[openbeos] Re: Haikiu icon
- From: Simon Taylor <simontaylor1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 11:52:08 +0000
I disagree completely Chris.
Linux is hardly well branded - the sheer amount of customisation means it is
almost impossible to produce a screenshot that people will instantly associate
with Linux. Putting a Tux image as my windows wallpaper would probably confuse
most people.
Making customisation super-easy encourages people to instantly change their
environment to either something they are familiar with (like the
nearly-but-not-quite-windows approach my university have with their linux
system (incidentally one of the worst possible things IMHO - the user feels
like they know exactly how it will behave, and then it works differently)) or
to instantly change to the look with the most "wow" factor for them, that may
well not be the best in the long run. Perhaps if the user lived with the
defaults for a couple of weeks they would discover that it grows on them (much
like the "Haiku" name has done with most people).
Having a single standard system design also makes it possible for application
developers to design an interface that fits with other apps and the OS itself -
something that isn't really possible for Linux app developers (unless they make
their UIs as configurable as the OS which just compounds the problems).
Imagine trying to write a how-to guide for changing screen resolution on Linux
- how many different versions would be necessary to cover all the different
window managers, configuration applications, etc, etc available? Lets keep the
Haiku one as "Leaf->Preferences->Screen" please.
When people "use Linux" that could mean almost anything due to the amount of
possibilities. Haiku is more integrated than that - when people "use Haiku"
that should have an association with a certain design, as well as a very
specific way of working with an OS. That way people can use Haiku and encourage
others to do so on the basis of the entire user experience, rather than it just
being free and being able to morph into almost anything.
Both Microsoft and Apple don't supply their OSes with a huge choice of themes
for good reasons of branding, consistency and usability - not because they are
lagging behind linux in terms of features as you imply.
I apologise for yet again continuing this thread (there isn't another mailing
list for issues like this that I'm aware of) and I know I could be accused of
overreacting when we're just discussing the icon. But the philosophy covers far
more issues than that.
The first swathe of new people attracted to Haiku after release will most
likely be Linux users and I predict there will be hundreds of requests to
change functionality or to "at least add it as an option". For me, resisting
these calls is the biggest threat Haiku will face early on. Hence before that
time comes I'm trying to convince the Haiku faithful that supreme customisation
is "not the Haiku way".
Simon
> From: "Chris Peel" <chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 2006/03/20 Mon AM 10:32:24 GMT> To: <openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [openbeos] Re: Haikiu icon
>
>
> Sorry if this is going off down a rabbit-hole but I disagree with those
> comments quite strongly. Firstly, most Linux distros (from a graphical
> perspective) are highly configurable - to the extent where you can make
> Linux (X Windows) look almost identical to Windows. At the opposite end of
> the spectrum are Microsoft who are only just coming round to allowing users
> to customize their environments (Windows XP can only be themed fully through
> using a hacked version of an o/s library). Either way though, not matter
> how configurable Linux is, it doesn't lose its identity (largely thanks to
> Tux). At the same time, Microsoft trying to prevent people from changing
> the look of their o/s has lead to a glut of products that will do just that
> - by hacking resource files, libraries, etc.
>
> What I'm aiming at is something in the middle. Of couse, out of the box
> Haiku would come fully branded to match the corporate identity, along with
> wallpapers, icons, screensavers, etc. All I'm suggesting is a potential
> extra feature that allows users to customize the deskbar slightly more than
> it is now.
>
> I agree that It's probably not really a discussion to be having now; I'm
> guessing this would all be thrashed out nearer release time when the rest of
> the gui content is finalised.
>
>
>
>
-----------------------------------------
Email sent from www.ntlworld.com
Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software
Visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information
Other related posts:
