Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Next Generation KDE Plasma Notifications

blog.broulik.de

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 108 posts

Re: Next Generation KDE Plasma Notifications

#91

Post by notatoad »

inetknght wrote: post #74
notatoad wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most egregious example that stood out to me here is the x-padding between the edge of the notification panel and any text inside the panel is less than the padding between the notification title and the text below it. The problem isn't that they need more padding, it's that their padding makes no sense. If they made a design decision to have tight padding that would be one thing, but they've got a horizontal layo…

That is still a context-sensitive opinion . Programmatically, that assumes that that information is available (query a font rasterizer: where is the first pixel? consider also kerning and foreign languages; also query icon: where is the first non-background pixel? consider also theme information where window background might not show the icon well!). Programmatically, you've un-aligned everything: now the amount of w…

>If you want to improve it, then go contribute to the libraries and applications being used.

proposing design changes to open source projects when you haven't already been a contributor for a hundred years never goes well.

Re: Next Generation KDE Plasma Notifications

#92

Post by lone_haxx0r »

inetknght wrote: post #42
mediocrejoker wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the first thing I noticed too. The text is too close to the leftmost border and feels very claustrophobic.

Claustrophobic? That's your opinion. It looks great to me.

> It looks great to me

That's exactly why we've seen scientific slide presentations in Comic Sans. It looks great to someone != it's good.

Re: Next Generation KDE Plasma Notifications

#95

Post by Insanity »

kitsunesoba wrote: post #61
tylerjwilk00 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has always been the problem with KDE and the reason I can not switch. KDE UI never gets Typography, spacing/padding, or alignment correct. It's a shame because they are so close on most other criteria.

Glad I’m not alone, KDE’s design system (or lack of such) has always been like nails on a chalkboard for me. GNOME takes it a bit too far in the other direction but is more tolerable (especially with a compact theme). XFCE is probably my favorite and because it strikes a great balance between design, readability, and info density.

Xfce is great, and by far my favourite. But it's harder to sell to the average user because it looks so much older than windows and Mac. At least by default

Re: Next Generation KDE Plasma Notifications

#96

Post by mort96 »

bscphil wrote: post #63
arendtio wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, there are many things I like a lot better about the 2007ish KDE/Oxygen/Breeze style than about more modern approaches like for example Windows 10. I am not saying it is perfect, it is not, but especially in design terms, 'newer' isn't always better. And in general, I like KDE look very much.

I agree with you that newer interfaces (Windows 10 in particular) are mostly not very good. But I wouldn't say personally that KDE is a good example of 2000s era design. I think Gnome 2 was the absolute pinnacle of PC GUI design, actually. Having instantaneous access to Applications / Places / System (with text labels!) makes so much sense; it's one of the few desktop environments that pretty much any competent compu…

> Having instantaneous access to Applications / Places / System (with text labels!) makes so much sense

I don't really get that. I suppose I've just never gotten used to it, but I just find that typing the name of the application is so much easier and faster. If I know I want to e.g launch Nautilus, why would I first spend time thinking about whether it's a "place" or an "application" or a part of the "system"? Is my text editor an "educational" program or an "office" program or an "accessory"? Or maybe _that_ is a "system" tool?

I'm actually genuinely curious about this; how is it better to mouse through hierarchical categories and look for an application, instead of just hitting super and typing the first couple of characters? Especially something like KDE's start menu, where you can hit super and start typing, or hit super (or click the icon) and mouse through similar categories to not lose the discoverability benefits of categories.

Re: Next Generation KDE Plasma Notifications

#97

Post by azinman2 »

eitland wrote: post #85
azinman2 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When looking at all the screenshots, it’s clear that padding and alignment is neither professional (looks amateur), nor consistent. If you’re going to rip off Apple, at least do it to Apple quality! Otherwise it’s a cheap knock off. Before people grip that this is free software, would you be happy if KDE’s core components were poorly written? Free or not, we should take pride in our work and put the bar at high quali…

> If you’re going to rip off Apple, at least do it to Apple quality! Otherwise it’s a cheap knock off. KDE isn't similar to Apple at all. Source: have used both for years.

I’m specifically talking about notifications: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204079

Re: Next Generation KDE Plasma Notifications

#98

Post by azinman2 »

modzu wrote: post #78
azinman2 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When looking at all the screenshots, it’s clear that padding and alignment is neither professional (looks amateur), nor consistent. If you’re going to rip off Apple, at least do it to Apple quality! Otherwise it’s a cheap knock off. Before people grip that this is free software, would you be happy if KDE’s core components were poorly written? Free or not, we should take pride in our work and put the bar at high quali…

kde: still a cartoon edit: i mean this as the conscious aesthetic , no disrespect is implied

That notification doesn’t look like a cartoon, nor does it demonstrate a sophisticated aesthetic.

Re: Next Generation KDE Plasma Notifications

#99

Post by azinman2 »

outworlder wrote: post #81
azinman2 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When looking at all the screenshots, it’s clear that padding and alignment is neither professional (looks amateur), nor consistent. If you’re going to rip off Apple, at least do it to Apple quality! Otherwise it’s a cheap knock off. Before people grip that this is free software, would you be happy if KDE’s core components were poorly written? Free or not, we should take pride in our work and put the bar at high quali…

> When looking at all the screenshots, it’s clear that padding and alignment is neither professional (looks amateur), nor consistent. You know, the thing about an open-source project is that you can contribute. Since you think you are able to do it better yourself, why don't you fix it?

Because I don’t use KDE and have other ways I’d rather spend my time.

Re: Next Generation KDE Plasma Notifications

#100

Post by jancsika »

oblio wrote: post #86
orbifold wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically creative people by and large never subscribed to the idea that they should give away their creativity for free. So all the talented designers are employed and happily working on paid projects, especially less established ones get approached with ridiculous low offers all the time. In short outside of the bizarre software/tech world very few subscribe to the idea that intellectual property should be shared a…

You don't really debug a painting. That's why Open Source is big and Open Art isn't (to my knowledge)

I'd bet that isn't true and that plenty of artists can and do peruse places like deviantart and quickly improve upon someone else's images.

But design for a GUI is more like industrial design. Getting a designer to help improve KDE's look-and-feel would be like squatters in a dilapidated hotel convincing an interior decorator to spruce the place up for fun.

Actually, that sounds like it would be a blast. Perhaps open source people are simply terrible at marketing.

Post reply on HN