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ElementaryOs Luna released

elementaryos.org

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Re: ElementaryOs Luna released

#211

Post by minor_nitwit »

aroman wrote: post #101
minor_nitwit wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They use the genie animation to minimize apps, and the full screen button is identical to the one in OSX. If they're not mimicking OSX then why are things like that in there?

We absolutely do not use the genie to minimize apps (nor is such functionality even available in the program we use for our dock, Plank), and in fact we came up with our full screen button months before Apple made that design change public. For proof (or at least evidence coupled with my personal assurance) of the latter claim, see this mockup[1] which was submitted July 10, 2010. That's 1 year and 10 days before OS…

What is this animation? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=LjC...

Re: ElementaryOs Luna released

#212

Post by ams6110 »

AJ007 wrote: post #207
frozenport wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never heard anybody say Linux doesn't look sexy. Remember when we were comparing Compiz to Windows XP, or Enlightenment to Windows 2000? Ubuntu is one of the few OSs that can pull a black theme. Linux problems include: 1. Hardware compatibility 2. Office compatibility (also Adobe + games) 3. Easy to mess up your system with no hope of fixing it I don't see how any of these address the problems with Linux. I ru…

Hardware compatibility hasn't been an issue for me for years. Back in 2000? Yes, major issue. #2 -- Specifically Adobe applications & Excel present big roadblocks from companies rolling over from Windows on OSX. Much of the other software that stopped companies in the past is now web browser based. #3 -- Definitely an issue.

Isn't #3 largely attenuated by not giving users root? How do you mess up a system beyond the point of fixing it if you don't have root access?

I've seen many users who have (but shouldn't have) Administrator on their Windows boxes mess them up beyond fixing, usually because of malware.

Re: ElementaryOs Luna released

#214

Post by dgallagher »

aroman wrote: post #137
millstone wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OS X System Preferences screenshot: http://imgur.com/RLB8JZp ElementaryOS settings screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/vnjmHrQ.png It's got the same left-aligned, bolded categories, in the same order, with almost identical text. It even senselessly copied the choice of the Apple Magic Mouse as the mouse icon. That tiny smudge at the bottom represents the Apple logo! I don't mean to suggest that an ElementaryOS designer is…

As a matter of fact, I wrote that very program, Switchboard. It's getting late and I don't want to write a whole book about it's design (though I could), but basically here's the story: I saw some mockups Daniel Fore (the project's founder and lead designer) created for a hypothetical system settings app. Here's an example: http://danrabbit.deviantart.com/art/User-Accounts-Plug-19860... I set about coding the app. I…

The settings dashboard design with icons and text goes back a long way, including Windows 3.1 and Windows 95:

http://www.guidebookgallery.org/pics/gui/settings/menu/win31...

http://www.guidebookgallery.org/pics/gui/settings/menu/win95...

I think it's still a clean, elegant way to present OS settings on modern computers (large display, mouse input). The best way "discovered" to date. So if anyone is copying anyone, it's that people are copying the best known way to do it.

---------------------------

Side Rant: Microsoft started diverging away from the above with Windows XP (or was it Windows ME?) by buring things:

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/power_mgt/winXP_contro...

...and made it extremely difficult to navigate by Windows Vista/7/8 by sticking things inside sub-categories inside of sub-categories:

http://screenshots.modemhelp.net/screenshots/Windows_Vista/C...

It's a different, more complex way to do the same thing. Nobody is copying them though. ;)

Re: ElementaryOs Luna released

#215

Post by handelaar »

minusfive wrote: post #209
SkyMarshal wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks great, nice work. But where can we find a more technical overview? I wasn't even sure whether it was Linux or BSD based or something else until halfway down the front page, and had to check the Developers section to find out it's based on Ubuntu. But which version, and what big changes did you make under the hood?

> "I wasn't even sure whether it was Linux or BSD based or something else until halfway down the front page, and had to check the Developers section to find out it's based on Ubuntu." Really? Are those really worth complaining about? If anything, successful OSes (based on user base) have taught us that marketing should focus on user-centric features first, technical ones second.

Package managers are user-centric features and I'd certainly never install a Linux distro that doesn't use apt. It's fairly important information.

Re: ElementaryOs Luna released

#216

Post by muyuu »

aroman wrote: post #62

I have been a developer for elementary for 3 years, and I am part of the elementary core team. I am also personally close friends with much of the design and development team, including the project's founder and lead designer, Daniel Foré. There seems to be a lot of feedback here which basically says "this trying to rip off OS X". I would like to offer you some insight into our internal assessment of these claims. Is…

"Did we actively intend for it to be reminiscent of OS X? Absolutely not."

I don't think you will find many people able to believe that. I have no opinion formed on the OS, but claiming for the similarities to be "coincidence" is not going to fly.

If the you guys get into Apple's radar I think it's pretty safe to assume you will get sued. Which is why I understand this kind of public statement. Otherwise it wouldn't make any sense to me.

Anyway, regardless of superficial concerns it looks like you are doing a good job, according to some reviews I've read.

Re: ElementaryOs Luna released

#217

Post by keithpeter »

aroman wrote: post #62

I have been a developer for elementary for 3 years, and I am part of the elementary core team. I am also personally close friends with much of the design and development team, including the project's founder and lead designer, Daniel Foré. There seems to be a lot of feedback here which basically says "this trying to rip off OS X". I would like to offer you some insight into our internal assessment of these claims. Is…

Just downloaded the (64 bit) iso and tried a live session. Looks very nice. Works fine on Thinkpad X200s.

How do I make the terminal background solid? I can't read the terminal when open over another window. I could not discover any way of changing the settings in the terminal application.

Re: ElementaryOs Luna released

#218

Post by awsm »

Mac OS X is my primary OS. I also have to run quite a lot of VM's. I have been running eOS since beta 1. It's by far & away my favourite Linux distro.

Whilst some of the designs are similar and may offer some familiarity to OS X users initally. The user experience is very different and has clearly been well thought out and crafted. My only gripe is the time between updates/releases otherwise I'm a happy user of OS X and eOS.

Re: ElementaryOs Luna released

#220

Post by rsynnott »

aroman wrote: post #107
silverlight wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I can make a suggestion, then, since I have your attention. The video on the page that the OP linked to basically shows a very OSX-like interface, especially by showing off the dock, a very (for the six seconds it's on-screen) iTunes-seeming music app, the expose-style window manager, and the multi-desktop. Maybe try highlighting some of these other concepts if possible in the video that most people who are coming…

I appreciate the suggestion. We (as the elementary team) did not actually create the video -- rather, a (very talented) fan created it of his own accord and sent it to us. I agree that we would be well served by highlighting the features of elementary OS which are visually dissimilar to OS X, but frankly, Apple doesn't own light color schemes and multi-desktops. The latter has been on Linux long before Apple implemen…

I understand that you didn't do it with the _intent_ of copying MacOS, as such. However, to someone who has used MacOS, it's probably going to be perceived as a MacOS ripoff, and that tends to lead to negative responses; things which look almost but not entirely like other things really rub people up the wrong way, as we saw with the weird pseudo-native SWING themes and so on.
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