Re: GNOME 3 from Fedora user's perpective - request for changes

[Adam Williamson <awilliam redhat com>]

On Tue, 2011-04-05 at 18:20 +0000, JB wrote:
> Adam Williamson <awilliam@...> writes:
> 
> > ...
> > What exactly is it that you _mean_ when you say 'artificial'?
> 
> I mean it does not belong there, it is not a product of a natural need as
> a result of using menu system in GNOME.

This still doesn't actually make any sense. It's not a 'natural need' of
a Windows 95-style taskbar+nested menu system, no, but GNOME 3 does not
_use_ a Windows 95-style taskbar+nested menu system. This is because the
designers felt that the overview, which GNOME 3 uses, is a better
design. I still just don't understand exactly what it is you're arguing.

> We have been doing it for 20-30 years with a menu that functionally started
> with Applications and Systems as a top menu.
> GNOME not only introduced something unneeded on top of that, they also
> redefined standard terms like Applications and System.

What do you mean, 'redefined'? The 'Applications' button brings up...the
applications menu system. Just like it did in GNOME 2. It's just a
different interface. How is this a redefinition?

Redefined 'System'? The word 'System' doesn't even appear in the GNOME
Shell as far as I can tell.

> I already described it in my original post.
> Adam, go there, read it, and get it.

I read it; it still does not make much sense.

> > As has been noted, this is very familiar to anyone who uses a smartphone
> > interface; they do much the same thing.
> 
> Here we go.
> Finally you let the blood and admitted who is your master.

Erm...what?

> This is what A.C. already described on Fedora users list as a niche GNOME
> wants to subscribe to.
> At least he suspects so now, and predicts marginalization of GNOME.

It's quite hard for GNOME to be more marginalized than it is right now,
when probably less than 1% of people with computers use it. I mean, it's
worth remembering here that GNOME 2 is not a 'success' by any reasonable
definition of the term. Doing the same thing for a lot longer doesn't
seem like a great approach.

> Smart phones are not the same as Fedora and RH enterprise servers,
> workstations, PCs, notebooks.

I don't believe I suggested they were. That doesn't mean that a
well-considered interface concept which happens to have arrived first on
smartphones can't also be good for other types of system.

> They have different kind of hardware, software, and graphical desktop
> environments.
> Get it, "smart things" aficionado :-)

Can you please stop ending your mails with lines like this? It comes
across as condescending and overbearing. Your point of view is not the
only one; you can't expect to just state it and have everyone else 'get
it' and fall into line, kowtowing.
-- 
Adam Williamson
Fedora QA Community Monkey
IRC: adamw | Fedora Talk: adamwill AT fedoraproject DOT org
http://www.happyassassin.net