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List:       kde-look
Subject:    UI feedback from a Linux newbie
From:       "Tom Hoferek" <tomh () corel ! com>
Date:       2000-04-17 19:00:18
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I have been eagerly following the discussions regarding all sorts of UI
concerns here, many serious, some minor, but resolving all will
contribute to making Linux an oustanding OS with mass appeal. I would
like to give you all some feedback on what I percieve as the main
weaknesses as a new user that has been exposed to Linux for 3 weeks now.
I'm really just going to mention the big things that I think are key to
getting mainstream users to adopt Linux as their OS of choice.

The whole filesystem hierarchy in Linux is a mystery to me and this is
common to any new user I've spoken to. There has been some earlier talk
of paradigm changes, a new 'desktop',  and looking into the future - has
anyone given thought to how we might try to present all the stuff on a
Linux user's computer so that it is easy for them to navigate and
understand where things are? Maybe providing flexibility allowing them
to organize their applications, documents, and files in ways that make
sense to them? This is something I would like to give some thought to
and would welcome any ideas others may have.

Another weakness I see as a new Linux user is the difficulty in
installing applications. I'm sure, or at least I hope, that this is
something that has been discussed and hope that discussions will
continue in the future. I realize that there are issues to overcome
regarding standardization and so on that will probably have significant
bearing on how we can improve the installation experience for the user.
As it is now, installing an application can be an impossible task for
someone who is not familiar with Unix. If it is possible, and there is
interest, I think it would be very valuable for us to tackle this
problem.

Look and feel is another issue. I suppose a lot of it has to do with the
fact that apps often use different themes or widget sets so that when I
go from one to another I have to do a little relearning or remembering.
Some of them, I hope no one takes offense, are just bad. I have to ask
myself, "Is that option checked or unchecked" because sometimes I can't
be sure. I think it would be great if there was a way that I could
control this at the OS level so that everything I run would have the
look and feel that I choose. If applications had the option to adopt the
OS look and feel (by default) or allow the user to choose their own,
that allow the user to keep a 'cool skin' on their MP3 player, for
example, but everything else would remain consistent, unless specified
otherwise at the app level. I know there was some talk a while ago
between KDE and Corel about developing a theme and/or widget set that
would be distinct, but familiar enough that users would understand it.
Is there still interest in pursuing this? Alex and I here at Corel would
like to see soemthing like this go ahead, so feel free to comment.

Tom

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