Fix the GUI

[latinomanz]

Hello,

One of the biggest Linux's weaknesses is their GUI. All of them seems to have the same problem; if you look at all the operating systems that have been adopted widely, they all have a nice GUI: Windows, MAC, Android, etc. they all excel at their GUI, so sometimes Linux Mint compared to other distros feel and looks great but compared to Windows or MAC it looks and feels old and obsolete, so if you want to make it mainstream you will have to fix the GUI.

What do you guys think?

[jp734]

Sorry to disagree. I love the look and feel of Linux Mint distro. I've used Mint 9 XFCE, mint 10, 11 and now 12. It has a clean look and simplicity but if you want to make it fancy, everything is at your fingertips to install whatever you like. From compiz, conky, awn to cinnamon, cairo, etc...This is a matter of preference and I LOVE THE WAY IT IS.

[latinomanz]

Maybe you do but the average user prefers eye candy interfaces, just look at the way Mac and Windows are, so if we want to make it mainstream and replace Windows one day, we gotta go the eye candy way, otherwise we will only be used by a niche market of computer gurus and not by the average user.

[latinomanz]

I dont mean to overcrowd the desktop but just to make every button, menu, etc that we already have more eye candy thats all. We can keep it simple but pretty

[Penguinnerd]

Generally speaking, users and developers have a lot of overlap in Linux. It's evolved to be what the users want. It is the way it is because we like it that way.

That said, there are an infinite number of ways to customize it to a particular user. You can customize it to look like anything from OS/2 to Mac OS to Win3.1 to Win7 and anything in between.

Also, contrary to what the press has to say about it, most Linux users and developers are in a silent majority who don't care if it ever becomes popular. We like it how it is, and welcome others to join us if they choose. If we didn't already think it was better than the competitors, we wouldn't be using it. So why would we imitate the competitors?

[monkeyboy]

Maybe you do but the average user prefers eye candy interfaces, just look at the way Mac and Windows are, so if we want to make it mainstream and replace Windows one day, we gotta go the eye candy way, otherwise we will only be used by a niche market of computer gurus and not by the average user.

Opinions right. I prefer to pick and choose, if I want flames and cubes flying around I can get those now and If I want a cleaner lighter DE on the same install I can get that too. So I guess my basic preference for a native DE is one that doesn't get in my way too much or limits my options. Enjoy

[latinomanz]

Linux users are only a 1% of all computer users, so do we want Linux to be mainstream and appeal to the 99% crowd that we are missing? If the answer is yes, then we gotta be more eye candy, just look at all the OSes that have made it mainstream, windows, mac, andriod, they all have pretty interfaces.

Also, there could be 2 desktops, one MATE or Cinnamon and another one more eye candy for the average user.

And about customizations, not possible, go and ask my grandmother to customise a Linux Mint....

[Aging Technogeek]

latinomanz wrote

if we want to make it mainstream and replace Windows one day,

This is the point. Most long time Linux users and most developers could not care less if Linux EVER takes over from Windows. We are more interested in producing the best, quickest, most stable, most configurable OS it is possible to produce and offering it to those who can appreciate it and use it.

To make Linux appeal to most Windows users, it would need to be changed into a Windows clone and this will NEVER happen. Millions of Windows users try Linux every year and immediately go back to Windows when they find out that Linux is not just a free version of Windows but a different Operating System with its own rules and methods of doing things. Rather than take a little time to learn how Linux works, they clutter up the forums of whatever distro they are trying with demands that things be changed to work like they do in Windows and when their demands are not met they post a rant or two about how and why Linux will never overtake Windows, then they return to Windows.

There are basic philosophical differences between Windows and Linux that are pretty well defined in this essay

http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

These differences will always operate to prevent Linux from becoming a Windows clone so Linux will never replace Windows and most of us prefer it that way. We use Linux because of the differences, not in spite of them.

The bottom line for me is with Windows, Microsoft is telling me what I can and cannot do with my computer. Linux lets me be in charge of my computing experience in ways Windows never will.

[tdockery97]

The bottom line for me is with Windows, Microsoft is telling me what I can and cannot do with my computer. Linux lets me be in charge of my computing experience in ways Windows never will.

+1

[latinomanz]

But thats why the Terminal will always still be there, if you do not like the way a GUI is implemented, then you can use the Terminal.

Also, I think most distro's goal is to make it mainstream, at least thats what Ubuntu, Suse, among other wants. Ubuntu just said that they want Ubuntu to be on every TV, PC, Cellphone, Table, etc. So do we want the samething? If not, then we gotta fork out the code or do debian derivatives because otherwise we are headed for the wrong path if we keep on taking it from Ubuntu. Now, if we want the same thing, how are we going to achieve that??? The only way is to make it easy to use, I dont see people using Terminals on MAC or Andriod (both of which are Linux) and appealing to the eyes, so the question to ask would be what path is Mint's owner headed for, a path that appears developers, etc (aka 1% of all PC users) or a path that appears the common fella who doesnt know about computers (99% of all users).

[jp734]

What's SUPPOSED to happen IS HAPPENING right now. Those who want to switch to linux (for what ever distro they may choose), they switch. Those who love Windows, simply stay. And that's a good thing coz we still need Windows. Heck, without Windows, I could have not done my tax return myself.

I will say this, and am confident that a lot of linux users will agree with me, we all switched to linux NOT because of the eyecandy but for something far more better than that. A better OS.

[latinomanz]

I switched to Linux because I hate Microsoft but I gotta admit, I love Windows, however due to some personal choice I have been refusing to use any Microsoft's product.

So whats Mint's goal? I wanna hear it from an official developer, director or owner, is Mint's goal to make it more appealing to the average folk and make it more mainstream or to make it appealing only to the Linux crowd?

[monkeyboy]

I switched to Linux because I hate Microsoft but I gotta admit, I love Windows, however due to some personal choice I have been refusing to use any Microsoft's product.

So whats Mint's goal? I wanna hear it from an official developer, director or owner, is Mint's goal to make it more appealing to the average folk and make it more mainstream or to make it appealing only to the Linux crowd?

Don't hold your breath while you wait for that. However if you want you can hit the main home page for the mission statement. Good Luck

[latinomanz]

Also guys does making a system prettier mean it is trying to imitate Windows? Not really, look at OpenSuse, it looks better than Mint and it is not necessarily a copy of Windows. Imitating Windows is already being done by Zorin OS, so no need to worry about it

[nomko]

Maybe you do but the average user prefers eye candy interfaces,

Speak for yourself, i hate those eye-candy! It it only good for consuming system resources!

just look at the way Mac and Windows are

And that is why i left Windows! Useless eye-candy which only slows down the system and demanding ridiculous system requirements! With each new Windows version you were almost forced to upgrade your system or buy an new sstem...

so if we want to make it mainstream and replace Windows one day, we gotta go the eye candy way, otherwise we will only be used by a niche market of computer gurus and not by the average user.

Hell no!!! If i want Linux to become Windows, I stayed with Windows 5 years ago!!

[monkeyboy]

Also guys does making a system prettier mean it is trying to imitate Windows? Not really, look at OpenSuse, it looks better than Mint and it is not necessarily a copy of Windows. Imitating Windows is already being done by Zorin OS, so no need to worry about it

Open Suse looks better then Mint? Prove it, show me the facts and figures that back up that claim. I suspect you are presenting opinion as fact, if so it casts a shadow of doubt across your other claims and positions, for me at least. Good Luck

[MALsPa]

if you want to make it mainstream

I agree with the others here. I couldn't care less about whether or not Linux becomes "mainstream." I never try to "convert" people to Linux; I don't care what other people use. It isn't about trying to appeal to the masses.

+1 to what Penguinnerd said:

Also, contrary to what the press has to say about it, most Linux users and developers are in a silent majority who don't care if it ever becomes popular. We like it how it is, and welcome others to join us if they choose. If we didn't already think it was better than the competitors, we wouldn't be using it. So why would we imitate the competitors?

And what Aging said:

Most long time Linux users and most developers could not care less if Linux EVER takes over from Windows.

[bimsebasse]

What a weird thing to troll about. Is it some sort of school project or sociological study?

[latinomanz]

As I said before, we dont have to imitate Windows, that job is being done by Zorin OS, we can do it our own way...

[DrHu]

Sometimes Linux Mint compared to other distros feel and looks great but compared to Windows or MAC it looks and feels old and obsolete, so if you want to make it mainstream you will have to fix the GUI.

..so if you want to make it mainstream you will have to fix the GUI
There is always an improvement that can be made, the question is who decides, you or me or someone else, possibly the developers of the distribution..
--if you had specific fixes to recommend, then it might be a different case, but fix the GUI is no explanation!

This is always going to be a matter of taste/personal style

Linux should never just copy anything that is being done on other platforms, that is a disaster waiting to happen: What if the source GUI desktop changes, should a Linux distribution then attempt to ape that change, no matter how difficult it might be or how against the Linux + Open source philospophy it represents.