http://alokastudio.com/useit/2004/07/usability/ A blog about simple, humane technology Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:51:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://alokastudio.com/useit/2004/07/usability/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Daniel Hiester Sun, 25 Jul 2004 05:15:11 +0000 http://alokastudio.com/useit/2004/07/usability/#comment-3 I agree with you that KDE is a usability disaster. I'm utterly dismayed that KDE was voted the most popular desktop environment at linuxquestions.org's year-end "best of" survey. However, you can't count out Linux without checking out Gnome. They are the reason why I use Linux in the first place. Their usability team has created a set of Human Interface Guidelines that all core Gnome applications must follow. You can tell they think along similar lines as Apple, but they do not blatantly carbon-copy; they do take ownership of these ideas themselves. As far as browsing the web, checking email, listening to music and chatting in IMs are concerned, Gnome is more of a joy for me to use than Windows (the jury is still out on Panther; I wish Expose could be linked to an extra mouse button instead of F9, but I've yet to use that system with a 5-button mouse). The problem with having too many choices for a single purpose (e.g. 5 mp3 players) lies in the hands of the distributors, not with Linux itself. The principle behind open-source software is that coding your own app is your freedom of speech. That said, I'm generally happy with the Dropline Gnome distro you can download if you're using Slackware. They uninstall reduntant applications and generally leave you with what you need. The bottom line is, even my Mom, who does little more than browse the web, check email and play solitaire, can get onto my computer and do just about anything, like FTPing a file to my server, and feel like the Gnome environment is easier to use than Windows, and I think that's very telling. Thanks for the post, though. I'm glad to know someone else out there is as nuts about usability as I am. :) I agree with you that KDE is a usability disaster. I’m utterly dismayed that KDE was voted the most popular desktop environment at linuxquestions.org’s year-end “best of” survey.
However, you can’t count out Linux without checking out Gnome. They are the reason why I use Linux in the first place. Their usability team has created a set of Human Interface Guidelines that all core Gnome applications must follow. You can tell they think along similar lines as Apple, but they do not blatantly carbon-copy; they do take ownership of these ideas themselves.
As far as browsing the web, checking email, listening to music and chatting in IMs are concerned, Gnome is more of a joy for me to use than Windows (the jury is still out on Panther; I wish Expose could be linked to an extra mouse button instead of F9, but I’ve yet to use that system with a 5-button mouse).
The problem with having too many choices for a single purpose (e.g. 5 mp3 players) lies in the hands of the distributors, not with Linux itself. The principle behind open-source software is that coding your own app is your freedom of speech. That said, I’m generally happy with the Dropline Gnome distro you can download if you’re using Slackware. They uninstall reduntant applications and generally leave you with what you need.
The bottom line is, even my Mom, who does little more than browse the web, check email and play solitaire, can get onto my computer and do just about anything, like FTPing a file to my server, and feel like the Gnome environment is easier to use than Windows, and I think that’s very telling.
Thanks for the post, though. I’m glad to know someone else out there is as nuts about usability as I am.

]]> http://alokastudio.com/useit/2004/07/usability/comment-page-1/#comment-2 Thomas F. O'Connell Tue, 20 Jul 2004 07:01:43 +0000 http://alokastudio.com/useit/2004/07/usability/#comment-2 Part of the problem is that you would need to build at least partial consensus for your design goals. The openness of open source often makes consensus-building a fractious process precisely because so many developers want to be top dog or don't want to be told how to code. Also, keep in mind that it's GNU/Linux. Linux is just the kernel. The part before the '/' is whatever other utilities are involved. I've always preferred GNOME to KDE as far as a desktop environment. But it's funny. Even as GNOME kept focusing more and more on Nautilus, a file browser, I found myself opening 4 terminals, a web browser (Epiphany), and a mail client (Evolution). Anyway, based on philosophy, I'm most sympathetic to perputating the work of GNU/GNOME and Debian in order to make progress toward a free software desktop for the 21st century. Maybe GNU can become GNU's New Usability.... Part of the problem is that you would need to build at least partial consensus for your design goals. The openness of open source often makes consensus-building a fractious process precisely because so many developers want to be top dog or don’t want to be told how to code.
Also, keep in mind that it’s GNU/Linux. Linux is just the kernel. The part before the ‘/’ is whatever other utilities are involved.
I’ve always preferred GNOME to KDE as far as a desktop environment. But it’s funny. Even as GNOME kept focusing more and more on Nautilus, a file browser, I found myself opening 4 terminals, a web browser (Epiphany), and a mail client (Evolution).
Anyway, based on philosophy, I’m most sympathetic to perputating the work of GNU/GNOME and Debian in order to make progress toward a free software desktop for the 21st century.
Maybe GNU can become GNU’s New Usability….

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