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Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

arstechnica.com

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Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#31

Post by grandalf »

nearestneighbor wrote: post #26
grandalf wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is for usability. Ubuntu's only weakness is that at the pixel level it's a bit uglier than OSX in some areas... and that by default it doesn't come with quite the same level of fonts...

Fonts are in the eye (or rather, visual cortex) of the beholder. I got used to the Mac fonts, but at first I thought it was some kind of bad joke or misconfiguration. They seemed annoyingly blurry. My theory is that one's brain gets used to the particular fonts and may not like change very much.

You are right that OSX uses different subpixel rendering than Windows, but I think that at present the free fonts on Ubuntu are not quite at the level of OSX's fonts and some of Adobe's.

This could just be my own aesthetic taste, but I think it could also be due to those companies having highly paid font designers working on those details.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#33

Post by rbanffy »

jonknee wrote: post #19
jasonlbaptiste wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

pressure from MS is the biggest part.

That seems anti-competitive... Have you heard if they play hardball on OEM contracts if Linux is also an option? If a company has to pay more for each of its millions of Windows licenses because Ubuntu is an option I could definitely understand why we're not seeing any options.

I doubt that is documented in e-mails, but I wouldn't be surprised if during lunch with OEM license seller and OEM license buyer, something like this was somehow mentioned.

MS is known for playing dirty.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#34

Post by rbanffy »

bugs wrote: post #22
jonknee wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Support cost is the only thing I can think of. And pressure from MS. I looked just today for an Ubuntu laptop and ran into the exact issue you describe. Dell has Ubuntu on two netbooks, but that's it. Not that I can't install on my own, but I don't want to pay for Windows if I'm not going to use it (and knowing all the hardware is supported is a nice plus).

Sadly you get a discount from windows on most machines... same specs but the windows equivalent is usually cheaper.

The OEM license is paid in full by the adware/crapware that comes installed over it.

One more reason to uninstall Windows (besides Windows)

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#35

Post by rbanffy »

dasil003 wrote: post #17
jasonlotito wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn right. And considering everything he's accomplished, I think he has the right to be. =)

I don't think ambition is something you have to earn, more power to him. However considering the cat-herding involved in creating great user experiences from the top down, and considering how much Apple pays its engineers and designers, if he pulls this off he's 100 times the leader Steve Jobs is.

What they have earned is the right to brag.

Apple has a Unix that's very polished and usable, but is not that much Unix-ish if what you need is a traditional X desktop.

And OSX lacks package management.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#37

Post by rbanffy »

barrkel wrote: post #28
nearestneighbor wrote: post #15

Am I the only one who thinks that at the GUI level Ubuntu is better than OS X? (I use Snow Leopard and Ubuntu 8.04 extensively)

Ubuntu's default control layout looks ridiculous to me - everything is too far apart, the margins are too big, the buttons are too big, the fonts are too big, acres of space are wasted by toolbars in the File Browser in the screenshot, etc. It looks like a toy for people with poor eyesight.

Or big screens.

Unix machines have traditionally been used with big monitors. It's not surprising at all Gnome uses lots of pixels.

And there is nothing forcing you to use Ubuntu's default layout. You have literally hundreds of options to choose from. I tend to change look and feel more or less on a monthly basis.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#38

Post by pingswept »

jasonlbaptiste wrote: post #13

Why are there no OEMs making strictly ubuntu machines? There's System76, but they're too complicated (20 different choices). Go look at hardware partners and there are no north american system builders! That's what Ubuntu is missing. Guys like us will install it, but if they want to be adopted by normal people it has to come with the system. You'll never get a strong commitment from big guys like DELL. They're too wo…

In 2007, I bought a Dell XPS 410 that came straight from Dell with Ubuntu installed. It works great.

http://pingswept.org/2007/06/03/finally-booting-pre-installe...

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#39

Post by nailer »

grandalf wrote: post #31
nearestneighbor wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fonts are in the eye (or rather, visual cortex) of the beholder. I got used to the Mac fonts, but at first I thought it was some kind of bad joke or misconfiguration. They seemed annoyingly blurry. My theory is that one's brain gets used to the particular fonts and may not like change very much.

You are right that OSX uses different subpixel rendering than Windows, but I think that at present the free fonts on Ubuntu are not quite at the level of OSX's fonts and some of Adobe's. This could just be my own aesthetic taste, but I think it could also be due to those companies having highly paid font designers working on those details.

Agfa (who do the Ubuntu / Fedora fonts) developers are paid just like anyone else.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#40

Post by carbon8 »

nearestneighbor wrote: post #15

Am I the only one who thinks that at the GUI level Ubuntu is better than OS X? (I use Snow Leopard and Ubuntu 8.04 extensively)

Gnome's biggest downside is the same core problem of the Windows interface: having a menu bolted on to each window is incredibly inelegant, redundant and wasteful of screen space.
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