Found
The requested URL
Human Interface Guidelines (Score:5, Interesting)
It is also very interesting to see how Gnome is developing Human Interface Guidelines. [gnome.org] I wish programmers would stick to them.
Re:Human Interface Guidelines (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Human Interface Guidelines (Score:3, Interesting)
The most amazing thing is a lot of Gnome developers are doing just that...
That may be partly due to the fact that if you're developing a new app people will resist including it in Gnome if it doesn't follow the HIG. It may also be a simple matter of "Give the developer a spec and they'll try to follow it" whereas before this aspect of the design was undefined so people invented th
Too much like Windows!?!? Oh, Heaven Forbid!!!!!! (Score:4, Insightful)
Since when does "looking too much like Product X" automatically make something bad? Are you really that much of a zealot that you concern yourself more with how much it "looks like Windows/IE" than with how USEFUL GNOME IS AS A PRODUCT IN ITS OWN RIGHT?
Good grief, man!!! I'd hate to break it to you, but I hate Microsoft just as much as anyone here, if not MORE so... They *ARE* an evil company, no two ways about it. HOWEVER, having said that: it IS possible for even the most evil of people/corporations to have a good idea once in a while. (Need I point out that Hitler, for all his evil, was the one who started work on things like the Autobahn and the Volkswagen.)
If I were to take your argument to an extreme, I would have to say: Ogg Vorbis is no good--after all, the concepts behind it sound too much like MP3 or AAC.
Heh. No wonder Slashdot has so little credibility with some people.
Evolution 2.0 release date? (Score:2)
Re:Evolution 2.0 release date? (Score:2)
Re:Evolution 2.0 release date? (Score:2)
Brave New GNOME (Score:4, Insightful)
Looks more like OSX (Score:2)
Re:Looks more like OSX (Score:3, Insightful)
Damned if you do and damned if you don't (Score:4, Insightful)
But part of the problem with Free desktop critics is you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you make your interface look like Windows, these critics will have a go because it looks like Windows. If you make it look unlike Windows, they will criticise you because it's "unfamiliar".
Too much like Windows? (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't think Gnome looks like Windows. Well, of course it (and KDE as well) shares some common things with Windows. They all have windows. they have a taskbar. They have a start-menu or equivalent. And they all offer integrated system with similar look 'n feel between apps and tools. Are ANY of those things bad things? Why? Just because Windows has them as well?
Why don't you whiners start your own GUI-project. Call it UTIADFWAP, or "UI That Is As Different From Windows As Possible". Make sure that it doesn't look anything like Windows. Maybe then you will be happy. Who cares about usability or consistensy, at least it would be different from Windows! And it seems that many people think that being different from Windows is the primary feature of a Linux/Unix-UI these days!
Some "anything but Windows!"-zealots usually whine about KDE that "it looks too much like Windows". I use KDE at work (occasionally I boot to W2K for a game or two) and XP at work. I don't think KDE and Windows'es look that much alike. Well, the file-dialog is a bit similar, but that's it. And that's not really a bad thing, since I think the Windows file-dialog serves me well. The one in KDE looks somewhat similar, but it's alot better.
Yes, I dislike Microsoft as well. And Windows the OS has it's share of problems. But it's UI is OK on the basic level. Yes, the UI does have problems as well, but luckily KDE (and Gnome I think) fixes those issues.
repeat after me: just because something can be found in Windows does not automatically mean that it's a bad thing.
Shadows on window edges (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:For the slashdotted (Score:4, Funny)
Of course (Score:2)
Re:Slashdotted (Score:4, Informative)
Can I just say... (Score:3, Funny)
Why do they cram all the buttons to the top right corner? Why not spread them out? Ah! Frustrating.
Re:Slashdotted (Score:3, Informative)
This [nyud.net] I meant. Yes, I preview from now on
Re:Slashdotted (Score:2)
1. Don't preview, post without link.
2. Get complaint.
3. Post with link.
4. KARMA!