Unity Desktop User Profile

[psycho5]

Hi Everyone,

I am doing an assignment for my class and it requires creating a user profile for a system. I decided to do it on the Unity interface for netbooks for ubuntu netbook. Is there any place or link where I can see for whom the unity desktop is meant to be created for? I can always make assumptions but if there is a specific page I can see on what the users requirements were and how were they prioritized?

Looking at Unity, I know its made for touchscreen users and people on the go for checking email, social from the start, cloud computing, but these are all features. I'd want to know for whom were these features created? It's easy to say everyone but if there was some system of categorizing users it would really help.

This is purely from a design point of view, not really from a technical aspect.

I can credit all responders in my paper if you'd like to be credited, or if you'd like to stay anonymous please indicate. By default, I'll treat the responses as anonymous.

Admins: If this is not an appropriate post for this forum I apologize in advance.

[Copper Bezel]

So just to clarify, you mean that you're writing a profile of the userbase, not creating a user profile, which is another way of saying "account," right? Just want to clear the semantic air, there.

I don't know that anyone has ever set out to say, you know, we're targeting these folks but not these folks, which sounds like bad marketing. If you think about the features you listed, though, you can certainly narrow the field a bit. It's a friendly, colorful, media-and-web directed sort of interface that doesn't emphasize customization like many Linux environments or low requirements like many others, and it's specifically marketed for netbooks. It has an App-Store-style interface for its repos and a leaning toward optimal use of screen space and minimal controls. All of those things point to a specific demographic, don't they? I mean, one could exaggerate to say that it's designed for new Linux users to check Facebook on.

Incidentally, it's not actually touchscreen-optimized. It plays nicely with touchscreens because of the large launchers, but it still uses traditional menus, so it's not ideal for that application, and Canonical has been open and vocal about that.

[psycho5]

Yes you are correct, it's basically a profile on the user database. I hear what you are saying, I've already talked about that stuff, how it's made for netbook users and designed in a way to get the most out of a 10.1 inch screen with the ability of multiple workspaces, a common toolbar for all applications that also saves space, and integrated me menu and all that good stuff. But I'd like to know, say, a colorblind person, would he be able to use the desktop? how would he see it? Most icons are accompanied with text to tell the user what the link will do in the menus. How about the icons on the unity panel on the left?

Noted about touchscreen what you just said, thank you. I'll make changes to what I've said.

I don't think you've understood my point entirely, i'm not trying to say that unity should only target these users and what not. I'm saying, before they designed Unity, they obviously had some set of goals in mind, these goals or requirements came probably from what people wanted, correct? So I'd like to know according to those user requirements, the system was built, so who were those users who's requirements were considered? If you understand what I'm trying to say.