New Default Settings optimized for first time Users

[AG Alex]

Hi everyone, I'm really happy to read all of your answer, and I agree 
with few of them , I'll try to explain why and when using eve few images 
with descriptions. Let's start from the beginning ......

    Please not that we cannot ship some multimedia things like libav due
    to patent issues as a result of which apps like vlc cannot be shipped
    ( and by extension, same thing goes for chromium though I am not
    entirely sure about that, maybe someone can offer a better explanation
    of why we can't ship chromium as the default ).

Well, during installation process there are already few checkbox for extra contents, where installing with an available internet connection, the process will download packages from repository. So why don't use the same logic for all the packages we need to achieve our goal. I mean it can be on a separate checkbox  or even more than one, what's the problem about it ?

      
    Firefox doesn't really have good KDE integration by default which is
    why we've rejected it in earlier releases ( Plasma Download
    notifications, File Dialogs, Button placement, etc etc)

    As for Chromium, see the first couple of lines of this reply.

I agree with you that Firefox has not yet a good integration on KDE but I think is a lot better to have a not perfectly integrated browser instead of a not ready yet software, where the integration is perfect but it simply doesn't works properly.

>         Even much better of course would be to gives, if possible, a choice during
>         the installation process to set the Environment in few different ways

    first run configuration dialogues are nasty, how would the user know what to choose?

Well I guess a nice description in it's own language would be enough  
for anyone. Simple description like "Minimal Configuration - Just 
minimal desktop and applications will be set up, for advanced user who 
used to customize very deeply the KDE environment" or stuff like "Full 
Functionality - The Desktop would be set up with a lot of functionality 
where usually you will remove what you don't needs." or like "Learning 
Mode - Most of the interesting applications will be installed and few 
Activities especially created to teach you how to feel free to fully use 
the potential of KDE + Ubuntu Combination".
Well , I did just few example just to give you an idea , but for sure a 
description would be enough even for new user to understand what to 
select.....

    like Kruler, KcolorChooser, KCharSelect
          and so on.....

    Our images are currently full up for our (arbitrary) 1GB size limit, so any new addition means removing something such as a language pack.

    Having said that these kdeutils seem like useful additions and should not take up too much space.

Well , like I said before....., I think we can download all the extra 
stuff we need during the installation process, so we have not a real 
limit of space to use, well, of course we cannot pretend to download too 
much but few mb more to download wouldn't be a problem , you don't think 
so !?!

    We don't like to clutter the desktop or panel (that's a general Ubuntu
    philosophy). Adding favourite plasmoids can be easily done by users
    and is generally best left up to them since a setup for one user won't
    be very useful for another.

Yeah , I can understand the philosophy but you of course will agree with 
me that is even easier to remove plasmoids instead of adding it for new 
users , you don't think so !?!

>           I fill really comfortable with some "extra functionality" enabled like
>           rolling up and down a window just within the mouse wheel, can be very
>           useful if you used to work with a lot of opened tasks. Talking about
>           buttons on the window decorations I use a lot the button to "keep Above
>           Others", and I'm quite sure most of the new user not even knows it can
>           be done, instead once is there it's really easy to understand how and
>           when to use it.
>           Another fancy and some time useful features that can be enabled by
>           default is the ability to change the transparency of a window just
>           pressing ALT and rolling the mouse wheel.

    First question to ask is why are these not turned on upstream?
    There's a danger with default like this that users will active them
    accidently and have no ide awhat happened or how to revert (like
    pressing win-tab).

Well , I agree that some setting of this kind can be a bit dangerous, 
but if so ..., I don't really understand why using my mouse wheel on 
desktop is changing it , I mean for new user they just see applications 
disappears and most of them don't understand why .........
Anyway both of them can be implemented if just we explain our desktop at 
first run, just with removable plasmoids......

        I guess a second panel on the top of the screen can do most of the job

    Ug, we don't want to take up extra screen space better used by applications.

    Let the discussion continue..

    Jonathan

Well I don't agree with you buddy, I mean do you really think the 
current solution is the best !?!. Let me show you an example 
<http://www.alexgrafic.it/images/examples/Vertical_Spacing.jpg>.
As you can see on my example the space you will use for Top Panel, is 
actually the space you save with menu on top, which is in my opinion 
much better, just because you will have always one application menu for 
desktop, the selected one and is even much cleaner in my opinion.

    Also maybe an animation like welcome screen can be shown. This does
    not need to explain everything, even showing just some links are also
    OK. For example:

    - Read Kubuntu Documentation,
         - How to find your way in desktop
         - How to install software
         - How to get help
    - Kubuntu Wiki

    Lastly, I really want Windows button on keyboards to work. Isn't it
    possible to attach this button to open KMenu?

    -Volkan

Well I think we can put on main desktop a some content to helps, and it 
can be done I guess with a nice panel on Top Panel.
I totally agree with you about the window button , I actually configure 
this button to use instead of Alt button.......

Now let me show you my personal interpretation of kubuntu, well of 
course I use a really big resolution son I have a lot of space but it 
can be done as well in smaller resolutionjust open the example and read 
the descriptions 
<http://www.alexgrafic.it/images/examples/Optimization_Desktop.jpg>.
About optimization of desktop space, I work in web development so I used 
to check statistics of my customers, and what I can see is that most of 
the people use a wide screen resolution, and the most used at moment 
seems to be a 1366x768. It seems to me that in modern screens we always 
have some extra space on left and right side, and that's why I used to 
put bars button of KDE applications on left side. Usually I just leave 
on top bar of application the input text and components that cannot fit 
to side small position. Of course I can do it because I don't need text 
on icon , but maybe it can be uncomfortable for new users I guess. Here 
an example of extra side space 
<http://www.alexgrafic.it/images/examples/Rolled_Up_Window.jpg> .

I really think we should discuss about "New Default Settings optimized 
for first time Users" in a better way, may in Kubuntu forum or wherever 
do you think is better and much easier to follow the discussion.

Thanks again for reading me

Alex



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