Re: Questions

[Ilan Volow <raskinite yahoo com>]

> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 13:29:46 -0600
> From: Eric Lemings <eric b lemings lmco com>
> Subject: Questions
> To: gnome-gui-list gnome org
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> As I have never posted to this mailing list nor have
> I followed it with
> more than passing glances, I'd like to answer a
> couple of questions,
> frequently-asked though they may be.
> 
> First, I'd like to know what the general direction
> of the GNOME user
> interface is, or if this is already documented
> somewhere, where I could
> find that answer.
> 
> Second, I have only seen the Quicktime demos of the
> new MacOS X user
> interface called Aqua and, given Apple's expertise
> in user interface
> design, I was wondering if GNOME designers have
> thought about using it
> as a model?  (A model is not the same as a clone.) 
> Or does Apple have
> have patents/trademarks/etc. that restrict use of
> these new user
> interface techniques on the GNOME platform?

Answering questions one and two, I am forking GNOME
and I am using MacOS as a model. Yes, I keep saying
this on the list but the code will emerge some day on
Freshmeat.net. It won't necessarily be a linux "Aqua",
but rather a GNOME from a parallel universe that was
based on MacOS conventions as opposed to those from M$
Windows. But I will add a new wrinkle or two here and
there. 


> Lastly, will the GNOME user interface "reinvent the
> wheel" or reuse
> existing and proven models?

What both KDE and GNOME have been doing (and still are
doing, as far as I know) is blindly copying someones
existing square wheel design that was ripped off from
someones proven round wheel design (not that I'm
against moving past the wheel, but if you're going to
make a wheel, you should do it the right way). Taking
this into account, I'm not really surprised by all the
crashing and burning that's been going on around
desktop linux in the last week or two. After all the
stupid UI design decisions I've seen, I really saw
this coming. Especially in the case of Mandrake. 

--Ilan

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