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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: [REMINDER] KDE 4.0 Milestones
From:       "Robert Knight" <robertknight () gmail ! com>
Date:       2007-05-07 15:43:08
Message-ID: 13ed09c00705070843n1acea43eoddaeca8cde2c21c0 () mail ! gmail ! com
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Hi Jos,

> I will *add* a link to the New-and-Upcoming HIG, after all, it is not ready yet.

The wiki already contains plenty of useful information in a format
each which is easy for developers to read and understand.

> ... general comments about the direction of KDE ...

That could be the start of a very long mailing list thread, with much
potential for many uninformed opinions on what a hypothetical "joe
user" may or may not need from their desktop.  I really do not like
comments which contain the terms "joe user", "MOST users" etc. because
they are very vague and cover users with very diverse needs and
requirements.  I think it is very difficult to talk about them in any
meaningful way.

At Akademy last year, during one of the brainstorming sessions a
series of personnas were presented which, it was suggested, we should
target as current or future KDE users.  These personnas did not just
include UNIX sysadmins and student geeks ( although they were
obviously included ).  I think Ellen gave that presentation -
hopefully it is available somewhere.

The point though is that by identifying clear groups of users it is
possible to decide what the strengths and weaknesses of KDE are for
them, and what improvements would be useful to them.  It also means
that we can find instances of a particular class of user and
verify/correct our assumptions.

Regards,
Robert.

On 07/05/07, Jos Poortvliet <jos@mijnkamer.nl> wrote:
> On 5/7/07, Robert Knight <robertknight@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > Regarding the usability review, I think the current KDE 4 HIG wiki is
> > quite hard to find looking on KDE sites - I had to search through
> > Ellen's blog for it.  Can I ask that a big prominent link be placed on
> > the usability.kde.org page.
> >
> >
> http://wiki.openusability.org/guidelines/index.php/Main_Page
> >
> > Regards,
> > Robert.
> >
>
>
> I guess it could use a link on techbase as well. it seems
> http://techbase.kde.org/Development/Guidelines
> links to 'old' guidelines:
> http://developer.kde.org/documentation/standards/kde/style/basics/index.html
>
> If ppl here think it is a good idea to do so, I will *add* a link to the
> New-and-Upcoming HIG, after all, it is not ready yet.
>
> BTW, I just read this on the new HIG page:
>
>
>
>
>  We suggest to move away from the KDE is for everybody approach to KDE is
> for the more sophisticated 50% of computer users out there, who choose it
> because it perfectly suits their work and that they "want to have it".
>
> Concentrating on this user base rather than everybody has both pragmatic and
> motivational reasons: Pragmatically, it will be hard to make KDE a favourite
> product for laggards and even the late majority within the next five years.
> Neither cutting away functionality nor hiding all the complexity behind
> Advanced buttons is an acceptable solution. Second, creating a desktop for
> ambitious users better fits the current motivation in the KDE development
> base. We don't want to be simple and stupid, we want to develop a smart
> desktop with rich functionality!
>
>  To avoid misunderstandings: KDE will still be an option for educational,
> governmental or large enterprise usage – but it won't be the main focus when
> developing the default desktop. KDE as a configurable framework can still be
> adjusted to meet the needs of any other user base.
>
> I'd propose to reframe this, and rewrite the last paragraph to (something
> like) the following:
>
> To avoid misunderstandings: KDE is a perfect option for educational,
> governmental or large enterprise usage - people who use computers daily and
> professionally. Though KDE as a configurable framework can still be adjusted
> to meet the needs of very inexperienced or occasional users, it's main
> developmental focus is on those who have some experience and value the
> efficiency and power KDE offers them.
> To clarify:
> I think this fits the 'we want to make a smart desktop' more than the
> original comment, as it seems to say "KDE is developed for the 5% most geeky
> people". And I think MOST computer users sit behind their computer daily,
> and those people need a system which is powerfull, and let them do their
> work efficiently, and not a dumbed-down system which inhibits their
> production. Thus I propose to focus the development on the 90% of the people
> out there working in offices etc, who know how to use a computer and need
> something which actually empowers them instead of holding them back.
>
>
> (if ppl agree, I can make the change, if the wiki turns out to be open to
> external edits...)
>
>
>
> >> Visit
> http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-devel#unsub to
> unsubscribe <<
>
>
 
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