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I'm OSNews' managing editor. Go figure. Read the FAQ. I have a photo-stream where I post semi daily photos. I also have a web album, and a mobile friendly version of this blog. There are quite a few ways of contacting me.
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Original design by Michael Heilemann, modified by Thom Holwerda. Cogs Can Think. uses icons from the FamFamFam Silk icon set. The header image is a modified version of "Tulips", (c) by Darren Carroll.
“Who said GNOME is ugly?”
I know I have :-P
But then, I find most DEs to be ugly.
Comment by Trent Townsend — December 17, 2005 @ 11:11 pm
I always liked Gnome.
Comment by Andre — December 17, 2005 @ 11:30 pm
I never said gnome was ugly; just the default theme is just plain. Of course I tend to use minimalist WMs anyway. I just discovered EDE, which is a nic elight weight desktop enviroment.
Comment by Chris — December 18, 2005 @ 3:33 am
Thom, this particular screenshot is ugly.
Notice how the windows consist of primarily the same color and background. The bad coloring makes very difficult for a NEW computer user (and slows down existing users) to figure out where is the menu, why the font on the toolbar has the same size as the menu font (one could ask “are they also menus?”). The lines that separate each section are just not clear when using this theme.
While for you, an experienced user, might represent a good looking theme, for new users this theme can be usability devastation. And whatever is devastating for a new computer user, it surely takes brain time away from an experienced one.
So, while usability is not always about themes and colors but about interaction, choice of words and layout, in this particular case, Gnome loses points in usability by using this particular theme too.
Comment by Eugenia — December 18, 2005 @ 6:24 am
No. This is the way *I* prefer GNOME to look. I hate having ten different fonts on my desktop; I want consistency, in coloring, in fonts, in everything.
In case you haven’t noticed; take a look at OSX. There, esp. in the new Plastic and the Brushed themes, there is no seperation between fonts/colours either- yet on OSX the various parts of the windows in these themes don’t even use lines to seperate the sections like this theme does!
—
Why should I give a fcuk about new users when I’m the only one using my computer? Sometimes you need to stop playing that damn usability card, Eugenia. Because if I really anted to, I could point out a million dead horse… er usability flaws in any DE/OS.
Comment by Administrator — December 18, 2005 @ 8:39 am
Thom, please stop that.
YOU made a blog post saying that gnome is not ugly, and YOU presented a screenshot to show off that fact.
I replied that while Gnome is not ugly, THIS screenshot is. And I explained why, and why this theme/coloring would not be ideal as a PROOF that Gnome is not ugly.
YOU prefer how this UI looks. That’s fine. But DON’T use *this* screenshot to PROOF that Gnome is not ugly, because I believe it makes it look BAD. While you prefer it (and that’s ok), this shot is NOT a proof that Gnome is not ugly because as I explained above, it is.
As for colors and fonts, I want consistency too. But consistency does not always mean that you use the EXACT same color for everything, or the exact same font SIZE for everything. It is important to have the SAME font throughout the desktop, but not the same font SIZE. For example, having the same font size for menu and toolbar is TERRIBLE usability because the two texts don’t carry the same weight or function. Mac OS X does that right: the toolbar font is a bit smaller than the actual menu font. As for the coloring, no one suggested that completely different colors should blend in on the same theme. That would be like a clown show. But different variations/weight of the SAME color (to show different actions), should. The theme you presented –while you personally prefer it– doesn’t play well with usability because of the points I make in this paragraph. So, don’t use it as an example. It’s a bad example. That’s all I was trying to say.
Comment by Eugenia — December 18, 2005 @ 8:55 am
Another bad usability example on this theme is the fact that the menu bar and the window manager’s background looks one and the same.
Do you like it this way? Fine!
But a new computer user would be confused as hell. This is why I made my original comment: *your choice of screenshot is a bad example to the general public of why Gnome is not ugly*. I know that you like it, but I explained to you why it’s not an ideal shot. You should not have been that angry at me.
Comment by Eugenia — December 18, 2005 @ 9:01 am
Usability isn’t black and white. And usability surely has little or nothing to do with beautyness and uglyness.
Comment by Administrator — December 18, 2005 @ 9:05 am
> usability surely has little or nothing to do with beautyness and uglyness.
Actually, this is not true at all. But I will leave it at that. I won’t expand it here because it’s a long matter.
Comment by Eugenia — December 18, 2005 @ 9:09 am
Hey, a blog!
There are parts of that I really like. Got one with a scrollbar?
Comment by i3x171um — December 22, 2005 @ 12:43 am