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View Full Version : Spit and Polish?



Fitzy_oz
July 20th, 2007, 03:23 AM
I have been using Linux as my only operating system for well over 18 months, and forthe most part it has been ubuntu. And to be frank, I love it and wouldn't use any other operating system on my home pc if you paid me to. That being said it has cropped up in discussion in a number of places that Ubuntu and Linux in general lack the aesthetic refinements seen in any major release of windows. In short, the Linux desktop looks more or less the same from release to release...

I understand that Ubuntu is released every 6 months and that the changes are mostly under the hood and small but excellent improvements but I wonder would Ubuntu benefit from a touch up on the desktop annually or bi-annually? By touch ups i mean changes to the default window borders, a customized Icon set and some nicely crafted default fonts?


Would this help generate a bit of hype and excitement or just confuse users further?

Let me know what you think....

Zzl1xndd
July 20th, 2007, 03:27 AM
Thats really more in the realm of Gnome to do that as the DE is there's that being said KDE is moving in some interesting ways and I think you will see Gnome do that as well shortly just give it some time.

strabes
July 20th, 2007, 04:31 AM
I wonder would Ubuntu benefit from a touch up on the desktop annually or bi-annually?

Actually biannually means that it happens twice every year (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/biannual). For example, ubuntu is release biannually. However, This page (http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/bimonthly) claims that its use is ambiguous and should be clarified with "twice a year" or "every two years."

Just thought I'd point this out. I assume you meant every year or every two years, correct?

Fitzy_oz
July 20th, 2007, 08:29 AM
Actually biannually means that it happens twice every year (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/biannual). For example, ubuntu is release biannually. However, This page (http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/bimonthly) claims that its use is ambiguous and should be clarified with "twice a year" or "every two years."

Just thought I'd point this out. I assume you meant every year or every two years, correct?

Every two years. Thanks for clearing that up.

jrusso2
July 20th, 2007, 08:38 AM
There is nothing to prevent you from installing one of the many themes available.

Fitzy_oz
July 20th, 2007, 11:51 AM
There is nothing to prevent you from installing one of the many themes available.

I am well aware of that ;)
I guess what I mean to say is that, although I have managed to convert a lot of my friends and colleagues to Ubuntu, it just doesn't have (by default) the polish that is apparent in Windows or OSX, in fact I spent quite a it of time making my mother and my partners computers look a little more attractive to them by simply changing fonts and window borders and icon schemes. I'm asking by drastically re-vamping the the look and feel of the windows borders, font and icon sets; could that draw some attention or generate some excitement about the prospect of upgrading to the new version or upgrading from the previous...

Wolki
July 20th, 2007, 02:23 PM
I understand that Ubuntu is released every 6 months and that the changes are mostly under the hood and small but excellent improvements but I wonder would Ubuntu benefit from a touch up on the desktop annually or bi-annually? By touch ups i mean changes to the default window borders, a customized Icon set and some nicely crafted default fonts?

We've had pretty large changes regarding window borders and icons from 5.10 to 6.06 and from 6.06 to 6.10 (and the versions before probably too, but I don't remember them as clearly). We have desktop effects installed by default in 7.04, which if enabled change the look&feel greatly (and not always to the better, but that's debatable), plus maybe some changes to the icons (I disliked the changes in 6.10, so I stopped using it). The background is changed every release. What you want already happens.

Happy_Man
July 20th, 2007, 02:32 PM
I have been using Linux as my only operating system for well over 18 months, and forthe most part it has been ubuntu. And to be frank, I love it and wouldn't use any other operating system on my home pc if you paid me to. That being said it has cropped up in discussion in a number of places that Ubuntu and Linux in general lack the aesthetic refinements seen in any major release of windows. In short, the Linux desktop looks more or less the same from release to release...

I understand that Ubuntu is released every 6 months and that the changes are mostly under the hood and small but excellent improvements but I wonder would Ubuntu benefit from a touch up on the desktop annually or bi-annually? By touch ups i mean changes to the default window borders, a customized Icon set and some nicely crafted default fonts?


Would this help generate a bit of hype and excitement or just confuse users further?

Let me know what you think....
Wait for Gutsy. Between KDE 4 and Gnome 2.20, there will be a major aesthetic overhaul. If you look at the Gutsy Tribe 3 screenshots, they are redoing the entire shebang. I can't wait! :lolflag:

igknighted
July 20th, 2007, 03:14 PM
Wait for Gutsy. Between KDE 4 and Gnome 2.20, there will be a major aesthetic overhaul. If you look at the Gutsy Tribe 3 screenshots, they are redoing the entire shebang. I can't wait! :lolflag:

KDE4 won't come default on Gutsy, and really, gnome 2.20 isn't going to change gnome that much. In fact KDE4 wont make Ubuntu's default until Gutsy +2 most likely (Gutsy +1 is to be an LTS release and they dont want to use a new, rather untested DE).

Look, you are missing the point. Clearly we can customize the look after we install, but that means nothing to someone who pulls out the liveCD and thinks "wow, this reallly doesn't look as nice as ________". You NEVER get a second chance to make a first impression. Look at Fedora for example. Each Fedora release comes with a new set of artwork (DNA was fedora 6, Flying high is Fedora 7, etc.) and that generates some excitement. I wish Fedora would pick a nice GTK/metacity theme, but thats another issue.

There are tons of great metacity themes we could use. Or we could make our own. But there is so much we could do to spruce it up out of the box that it is rather embarassing how it actually looks.

Fitzy_oz
July 20th, 2007, 07:33 PM
Clearly we can customize the look after we install, but that means nothing to someone who pulls out the liveCD and thinks "wow, this reallly doesn't look as nice as ________". You NEVER get a second chance to make a first impression.

You've hit the nail on the head

matthinckley
July 20th, 2007, 07:56 PM
Fedora has always looked really nice IMHO

hanzomon4
July 20th, 2007, 10:42 PM
No KDE4 in Kubuntu Gutsy? And really what will Gnome 2.20 really change?

igknighted
July 20th, 2007, 11:37 PM
No KDE4 in Kubuntu Gutsy? And really what will Gnome 2.20 really change?

Supposedly it will be an available package, but it will not be the default. And look at what has changed (of any visual significance) in Gnome since like 2.10... not a whole lot. I have not SEEN 2.20, nor have I heard either way that it will introduce anything special or not. But going on past results alone, I am extremely skeptical that there will be any noticeable difference (from the Gnome project). Any tangible change would most likely come from the ubuntu team themselves.

EDIT: Gutsy Tribe 3 SS from Phoronix... I really don't see anything different yet... http://www.phoronix.net/image.php?id=783&image=ubuntu_tribe3_09_lrg