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Everaldo and Jimmac On Linux Art and Usability
Eugenia writes "Metin Amiroff of OSNews interviewed the well known artists of KDE and GNOME, Everaldo and Jimmac. They discuss their first steps into Linux, the applicationss they use and why Linux still doesn't have all the professional applications and support they need for their day to day work, their inspiration, the state of the Linux desktop visually and usability-wise, the SVG factor and their future plans for KDE and GNOME."
In Windows, the different icons and color schemes don't vary too much. Some programs have stupid icons - but most have fairly neat icons and artwork.
However, in Linux IMO, it's not the case. Some icons and artwork looks amazing while others look absolutely horrible. After dabbling with linux a few times, I really can't stand how the different schemes of different programs don't seem to fit together too well. In Mandrake 10 (last Linux I've used), there were whole different styles of icons.. like, Open Office had it's own set that were X pixels by Y colors in Z-bit color.. while Random Mandrake Prog had icons A pixels by B colors in C-bit color.
I am starting to think that I would rather just have an entire OS that didn't use Icons. Instead, it would be only labeled buttons.
--- We need more Ron Paul!
Desktop Linux for the common user is an eventuality, not merely a possibility.
:)
There is way too much interest displayed by business both large and small to see Linux displace MS Windows for the cost savings alone. So far, it's primarily server-side stuff but moving from server to desktop is also an eventuality.
So any time I see some article stating "Linux doesn't have this or that" or "...isn't ready..." I start to yawn a bit. I think it's nice that they're honest enough not to say that it will never happen.
An interview about art and usability of free software and not a single word about dyne:bolic? I am very disappointed.
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
You don't need a full-fledged OS in order to compile one. Any half-baked operating system which is functional enough and has a compiler worth its salt can compile Linux for example. All you're doing is taking source code and outputting machine code. That's not hard to do. [Not to say it's trivial, only that it's a well-understood and thoroughly solved problem.]
This isn't really about self-sufficiency, I don't think. You can have a G5 running OS X and have a really awesome user interface but lack the software needed to recreate the interface. For example, if Photoshop or other graphics editing programs weren't available for the Mac, that doesn't detract in any way from the usability of the Mac interface. Yes, it's *better* if your operating system had the tools needed to recreate it... but usability isn't a function of self-sufficiency.
Plus, this article is only one perspective on the matter. For people who live and breathe Photoshop, they're going to be disappointed with the native Linux experience as it won't meet their needs. Who cares about an operating system that can achieve an infinite uptime and has efficient multiprocessor thread pooling when they can't do their work? On the other hand, I've seen some truly amazing work done in GIMP, so it's a personal thing.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
The design of interactive systems is an entire discipline. It is as hard and as important as software engineering. Very few software developers have even the most basic training in this area. Also, analyzing and designing interactive systems is very expensive. It takes time and it requires some sort of contact with your intended user base before you start writing code. Many projects could use external help. What we need is to call human-computer interaction experts to the game. If a few experts could buy into the free software idea and do some free (as in beer) consulting, everyone would benefit. How do you do free as in beer consulting? You publish every deliverable on the net, under a Creative Commons license. This way, HCI students will have access to the methods used in real projects. These students, in turn, will be even easier to draft. I ask you all to turn you advocacy powers in this direction.