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Mandrakelinux Default Desktop Discussion


mousematt
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arctic, nice, I like the Window Decoration.

 

but I would:

 

- put the 'show desktop' icon to the right (and especially, group the 'star' menu, the 'quick browser' menu and the 'Openoffice Quickstarter' menu together)

 

- the background is nice, but it is true it looks somewhat dark and gloomy. Otherwise, I think it's a superb effort.

Edited by Darkelve
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okay, i forgot to reposition the "show desktop" icon. sorry about that.

 

yes, the wallpaper is a bit dark. and i will try to change it to fit more to the custom mandrake colors. but remember that this are only sketches. a final wallpaper would need more invested time than 10 minutes. ;)

 

well, the idea of a galaxy-winamp skin sounds good and it would help to create an overall "galaxy" feeling.

 

Definitions of the Galaxy concept

- comfort / ease of use / usability

[/i]clear icons → nuvola

a default theme that doesn't shock the user and instead reinvigorates him. → see improved galaxy theme in screenie. btw: what do you think of the "close/max/min" button size? would this be okay?

Easy to reach and use icons. Think of old people. Think of nearsighted people. Think of color blindness. →this is why i said we need clear and large icons and good contrast. i think we almost solved that.

The common folders and desktop mods we did are steps in this direction. → one thing is missing: we need an adjustable menu-icon size with respect to older people.

 

- discoverability / clarity / good behaviour / least surprise

also think of the error messages that appear. some are imho too much techie-language. my mother never understands e.g. mail-error messages or sound-server errors. maybe the setup of kmail (and evolution) should be more intuitive.

 

- i18n (it could hardly be a galaxy without this)

nothing to add from my part

 

- unity

a must imho. i think this can be achieved with applicating the stuff we talked about

 

- elegance / beauty

agreed. we try our best ;)

 

- revolution

yes, unique and well made mandrake-sounds would be nice. the kde-default sound is somehow ... unfriendly and sounds like a comp gone mad, jumping at your neck and squeezing you because you bother the comp. gnome sounds are much nicer imo. maybe the revolutionary thing could be to add improve some things in both gnome and kde. e.g. why do kde and gnome need separate dustbins and separate home-folders? i think this could be merged for the better of both desktops.

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Guest Adriano

Oh, I wasn't speaking about your effort, which I find beautiful. I was thinking more about the current state of Mandrake Galaxy, not referring to this thread.

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Guest Adriano

Anyway, as per the minimize, restore, close icons: the shape of the plastik ones looks more or less right and clear to me. Bitstream vera sans size 11 or 12 is what I'm thinking about. More than that and it's too big, less and it's too small (for nearsighted people, maybe make it a 13. And we do talk about 1024x768, don't we? Icons for that size of font is what I mean.

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why aren't we putting sceenies in this thread instead of the Return of the Show Off thread? :screwy:

Forget the fact that Gn0mE rocks :P ....because even the average kde user probably doesn't care to get an email>come to a screenshot thread>to find some generic xp-ish lookin thing. The screenshot thread is for goodies, not default crap. :furious3:

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great ya'll are discussing it and hopefully, mandrake will tune in, like they always do, but keep it at home please. This thread. Thank you! :D

Edited by bvc
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errm... bvc, we were not able to do it. it is possible since yesterday. i tried to upload in here first, but there was no upload button available... anyway... sorry. i will clean it up later.

 

well... yes, gnome is nice (just like every other de except enlightenment :P), BUT mandrake decided their default desktop is kde, not gnome. so we will not discuss a lot of gnome stuff in here.

 

edit: and... if you think that gnome is so much better, why don't you join the discussion in order to integrate some of the "great things" gnome has (in your opinion) into a future mdk-kde-desktop? this would be much better than simply saying "gnome rocks" and not giving any further help.

maybe it would make our job easier. ;)

Edited by arctic
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errm... bvc, we were not able to do it. it is possible since yesterday. i tried to upload in here first, but there was no upload button available... anyway... sorry. i will clean it up later.

 

well... yes, gnome is nice (just like every other de except enlightenment :P), BUT mandrake decided their default desktop is kde, not gnome. so we will not discuss a lot of gnome stuff in here.

 

edit: and... if you think that gnome is so much better, why don't you join the discussion in order to integrate some of the "great things" gnome has (in your opinion) into a future mdk-kde-desktop? this would be much better than simply saying "gnome rocks" and not giving any further help.

maybe it would make our job easier. ;)

well it was possible for me the day ya'll started posting them there. That's the first thing I checked. This isn't my first rodeo.

 

I never said you should discuss gnome here. Integration of the 2 is the last thing that should happen....they've mucked it up enough already with mandrake-galaxy.

 

I don't 'think' gnome is better, else I wouldn't use it and not even install kde :P

 

My point is......only people in this thread, or that view it, care what the default kde desktop looks like, so it should stay here not in a screenie thread. That's all I was saying. :D Who keep a default desktop anyway? My wife doesn't even keep that kiddy crap even when shen does use kde :lol:

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well it was possible for me the day ya'll started posting them there. That's the first thing I checked. This isn't my first rodeo.

so why didn't i have a upload button, no attachment selection tool? strange things happen in here... :D

 

Who keep a default desktop anyway?

as we said earlier: business/universities/institutes. ;)

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errm... bvc, we were not able to do it. it is possible since yesterday. i tried to upload in here first, but there was no upload button available... anyway... sorry. i will clean it up later.

I have attempted to move the relevant posts from Show off your Desktop - please let me know if I've made a mess of it.

 

Some of your links may need updating... :unsure:

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i beg your pardon, but i do know several universities, corporations, libraries and institutes that do have the default setup of suse, redhat or windows. and they don't and won't change anyhting. so don't say that we are discussing nonsense. :D

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didn't know I said that...in fact I said the opposite. Maybe you should attend one of those institutes since you have a problem comprehending what I've said.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great ya'll are discussing it and hopefully, mandrake will tune in, like they always do, but keep it at home please. This thread. Thank you! :D

You need to calm down and read what is written instead of assuming this is some kind of de war. If I used kde and was on dialup I'd feel the same way. I'd come here, to this thread if I cared. Have some consideration.

 

now, anything else?

 

:bvc:

Edited by bvc
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Maybe you should attend one of those institutes since you have a problem comprehending what I've said.
now, please don't get personal. i didn't insult you in any way. neither did i say that this is a de war. i was only suggesting that you add your ideas into the mix. ;) and your last posts were imho not very constructive. even after reading them several times. so, i think it is your turn to calm down a bit :cheesy::cheesy::cheesy: Edited by arctic
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didn't know I said that...in fact I said the opposite. Maybe you should attend one of those institutes since you have a problem comprehending what I've said.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's great ya'll are discussing it and hopefully, mandrake will tune in, like they always do, but keep it at home please. This thread. Thank you! :D

You need to calm down and read what is written instead of assuming this is some kind of de war. If I used kde and was on dialup I'd feel the same way. I'd come here, to this thread if I cared. Have some consideration.

 

now, anything else?

 

:bvc:

Edited by bvc
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Guest Adriano

Even if the first thing the consumer does is alter its desktop, the fact is that a first impression is always important. It's what goes on the screenshots in reviews, what the person who recommends to a friend sees, it's what the user sees first. So it has some importance.

 

Imagine these alternatives:

- Newbie talking to J. Random hacker, his friend. They discuss Mandrake Linux.

JRH: "Yes, it's a nice desktop, but I had to modify all the standard crap before I got to this"

 

- Reviewer for Linux random mag: "As you can see from these screenshots, the look and feel of Mandrake Linux X.x ("Foobar") is a bit awkward. No doubt you can get something useful from it, but no new user will know how to do that."

 

Even if the first thing the installer at Hack University does is alter the setup in some way, it's better to provide a tasteful default than to handwave the issue "because everybody changes it". Look at how many people don't bother changing the "Fisher- Price" theme in Win XP.

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