SEUL: Re: Re: One end-user distribution

[Donovan Rebbechi <elflord@pegasus.rutgers.edu>]

On Fri, 9 Apr 1999, James Nichols wrote:

> The real thing that I see as a need of focus is common controls that are
> used on each desktop and in each application.  Using the controls in the

This is not really a distribution project as it is a programming project.
The two projects that deal with these consistency/usability issues are KDE
and GNOME. 

> setup program that installs Linux would also be a big plus becuase it would
> show unification towards a standard environment (regardless of the flavor)

I don't think this is a huge advantage actually. The user doesn't really
interact a great deal with the interface at install time. They are more or
less prompted all the way.

> Linux needs is a simular set of controls availible for application building.

KDE and GNOME both make use of CORBA. 

> application and from application to application and feel like they are in
> the same environment.  Somewhere a button looks like a button and menus have
> common options to select.

again, these are issues that GNOME and KDE are addressing

> which ever packaging system and install system is used for Linux, the
> important thing to remember is making them use a standard that is going to
> exist throughout the software.  

KDE have made a packaging tool, as have GNOME.

> If the desktop is going to be an X style
> desktop by default, then make an install program that looks like X and acts

Making the installation use VGA mode will not help greatly. The
installation for linux is not that bad, though hardware support can make
an attempt to install frustrating if your hardware is unsupported. 

> Ask yourself these two questions.  How many programs have you ever used that
> you didn't see an obvious means of quiting?  How many times did you use that
> program?

this hits the mark. Feel is more important than look. The worst kind of
interface possible IMO is one that looks deceptively safe but "feels"
wrong ( eg fvwm95 )  On the other hand, an interface that "looks" a little
different, but "feels" right is friendlier to the user ( eg KDE ) 
 
> P.S. Maybe a project should be started in developing a set of standard
> controls for anyone to use in thier application so that they each have a

Better ... there's two such projects ... (-; you may want to investigate
the KDE and GNOME projects, as these directly attck the kind of points you
raise ...