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Best Way to Keep App Users Coming Back? Build a Good One.
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Comments (5)
Yes, indeed. I'm old enough to know better -- and I still get sucked in by the "judging the book by its cover" reflex. Of course, when I'm dining out, I care more about the taste than the "presentation", and far more about the food than about the decor and "atmosphere" -- but judging by my experience in restaurants (both sides of the counter), that puts me in a distinct minority. And still, I probably get influenced by the "polished apples" effect more than I'd like to admit.
When I first started using Linux, about 2000, I mostly used IceWm. People generally lost interest at seeing what some described as a stodgy "Windows '95" appearance. When I experimented with WindowManager -- a much glossier, much sleeker desktop with vibrant colours, cool features like "tear-away" menus, and nothing resembling Windows in its appearance, reception was noticeably warmer.
I actually found Icewm, on my little 14' monitor, to be noticeably more congenial to actually getting work done -- but I kept WindowManager handy for when I had visitors (or just felt like a change of pace).
When I first started using Linux, about 2000, I mostly used IceWm. People generally lost interest at seeing what some described as a stodgy "Windows '95" appearance. When I experimented with WindowManager -- a much glossier, much sleeker desktop with vibrant colours, cool features like "tear-away" menus, and nothing resembling Windows in its appearance, reception was noticeably warmer.
I actually found Icewm, on my little 14' monitor, to be noticeably more congenial to actually getting work done -- but I kept WindowManager handy for when I had visitors (or just felt like a change of pace).
This is a great big bad sucking symptom of the basic free software problem for user-level free software: primacy of code.
Free software tends to focus more on code and coders than software per se. Usability, , help, attractiveness, etc get the short shrift.
Not a problem for server-oriented software. Not a problem for developer tools.
Stuff for non-coders? Problem.
Free software tends to focus more on code and coders than software per se. Usability, , help, attractiveness, etc get the short shrift.
Not a problem for server-oriented software. Not a problem for developer tools.
Stuff for non-coders? Problem.
I've been on Google + too long BernardSwiss and Dino....Was looking for the +l marker.
;0)
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Never mind, no need to go there.
I am aware that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there are those that will take issue with this, but personally, I think Linux could use a face lift and a tuck here and there. I'm in the unique position of hearing hundreds of people react to the Linux Desktop every year, and I hear this same thing echoed all the time. Excuses like "It's Linux, it's not supposed to be pretty" don't really pique a lot of encouragement out in the field.
People like sparkles and pop on their monitors...not mono-colored boxes. That being said, and not being a coder myself, I am sure that the particular environment and language has a lot to do with it. I know I've heard many people blame GTK for fostering such ugly step-sisters. Recently, I've rekindled my affair with KDE 4 and Trinity and I have to say that I can make my desktop absolutely beautiful, and uniformly beautiful....that is until I pull up that one GTK app that looks like a mud splotch on a clean white shirt.
I've tweaked my SolusOS desktop to the point where many ask if it's KDE. No, it's Gnome 2 but done the way I like it. Again, beauty, beholder and all of that.
[url=https://dc2.safesync.com/FQBmnDs/shared stuff/currentdesktop.png?a=QFLr9Y-Xl8k]https://dc2.safesync.com/FQBmnDs/shared stuff/currentdesktop...[/url]
I don't know what the answer is but I do think that any user base could be increased or at least maintained by a little paint and TLC. Just sayin'.