Re: [Usability] Removing GNOME splash screens? (was: Re: Future of desktop splash screens - some thoughts)

[Tiago Cogumbreiro <cogumbreiro linus uac pt>]

<snip>
On Sat, 2004-10-16 at 22:53, Logan Rathbone wrote:
> Here's where I start to disagree a bit.  I see what you're saying --
> GNOME needs to stay as platform-neutral as possible.  But the thing
> is, I can't see how this will not be at least the second or third load
> of information the user will see.  On most Unices, even if
> bootsplash/fbsplash is not happening, you've still got the boot
> messages and the previous kernel messages.  And then, after that, the
> user is brought into X (well again it depends, but let's just say so
> for the sake of argument) and is presented with the GNOME splash
> screen.  I remember the first time I ran Linux (about a year ago) when
> the KDE splash screen appeared, it totally threw me off -- "I thought
> the OS already loaded!"  
> 
That is the problem with choice versus integration. When you have the
opportunity to choose, integration will, usually, be smaller. GNOME
works on many OS's and, therefore, tight integration with each one is
smaller then if it was tied to only one.

> I think a simple busy cursor would be more appropriate.  That way, the
> user has seen the OS load, and with the busy cursor, they know to sit
> still while the GUI loads before their eyes.  This is how other OS's
> with GUIs do it -- ie: Windows, after you see the bootsplash screen,
> you don't see a splash screen that says "Windows Desktop" with all of
> its elements loading (starting Explorer, etc)... the user really
> doesn't care what's happening -- they have to wait, and that's that.
> If GNOME is trying to keep things simple, I don't think that all that
> extra information is necessary.  It could be stdouted into a terminal
> though -- so that users who _do_ care can just run gnome-session from
> a terminal to see what's loading.
> 
The example you gave (Windows) is really a bad one, because it has no
user interaction whatsoever. Have you ever tried running GNOME without a
splash? Disable it. You'll notice that it will *seem* that the system
will take *longer* to start, even if you know it doesn't. That's why
user interaction is essential. It's a placebo to let the user know "it's
almost over".