Unity ROCKS not!!!

[Ernest Doub]

On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 7:42 PM, Tom H <tomh0665 at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 7:43 PM, Pastor JW
> <pastor_jw at the-inner-circle.org> wrote:
>> On Tuesday, May 03, 2011 2:51:44 pm Ernest Doub wrote:
>>>
>>> This is the point where I as a NOOB user since 8.04 have to jump in.
>>> All the arguments given in favor of UNITY are saying that it is coming
>>> from a small screen viewpoint, it is more Android like, etc.
>>> I DON'T WANT MY FULL FUNCTION DESKTOP TO SIMULATE THE RESTRICTIONS AND
>>> LACK OF FUNCTIONALITY I HAVE TO PUT UP WITH ON A TABLET DEVICE OR
>>> SMARTPHONE. [capitalization for purpose of emphasis not intended as
>>> yelling]
>>
>> AMEN!!! ...and yes I said that for emphasis too!
>
> If Unity's interface is meant for a tablet or a smartphone, how come
> OS X (with a similar look and feel) is used on 30-inch screens? Give
> Unity a go without pre-conceived notions! It might have some rough
> edges and it might have been more appropriate to default to it in
> 11.10 (that ship has sailed!) but, if you try it without any weird
> bias, you'll find that it's pretty good. OS X's acknowledged by most
> as having a user-friendly interface and it's unsurprising that both
> Canonical and GNOME have both adopted a similar GUi.
>
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My only "bias" coming into 11.04 was having had a progressive
experience with Ubuntu of continuing improvement and continuity
between updates.
For a major change in GUI such as has been presented in Natty without
any easily accessed built in helps or tip screens shows a complete
(and judging from the developers comments here and elsewhere,
arrogant) disregard for the user experience of the current installed
base of average users.
As I have stated previously, I can't recommend that any of my circle
of acquaintances who use windoze  even try Ubuntu now as the learning
curve has suddenly become even steeper for them.
I maintain that the developers have experienced a high enough level of
blowback that they have circled the wagons and gone into a completely
defensive mode.  I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt,
provided, that there is a comprehensive built in tutorial and tips
screens developed and distributed ASAP.
This should take priority over any further development or tweaking.
You may win the short term battle but end up loosing the war if you
force a large enough number of current users to seek out other
platforms.  It won't matter how many tablet/smartphone users come into
the fold, those (mostly fickle) users can never make up for the loyal
following that Ubuntu has steadily grown over the years.
I haven't used an Apple product since my breadbox Mac days, but, I am
sure that OS X has a comprehensive tutorial and help package as an
intrinsic part of the installation package.
The main problem I see with all the distributions of Linux is a lack
of proper marketing presentation.  The product is great.  The
understanding of the market and presentation, not so much.  There is a
persistent public perception that Linux is somehow only for
programmers as it is difficult to install and hard to use.  Those of
us who have taken the time to investigate and learn know that this is
false perception and that in fact some tasks are easier to accomplish
on a Linux platform.
Since Linux does not" benefit" from an advertising driven development
the programmers need to keep the marketing needs in mind as part of
their development focus as there is no external management to remind
them of the priorities of the end users.

Hi Desert Ed
"If it ain't broke, don't "fix" it."