Re: Screenshot link on frontpage

["Martin Jeppesen" <d2xdt2 gmail com>]

> Let's go deeper in the "Screenshots" thing. If we look at software
> websites in general we will realize that it's basically a solution used
> by free software websites devoted basically to free software users (and
> produced generally by the software developers themselves). Go to
> Mozilla, OpenOffice.org, Microsoft, Apple or Adobe and you will see that
> they use screenshots in the context of an overview, but they don't call
> that section "Screenshots". Therefore I don't think "new visitors" are
> looking for "screenshots" even if they want to know how the software
> looks like (this is one of our use cases).

I don't know why companies in general don't show their products on the
frontpage like Apple does, or have a screenshots sections. Most people
judge entirely on looks, and Screenshot is directly related to
something that you can look at.

Apple really does a good job presenting their products, and I would
much more prefer to have a 400x200 image on the frontpage showing the
desktop in action than having the Screenshots word on the frontpage =)

> IMO what happened is that most free software related websites (poor
> quality in general) had always a "Features" text-only page plus a
> "Download" page with source tarballs and packages. One day they realized
> how important it was to show the graphical interface and not only the
> code, and they added a page with screenshots with captions, generally
> with no connection to the features list. A patch.

It could be, but everyone knows Screenshots, and I am sure that any
website having a Screenshots link, the first click is it.

> The good solution is to show the screenshots while explaining the
> features. But, wait, we are also questioning if we should communicate
> software features before user benefits [1]. This is why we should offer
> an overview (call it Tour or not) that should concatenate the benefits
> of using GNOME, combining text, images and perhaps short video demos as
> well.

I don't know about Overview. It is weak in some way.

> But we have also lots of free software users visiting our site, and many
> of them will be looking for "screenshots" at large. Right, let's have an
> explicit Screenshots gallery full of examples and eye-candy. It's
> visible in the now "Overview" secondary nav bar and we can think of
> setting a "Screenshots Gallery" link at the GNOME Slogan block in the
> home which features a screenshot itself.

Having a screenshots gallery may lead people to think that everything
is just people playing around, and the professional look of the
product is lost. I am not pro a screenshot gallery. A few (4-5)
precise screenshots, is much better, if you ask me.

One problem with having a gallery is, that people will ask "Where can
I get that background?" and "How do I modify my desktop to have the
same look?" These are FAQ on GnomeDesktop no matter what the post i
about =)

Martin