Re: [Usability] Announce - GNOME 3 Usability Hackfest (London, Feb 22-26, 2010)

[Brian Cameron <Brian Cameron Sun COM>]

Steve:

> > How many people in the Dev8D community
> > work in the HE field?
>
> [I've added Mahendra to this discussion as lead of Dev8D)
>
> I'd guess most, but I am not involved with organising Dev8D
>
> > Have they worked with free software projects
> > like GNOME before?
> > Are there particular people who might have an
> > interest in attending or participating more directly with the GNOME
> > 3 Usability Hackfest?
>
> Perhaps the delegate list would reveal that? I'll check if any of the
> projects that OSS Watch have advised on open development might
> possibly be interested in both events.

That would be appreciated.  If there are particular people who would
be good candidates for joining the GNOME event, then it would be good
to invite them.  The GNOME Usability hackfest is a small event, however,
so we probably do not have room to invite more than a few people.  So,
if people are invited, they should probably be those people with a
particular interest in GNOME, or experience with free desktop usability.

> > If there are particular people in the Dev8D community who have an
> > interest in usability or human interface design, then I would
> > recommend that they join the usability gnome org mailing list and
> > participate in discussion leading up to the event.  That way, we
> > could start discussing how we could possibly work together.
>
> Perhaps that could be suggested in one of any pre event mailshots?

That sounds like a good idea.

> > If possible, it might work out best if the folks at the GNOME Usability
> > hackfest could brainstorm and discuss this on the first day of the
> > GNOME 3 Usability hackfest, or would that be too late to make a
> > decision?
>
> That sounds constructive, even if something more definite is decided before.

I think we should plan on it then.  Just let us know who will be the
representative from the Dev8D community who can join and we can have
further discussions to firm up plans.

> One idea that might work if GNOME use W3C widgets at all, or it is
> being considered. I know there was talk of closer web/desktop
> integration.

The GNOME project does embed WebKit and/or mozilla in a few places.
The GNOME community did recently have a WebKitGTK+ hackfest last
December which probably would have been an event with a bit closer
match in focus.

  http://live.gnome.org/WebKitGtk/Hackfest2009

While these sorts of usages will likely not be the major focus at the
GNOME Usability hackfest, it is likely that some time will be devoted
to discussing such things.

> The Wookie project from Bolton University is a W3C Widget
> server (and is now in the Apache incubator).  OSS Watch are running a
> Wookie training day and then a Wookie + Sling/OSGI event at Dev8D. If
> there is interest in this then perhaps the usability folk could help
> us understand what we need to do when building widgets?
>
> http://getwookie.org/Welcome.html

It is good to highlight these sorts of things, so that those people
who are attending and have a particular interest in this area can
consider joining these events.  Which day will these Wookie related
events happen?

Brian