Is the Gnome GUI childish and ugly?

[FFighter]

I've heard many people saying that Gnome's interface is childish, unprofessional etc.

It depends on how it is set up, of course and what you consider to be childish and ugly, but I do agree with this affirmation at some level.

First, some history:

I have started using Ubuntu two years ago, after I got tired of XP and the never-ending Vista soap-opera. The first thing I dug was how to install VMWare Workstation and have XP on my side. I couldn't afford not to have some key applications that were essential tools I used to get my job done and hence pay the bills.

As time has passed, I started to get more used to the community and the FOSS philosophy. I've started to elimate, gradually, the idea that FOSS couldn't have the same quality as commercial closed-source applications. I started to rediscover that the best tool we professionals have is our brain and not a bloated application.

Well, that's when I started to see the real value of applications such as Blender, Inkscape, Gimp. I could see that you could learn something much more deeply if you used an open source tool rather than closed-source tools. It may take more time, but I feel people usually get closer to the essence and knowledge behind the tool when using FOSS tools.

</end of the history>

However, the GUI that "empowers" them, most of the time GTK, really is a showstopper IMHO.

Take a look at GIMP. Big, huge buttons and toolbars and menus. Inkscape? Same thing.

Compare Inkscape and Corel Draw. Corel Draw's interface feels much more compact, elegant and professional.

While I acknowledge this aspect of GTK can be nice for some applications, it certainly does not help applications that demand better use of screen real-state.

I think:
* Gnome developers should acknowledge that and build themes or engines into GTK that allow for widgets with thiner lines and more compact in general.

and or:

* Another graphics toolkit should be used for this kind of apps. Qt? Not sure.

Or... your thought on the subject :)

[FuturePilot]

Usually the problem of large widgets has to do with the theme that is used. Not GTK itself.

[kevin11951]

Usually the problem of large widgets has to do with the theme that is used. Not GTK itself.

agree, its the theme that chooses font and button size, wait a minute, im going to look for a theme that might work for the OP.

[Barrucadu]

The GTK theme can be easily changed, and you can even make your own if you want.

[FFighter]

I was talking about Gnome GUI in general.

However, you guys are probably right, configuring the theme correctly might solve the problem.

[kevin11951]

agree, its the theme that chooses font and button size, wait a minute, im going to look for a theme that might work for the OP.

is this small enough? (link to package (http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Compact-Colors?content=78182))

http://www.gnome-look.org/CONTENT/content-pre1/78182-1.png

[notwen]

The GNOME GUI can be changed as much as you want by using/modifying existing themes.

You could always resort to trying other DEs such as XFCE, KDE, Enlightenment and Window Maker until you come across something that meets your wants/needs visually.

[FFighter]

The GNOME GUI can be changed as much as you want by using/modifying existing themes.

Yes. I think I might have missed the point. Thanks for the enlightenment.

[beercz]

Is the Gnome GUI childish and ugly?
Does it matter?

We all have the choice to use whatever GUI we like and customize it how we see fit.

I personally like using Gnome.

[days_of_ruin]

Does it matter?

We all have the choice to use whatever GUI we like and customize it how we see fit.

I personally like using Gnome.
+1.I think it looks good:D

[kevin11951]

+1.I think it looks good:D
agreed

[swoll1980]

I don't think so

[kevin11951]

I don't think so

got the dual screen, hmmm?

[Artificial Intelligence]

Is the Gnome GUI childish and ugly?

No.


I find it the most professional. A clean interface, pretty without all the kind of distraction.

[ShodanjoDM]

Customize it just a little and you can get something that looks almost sci-fi and oh-so-shiny. It's hard to beat the themes that some very talented artists has created in gnome-look.org.

For example::

Vision (http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/vision+(codename+inspiration)?content=80064) by TheRob

72059

And this fella also has some killer themes:


Kims-area (http://www.kims-area.com/)

EDIT:

Anyway, I would like to add that although the default "out of the box" GNOME theme(s) may seem basic or even archaic, I see it like a "basic building blocks" that enable or even encourage you to tweak the looks of it. I prefer this hundred times better compared with all the "sparkles and shines" that Vista has out of the box, for example.

Once you get pass the looks, you'll see the true beauty lies within (inside every OS's souls) :lolflag:

[cardinals_fan]

GNOME isn't childish or ugly. It is slow and counterintuitive (IMHO, obviously).

[miggols99]

I don't think so
Wow! Where can I get the theme you're using from?

[geoken]

GNOME isn't childish or ugly. It is slow and counterintuitive (IMHO, obviously).

It's probably just your old computer.:)

[k@e]

You will probably laugh about this but the reason I have switched to GNOME on hardy is its clean and professional interface. Before the switch, I have been using a lot of GTK+ apps, they're just so damn common. However, in KDE they look quite alienish while they look and integrate perfectly in GNOME.

And I like it that gdm starts and stops way faster than kdm. :D

This post just represents my own personal experiences and opinions (aka my two cents).

[cardinals_fan]

It's probably just your old computer.:)
My computer is under two years old, has an AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core processor, 1 (soon to be two) gigs of RAM, and a reasonably good NVIDIA graphics card.

[RiceMonster]

I use mostly GTK+ apps, and they look nice and clean. I don't see the problem.