[openbeos] Re: Visual design stuff again

> On Thu, 2003-09-25 at 16:29, Simon Taylor wrote:
> > I'm the same. If the app is 10kb and the screenshot is 100K, I'd 
> > still 
> > look at the screenshot first (I'm on dialup, btw). Lars has an 
> > interesting point - maybe that makes me a geek? What I would say is 
> > the 
> > kind of people who are going to the trouble of finding out about an 
> > alternative OS and considering downloading it, geek or not, are the 
> > kind of people who will be influenced by screenshots IMHO.
> 
> Good point.
> It can, however, also be argued that people who goes thru all the
> trouble of finding an alternative OS would download it regardless of 
> the
> screenshot?
> This is not to say that the look is unimportant but unless your OS 
> looks
> like absolute crap, and the R5 style might be aging but it's not 
> crap,
> people will probably check it out anyway.

Yes, that is true.

Those who abandonned R5 for whatever reason may not though. And people 
who know of R5 should be able to see from the screenshot that it is a 
"step forward" from R5. That includes current users, ex-users, and 
people who jsut read a review of R5 once upon a time.

In terms of how the look influences downloads, I would say there are 3 
categories of "look":

"Really crap" ----->  "OK" -----> "Awesome"

We all agree the R5 look wouldn't fall into the first category. Maybe 
TriangleOS would. This is where a user is interested, has a look at the 
screenshot, and then decides against downloading it.

I would place the R5 look in the "OK" category. That means people who 
have researched the OS, thought it sounded cool, and looked at the 
screenshot wouldn't be put off by it. Unless they have a negative image 
of R5 for whatever reason, of course.

The third category is one where a screenshot alone provides the 
incentive to download. After a link to Stuart's mockups was posted on 
OS News, someone replied:
-----------------
I agree fully. Those screenshots of OBOS have really gotten me excited. 
I want to try it out so bad. That's what an OS should do for 
people...excite them. This is the most exciting GUI for an OS I have 
seen since the first screenshots of OS X and now being a fulltime OS X 
user for 3 years I wish it looked like the OBOS.
I know openbeos.org but are there any other sources of info? Is it 
downloadable?
------------------

An "awesome" look for some could be the final factor that turns them 
from an interested watcher to an active user - the final criteria that 
makes them click the big "Download OBOS R1" button. 
 
> Lars Hansson <lars-openbeos-misc@xxxxxxxxxxx>

Simon

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