Re: [Usability] Linux Desktop Usability

["Matthew Nuzum" <newz bearfruit org>]

On 3/4/07, Patrick Carlson <firefly2442 gmail com> wrote:
> Hello, I am looking to do a research project and usability study comparing the Gnome Beryl 3D desktop with the Gnome Metacity 2D desktop.  I've found the Better Desktop project but besides this, I haven't found much else in terms of Linux usability studies.
>
> Can anyone recommend further work that has been done with usability studies involving the Linux desktop?  If not, are there any more general usability studies that you know of?

Here is an article I found a few months ago that I enjoyed - it's not
a study, just one person's experience in the matter.
http://eric.themoritzfamily.com/2006/10/25/how-berylxgl-and-deskbar-simplified-my-life/

He suggests some radical changes to the concept of the desktop.
However, I think this is good, because despite the initial learning
curve, I think there are some big productivity wins available to
someone who's not afraid to break out of the mold.

Beryl et al have changed so much since November when I read that
article... it may not be nearly as applicable.

If you do some user testing, I'd be especially interested in seeing if
there's a difference in the usability of Beryl's "application window
switcher" plugin (Alt+Tab) and Metacity's Alt+Tab behavior. With
"Bring to Front" enabled, it seems that Alt+Tab works slightly
differently in Beryl than Metacity, but I could be imagining that.

--
Matthew Nuzum
newz2000 on freenode