Re: [Usability] Announce - GNOME 3 Usability Hackfest: Topic GNOME Shell

[Máirín Duffy <duffy redhat com>]

On Mon, 2010-01-25 at 09:57 -0700, Tim McConnell wrote:
> Hi All, 
> I would like to suggest someone from the usability list review this
> link. 
> http://gnomesupport.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13782 it is titled
> Against GNOME Shell (for GNOME 3.0). If you really want to know what us
> users are thinking this would be a great example. 
> For what it might be worth, I would like to be able to use the the
> present GNOME interface. I have installed GNOME Shell on Fedora 12 and
> tried it out, it looks and acts too much like Vista for my tastes.
> Please at least discuss keeping the option of the current GNOME as a
> Desktop. 

The problem with feedback from users who are current and longtime GNOME
users is that making decisions based on their feedback would limit our
user feedback to those who are comfortable running Linux and Solaris,
which currently means technically-savvy users.

For GNOME to bridge the digital divide and to be accessible to all, we
of course need to consider feedback from our current user base, but we
also need to seek the feedback of those who are not yet GNOME users who
we'd like to be - many whom may not be very technical users at all but
have just as much a right to have a good desktop experience.

A lot of the comments in the forum topic link you posted are like this:

"... if I CAN'T browse my disc, I don't want to use the interface. I
access my files by finding the files and then using the associated
application to access them. I find the level of abstraction presented by
opening an application and then using that interface to find a file,
extremely annoying."

"... doing things that superficially appear more user friendly but in
the long run are annoying and a pain in the ass and make people ignorant
about how their computer actually 

"Linux is about choice. I would love to be able to use gnome AND compiz
in the future. I like GNOME; I think it leaves KDE for dead. Please
don't kill GNOME's flexibility and backward compatibility."

It's understandable that folks who are more comfortable with how a
computer operates would want to have some of that exposed in the
interface. But that limits GNOME's potential reach if that's a
pre-requisite to successfully using the desktop. E.g., I don't know
anything about how cars run, I can't even change the oil. But I can
drive a car with minimal issues - and I don't think I should have to
understand all the details about how the engine, suspension,
electronics, etc. of the car function to be able to use it comfortably.

~m