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KDE 3.3 UI, Evaluated By 7 Real Users

Posted by timothy on from the and-those-are-the-important-kind dept.

sgtrock writes "UserInstinct has an article that documents the reactions to KDE 3.3 by 7 users with limited or no Linux background. By and large, they found KDE intrguing, but far too busy. They all complained about some pretty basic UI issues; no stars echoed while the password was typed, anti-aliased fonts off by default, far too many options shown by default, etc. Most had minor UI issues as well; some of which were KDE specific, others that weren't. All in all, I would have to regard this test KDE 3.3's UI as somewhat disappointing. Especially since KDE strives so hard to provide a consistent and easy to use UI. IMO the single biggest issue is probably the overwhelming number of options that are exposed to a first-time user. Personally, I'm a guy who likes to tweak almost everything on a UI, so I love the way that KDE works. However, I have seen myself just how quickly beginners get turned off by the very busy option screens. There must be a better way of showing a sane number of options while still allowing power users to access the more esoteric ones. Anyone have any thoughts?"

6 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. Two tiered Configuration by ADRA · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's called Advanced... or else you could really break them up and call them Registry or gconf-editor

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    Bye!
  2. Re:Why one-size-fits-all? by alefbet · · Score: 2, Funny
    I use both Gnome and KDE. Gnome strikes me as a more "UNIXy" kind of desktop environment, but KDE's strength could be that it feels more comfortable to people coming from Windows or Macintosh.
    So... Gnome is for people who love Unix, and KDE is for people who hate Windows? (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)
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    A hack is just an idiom waiting for wider use.
  3. Re:HID 101 by Brandybuck · · Score: 3, Funny

    First of all, progressive disclosure already exists on the KDE (and all other) desktops. That's why it doesn't have everything in one single menu, or why the interface isn't a single command entry widget. Instead we have multiple menus, context menus, sub menus, cascading menus. We have dialogs and toolbars. We have tabbed dialogs and advanced dialogs. People who complain about this aren't saying it doesn't exist, but merely that it hasn't been implemnted to the degree that they want. We can always politely discuss to what degree you want a progressive disclosure, but if you insist that it doesn't already exist, then we have nothing to talk about.

    Second, please show me the progressive disclosure on my automobile's interface. As near as I can tell, every driving control is initially displayed, and remains displayed for the duration of my driving. Perhaps the concept of progressive disclosure isn't a basid human interface design. Hmmm, it doesn't exist on my microwave oven either.

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    Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
  4. Re:Don't know where by cpeterso · · Score: 2, Funny


    the problem with Xfce4 is that it's not as easy to install because you have to make special effort to start using it. This turns off aunt Tilly.

    If installing Xfce4 turns off Aunt Tilly, I'd like to know what turns her on..?

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    cpeterso
  5. Re:Too many options by Dulimano · · Score: 2, Funny

    "I don't want to make 101 decisions when I work on my computer. I want sensible defaults and not have to care about plethoras of unneeded options."

    You pick one of 101 options everytime you press a key on your standard 101-key desktop keyboard. I recommend the F1 key as a sensible default.

  6. Still waiting... by jo42 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm still waiting for the KDE Universal Networking Tool...