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Domain: betterdesktop.org

Stories and comments across the archive that link to betterdesktop.org.

Comments · 13

  1. Re:Lack of usabiilty testing by Dude+McDude · · Score: 1 · on Linux Needs Critics

    Novell did some usability testing a few years ago, but it doesn't seem to be an ongoing thing (the site hasn't been updated since 2006).

    http://www.betterdesktop.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main

  2. Re:Welcome to the 1970s by exosyst · · Score: 1 · on Usability Testing Hardy Heron With a Girlfriend

    Is there a website I can donate my mom and girlfriend to for Linux usability testing? I'd love to contribute more to the community and aside from the occasional patch this would be a great way to feed back. I help my nearest and dearest with their computers and have recently moved my neighbour, mum and girlfriend onto the latest ubuntu release and they'd be all too happy to take part in usability testing. Perhaps Ubuntu should have something similar to Novel's Better Desktop idea? http://www.betterdesktop.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main If anyone has any ideas or something already exists than let me know! (no mum jokes please, I'm British!)

  3. Re:We're all just drones over here... by mike_sucks · · Score: 1 · on GNOME 2.20 Released

    These features weren't added randomly to KDE, they were added because a significant number of users requested them. You mean, "they were added because a significant number of users who were motivated and willing to submit feature requests using the appropriate mechanism, who were technically competent enough to do so and knew that such a mechanism existed requested a particular feature". Which, of course is a flaming great classic example of response bias - the same thing that makes television and newspaper polls useless as an indicator for the actual value of a population parameter.

    What you have is an bunch geeks and hobbyists - the very people to want extreme, nifty and mostly useless features - in control of functional requirements for KDE. Something gets posted to the Dot and all of the geeks who read it rush over and vote or whatever and the feature gets implemented because "everyone" wants it. If KDE has any user base outside of these groups, they they (and their needs) go completely unrepresented by KDE's requirements gathering "process". Awesome. And people wonder why KDE has 3 billion (approx) random configuration items and pointless features.

    And you're right, usability studies are generally qualitative in nature, but using mixed methods allows you generalise the qualitative data while still being able to look at individual differences. It, you know, removes the "fuzzyness" (Is that a technical term?) - it makes what would otherwise be a particularly useless study quite useful for improving the ergonomics of your user interface.

    But in no way is a usability study any less useful than using an obscure popularity contest accessible only to an extreme part of the user base to determine what should go in. Also, what about removing useless features? Does that ever get voted on? No? Damm, that must be some serious bloat going on.

    So you can talk about how it's not fair that the GNOME developers ignore bug reports and how they can't possibly know what is needed and what is not - despite the fact that major usability studies were run on GNOME in 2001 and 2005 and continue in part at betterdesktop.org - and waive your hands as much as you like and cry "what about my obscure feature request" but in the end it it much better that someone is at least thinking about and trying to improve actual usability, rather than relying on such a fundamentally flawed, biased and mediocre process such as the one you have outlined.

    -Mike
  4. Re:Linux isn't successful on the desktop because by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Does Linux "Fail To Think Across Layers?"

    While all your points are debatable, point 2 in particular is false. Check out the Better Desktop project: http://www.betterdesktop.org/.

  5. Re:a step above any Linux distro ? by vbillings · · Score: 3, Informative · on Pros and Cons of Switching From Windows To Mac

    Actually, Gnome KDE have had quite a few if not hundreds of focus groups from a variety of different populations doing useability studies. See http://www.betterdesktop.org/ for more information.

  6. Re:Workflow-sensitive? by paulpach · · Score: 2, Informative · on Plasma: The Next-Generation KDE Environment Review

    If you have to teach people something, you have already failed. Users Don't Read the Manual. So if your interface expects them to do so, your interface is probably flawed.

    They are not trying to guess what the users might do, they are doing some serious research on it. As a result, they have come up with some great improvements such as kickoff. And their new HIG

    It is not about the computer deciding what is best, quite the opposite, on usability you are supposed to empower the user. The link is from what will become their next HIG. It is pretty safe to say that KDE has allways done well in this particular area.

  7. Apparently, they're great for open source projects by soren42 · · Score: 2, Insightful · on Other Uses for Wiki Software?

    Wiki technology must be great for open source project pages, or at least Novell thinks so... As best I can count, they have eight (or more) projects set up that either they manage, contribute to, or support using MediaWiki.

    These are:
    Mind you, these are all great sites, with good content. They seem to really be embracing the notion of community-driven projects, to the point of not only accepting community code, but also accepting additional community support though the use of Wiki for the websites and documentation. Take a browse through these sites, if you have time - they are full of great ideas on how to use a wiki.

    Kudos to Novell for once again being innovative in open source. Give me even more hope for their future and for the success of SUSE Linux.
  8. Re:My thoughts by vdboor · · Score: 1 · on Conducting a Unix Desktop Usability Study?

    Get people who are not experts, see how many problems they run into doing simple tasks that they're familiar with on Windows. See how many of these they can solve themselves. Sounds like they did with http://betterdesktop.org/ It's really interesting to see new users struggle with basic tasks in your favorite apps. Simple things, like "add your friend to the addressbook". Some tasks are really hard even if users claim it's the best program in the world.

  9. For an example... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative · on Conducting a Unix Desktop Usability Study?

    Check out http://www.betterdesktop.org/

  10. Re:Linus, Thank You for Sharing by jone1941 · · Score: 4, Informative · on Torvalds Says 'Use KDE'

    http://betterdesktop.org/ - an ongoing and very recent usibility study.

    Gnome isn't perfect neither is KDE. I personally find that I don't like the default settings for either desktop. The thing that turns me off of KDE as a whole is that even knowing already what I'm going to want to change it takes me forever to step through the mess that is kcontrol and to remove the mess that is every application under the sun from kicker. As a desktop I prefer Gnome, it does everything I need it to do without causing me much pain to get it to the point that I like. However, I still install KDE simply for konsole and kate the two apps I could not live without.

  11. Re:He's right, you know by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative · on Torvalds Says 'Use KDE'

    Two is that within those who contributed the the UI discussion there was a surprising lack not only of experience in the HCI field (ok, I had just started out there myself) but also a strong resistance to pick up the vast literature available or trust in actual end-user studies.

    List of references considered for the Gnome Human Interface Guidelines.
    Usability Study from Sun Microsystems.
    Usability testing videos from Novell

    Somehow, the current situation looks quite different from what you describe.

  12. Yes but ... by shis-ka-bob · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Novell's Releases Linux Usability Testing Videos
    It certainly does look like the solutions are 'do it like Windows.' Look at the report on setting the clock. They recommend allowing non-root users to be able to reset the clock and that the process resemple Windows. I say this is all wrong.

    First, I don't want users to mess with system settings unless they are allowed to (e.g. unless they are admins in 'wheel'). I'm happy to support regular users, but not regular users that think they should be adminitering a system they don't understand. I'm not trying to be elitist by stating that only 'qualified' users should try to be admins. Its perfectly fine to drive a car, but that doesn't mean you should be that car's mechanic.

    More significantly, why should the clock be off in the first place? Even a supposedly 'user hostile' OS like OpenBSD supports NTP. So, rather than have the users fix a broken clock, why don't we have the computer periodically sync its clock to the correct time. I can't set the clock to within 100 ms, but that is trivial to set it within 20 ms with NTP. Forcing users to fix a problem is inferior to preventing the problem.

  13. Re:Hm. by databyss · · Score: 3, Informative · on Novell's Releases Linux Usability Testing Videos

    I believe your answer lies here: http://www.betterdesktop.org/welcome/reports/repor t-date-time.html

    # Issues encountered:

    1. The date and time configuration tool is not easily discoverable from the menus, and is not listed in Personal Settings.
    2. Users assumed the root password request meant they had to log in as root.
    3. Users wanted the click behavior of the clock applet to be similar to Windows.

    # Recommendations:

    1. Fix time and date settings to not require root access.
    2. Add time and date settings to the Personal Settings window.
    3. Make the clock applet behavior be more similar to that of the Windows taskbar clock.


    Too bad the tests have such small sample sizes.

    It would be good to get some big numbers on these issues, although I acknowledge that it would be very expensive.