I wonder when they will introduce icons in the desktop :)
Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
221–230 of 431 posts
Re: Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've gotten around this by minimizing my usage of graphical applications; I use Firefox, a PDF reader, (recently) Zotero to manage papers, and finally a tiling window manager to reduce graphical elements. Everything else happens in the terminal. Linux just isn't ready for GUI apps :(
I try every year I try a few different Linux distros and each time I notice a tonne of UI and UX issues, and leave again (I mean, even the basic things like being able to resize windows is 95% of the time a pain on most distros I try. I'm sure there is a fix for it, but the point is, you shouldn't need to fix it, it should "just work"). In my mind Ubuntu is the closest, but still far far away. I love Linux, and I use…
How is resizing windows on Linux far away from Mac or Windows? I think you're exaggerating
Re: Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
I try every year I try a few different Linux distros and each time I notice a tonne of UI and UX issues, and leave again (I mean, even the basic things like being able to resize windows is 95% of the time a pain on most distros I try. I'm sure there is a fix for it, but the point is, you shouldn't need to fix it, it should "just work"). In my mind Ubuntu is the closest, but still far far away. I love Linux, and I use…
How is resizing windows on Linux far away from Mac or Windows? I think you're exaggerating
Maybe it's just the way I do it, but most of the distros I've tried I always seem to have difficulty trying to click on the 1x1px spot to resize a window from the corner. Most of the time I'd miss it and have to try again.
The most recent example I can think of that I had this issue with is Ubuntu MATE last week.
And I get it, this is a very nitpicky issue, but in my mind, it's a basic operation that both macOS and Windows do really well and as a user switching from that, it's a little annoying.
Re: Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
#224Some of the comments here feel weird. Elementary OS has picked a specific niche, and its arguably the best distribution in it. It has a really well designed and consistent UI experience, and you can't break it. I think most of you just don't realize how difficult linux is for people who barely understand how to use a Mac or Windows machine. Furthermore, linux is a world where mainstream distributions still release wi…
Why are you comparing Elementary OS with a version of Linux Mint that's at least 5 years old? Especially when they had such a big design shift in the last year or two. Up-to-date screenshot (still with the "old" theme Mint-X, but actually Mint-Y (based on arc) is the default as of the latest version): https://linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/serena/gallery/5.... The choice isn't between ugly and Elementary. It's a…
It's almost as bad 5 years later then.
- icons on task bar too low
- icons on task bar vertically not aligned
- task icons different size than pinned icons on task bar
- task text vertically aligned too high
- icons stylistically not matched
- system icons unreadable (badly designed, all look the same, don't convey purpose adequately)
- task bar icons on right are vertically all over the place
- task bar mini icons sizing on right is not consistent
- file manager icon sizes all over the place
- file manager bottom bar icons are too low and lack 'breathing room' at bottom compared to top bar with buttons
- file manager top/bottom bar size is mismatched
- horizontal alignment/margin of icons on file manager's top and bottom bars is inconsistent
I could go on and on. People who don't care about these things don't see them. Their vision is not trained for it. But for a polished experience, even to UI laypersons, they make all the difference.
Re: Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have run exclusively Linux and mostly on laptops for 15 years and it's been about 10 years since I have had problems with packages clashing, except for python pip. (I don't use python though)
Can you give us details of laptop and distribution used? Seems hardware is still difficult i.e. trackpads, WiFi, screen resolution, external displays, etc.
Ubuntu LTS on thinkpad x220, and some Asus and other lenovo for my kids. Works fine.
Re: Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah same experience here. Installed gentoo on our home computer for my mom and dad and once i showed them how to open Firefox, they were happy as clams. The only issue was when my dad wanted to install tax software
Basically, they'll be okay as long as they only use the browser. When they need to edit a MS Excel file, or use their digital signature (mandatory for companies in my country), or use some accounting software... or anything like this, you understand that Linux isn't as ready for the mainstream desktop as we think it is.
Your country mandate digital signature that aren't cross platform?
Re: Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
#227I used Elementary OS for a few months this year.
It’s quite nicely designed in places, but is based on Gnome 3 - which doesn’t make sense for an OS that is all about UX, because Gnome 3 makes plenty of bad decisions and Elementary inherits them. Still, they have done their best to contain them and I think it’s better designed than any other modern Linux desktop.
Couple of failure points:
- the mail client is buggy to the point of being unusable. You could say that about any Linux GUI mail client, but this one is particularly bad.
- Alt-Tab behaviour is strange and awful.
If you want OS X but can’t afford it, this is as close as you’ll get, but it’s a long way off.
Re: Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
#228Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why are you comparing Elementary OS with a version of Linux Mint that's at least 5 years old? Especially when they had such a big design shift in the last year or two. Up-to-date screenshot (still with the "old" theme Mint-X, but actually Mint-Y (based on arc) is the default as of the latest version): https://linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/serena/gallery/5.... The choice isn't between ugly and Elementary. It's a…
It's almost as bad 5 years later then. - icons on task bar too low - icons on task bar vertically not aligned - task icons different size than pinned icons on task bar - task text vertically aligned too high - icons stylistically not matched - system icons unreadable (badly designed, all look the same, don't convey purpose adequately) - task bar icons on right are vertically all over the place - task bar mini icons s…
I think it's more that you are trying to see these things while other people use computers to do work.
Re: Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
#229Some of the comments here feel weird. Elementary OS has picked a specific niche, and its arguably the best distribution in it. It has a really well designed and consistent UI experience, and you can't break it. I think most of you just don't realize how difficult linux is for people who barely understand how to use a Mac or Windows machine. Furthermore, linux is a world where mainstream distributions still release wi…
I don't think Linux will e... okay, probably ever, be a replacement for Windows or MacOS. Linux is Linux no matter how you dress it up. The first time a non-crazy person has to decompress and unpack a .tar.gz to install a program that usually comes in a .msi they're done. Forget about the fact that they'll be running down dependencies and the programs themselves don't usually work as good. What is the benefit they ge…
> The first time a non-crazy person has to decompress and unpack a .tar.gz to install a program that usually comes in a .msi they're done.
Can we put this myth to bed yet? I use Linux full-time at home and on my laptop and I can't remember the last time I had to do this. Hey, I only see a command line because I can do stuff much faster there, not because I need to (I live in a command line on my Mac at work, too).
Re: Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
#230Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why are you comparing Elementary OS with a version of Linux Mint that's at least 5 years old? Especially when they had such a big design shift in the last year or two. Up-to-date screenshot (still with the "old" theme Mint-X, but actually Mint-Y (based on arc) is the default as of the latest version): https://linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/serena/gallery/5.... The choice isn't between ugly and Elementary. It's a…
It's almost as bad 5 years later then. - icons on task bar too low - icons on task bar vertically not aligned - task icons different size than pinned icons on task bar - task text vertically aligned too high - icons stylistically not matched - system icons unreadable (badly designed, all look the same, don't convey purpose adequately) - task bar icons on right are vertically all over the place - task bar mini icons s…
I'm inclined to agree. The design is fine, functionally, but there's a certain harmony missing from it and most Linux desktops (even elementaryOS') that makes them feel like using toys rather than proper desktops.
Mind you, I say that as a macOS user (although I did run Linux full-time for a good six years in a past life), and I'm sure many a Linux user will call the macOS interface toy-like to their eyes.
Even though all I see, whether in the old screenshots are the current, are misaligned and seemingly randomly-sized icons, ugly text rendering, and an unclear design vision, I'll still say that the typical defaults still do a pretty good job considering that no Linux distro with mass appeal has yet shipped with a forced theme to make everything just right because, after all, such a distro would never gain mass appeal to start with.
Not with the Linux users who know they're running Linux, at least. I think this is what Ubuntu and elementaryOS are trying to establish: Linuxes for people who don't know what Linux is. That gives some freedom for forcing good, consistent design — but not until there's enough "first party" software to make the rest of the Linux application ecosystem irrelevant.
I don't think that'll happen until Ubuntu or elementaryOS bring about killer apps, something like iLife for Linux. Beautiful, works exceedingly well, and designed for ordinary people rather than fellow developers. A reason to develop for that one distro rather than the whole Linux ecosystem, so far not yet forthcoming.