Gnome 2.16 has been released
Posted on 2006-09-08 at 06:47
Gnome 2.16 has been released. Read a review of the new Linux Desktop. Read the release notes for this version to see what's new. Love the gnome. Hug the Gnome.
Eye Candy for Gnome
Posted on 2006-06-17 at 13:28
The workplace switcher for Gnome 2.16 is gonna be a bit blingier:
The new Gnome Dockbar bling is kinda neat too (watch it in action by clicking below):
And don't forget the wonderful new(ish) Gnome Bling Manager!:
That's among the many reasons why I say Vista is a waste of money!
More mock ups of a next generation Gnome interface
Posted on 2006-02-07 at 08:37
I found more mock ups of what people are wanted/expecting out of the next version of Gnome. I've added them to my existing photo gallery of mockups so that you can go to one spot and look at them all.
Mock ups of a next generation Gnome interface
Posted on 2006-01-18 at 20:47
These are not my own, but I was quite impressed with these ideas for a next gen interface look and feel for Gnome. I found them on gnome-look and art.gnome.
Mono and Gnome APIs
Posted on 2006-01-13 at 14:45
I've said it before. I'll say it again. Linux will not ever become mainstream until it can make itself more approachable by the average corporate programmer.
I like Mono and what they have done for Gnome. But let's step back and look at the big picture. We need our own API, not a reworked version of one Microsoft has handed us. Take what's good about .NET and Java and come up with a new API that is specific to the Gnome platform. Moving away from a reliance on Sun or Microsoft's propriatary works, rightly or wrongly, will help to bring the community together. Additionally, making that new standard approachable in the way that Java and .NET are will help bring new developers to the Gnome platform.
Remember that Windows has users because it has applications. It has applications because it courts the average corporate programmer successfully. Gnome could learn a bit from that. It means slaughtering a few sacred cows of the Gnome world. An example? How about drag-n-drop form design? This is not an afterthought. If you want to be taken seriously by the corporate programmer community (the people you NEED to be taken seriously by!) then this is an absolute requirement of every IDE. Period. No debates. And I don't mean some sort of decoupled Glade interface that you can reference in your code, but an integrated drag-n-drop form designer where you can doubleclick a control and write the code associated with the default action of that control. I can design a gui in code just like you, but frankly I'm not gonna. Not when Visual Studio (hands down the best IDE on the planet right now...and I am an ardent Linux supporter) offers me so more simpler a way to do the same thing. Do you hear me Monodevelop? Do you hear me Eclipse? I'm talking to you!
New and Improved List-O-Things That Gnome Needs
Posted on 2005-12-29 at 10:44
A while back, I wrote down a list of things I wanted to see Linux get. It's been a year and a half since I wrote that list and I wanted to revisit it to see what has been done and what needs doing now.
My first list in review:
- Money Management Engine: Not only is this not done, it's not even begun or discussed. I still think it's a good idea, but it looks like unless I'm willing to write it myself it ain't happening...unless Gnucash decides to add it to their 2.0 version and have kept that feature hidden and secret this whole time. I'll hold out hope for that.
- Music Engine: There hasn't been much movement on this front, though the discussions of Gnome 3.0 (codenamed Topaz) suggest that such a thing might be in the works for that version. In the interim, Muine and Rhythmbox, for instance, still insist on using their own back ends instead of agreeing on a standard.
- Supplyline integration with the entertainment industry: This was pie-in-the-sky when I first mentioned it. Since I put it on my list that hasn't changed, though at least now there exists iTunes support in Gnome, which is a step in the right direction.
- Better SDL/OpenGL APIs: A complete no-go.
- Better Hardware Integration: Finally a success! Since I wrote this list, hardware integration in Linux has grown greatly. Most things that I've used are simply plug-n-play (but for real, unlike what windows calls Plug-n-Play). More work needs to be done, but I can only be pleased with how smoothly hardware is being supported in Linux nowadays.
- First-Timer Wizards: I've heard it mentioned elsewhere, but so far I've not seen anyone implement such a thing. In retrospect, I'm not sure it's a must-have item as much as a would-be-nice item.
- Hot chicks: Linux still lacks the hot chicks. I hold out hope that it'll change soon, though, and us Linux geeks will be the new rock stars with our stretch limos and groupies and trashed hotel rooms.
So what about now? What do I think Linux and Gnome need now? Let me tell you:
- Money Management Engine: This idea is still good enough that I want to see it happen. Here is a quick run down of what I mean by this.
- Unified API: Linux, or at least Gnome, needs to clarify and unify the API as I describe here. This will help to bring in outside developers, which Gnome and Linux both sorely need. It's time to open this thing up to the legion of Windows-centric developers out there who would write for Linux if the API were more approachable.
- Administrative simplicity: Right now, if you use any of the mainstream linux distros, you can use linux without difficulty, but administering the box is still difficult. Gnome needs to HIGify (yes that's a word, google "Gnome HIG" to see what I mean!) the admin processes. That means, for instance, installation needs to be cleaned up (Ubuntu and Apt-Get do a lot for this but the problem still exists). But it also means we need to start seeing good, HIG-compliant admin interfaces for at least the most common of the services, like apache, bind, mailman, postfix, proftpd, and others. Sure I can install webmin and do it that way, but Webmin is hardly HIGified. I mean something as simple to use as Microsoft's Enterprise Manager to administer PostgreSQL or MySQL. I mean something as simple as Microsoft's IIS admin tool to administer Apache. We've taken care of the end users, not let's show a little love for the linux sys and network admins.
- User-loadable drivers: Let's face it. Linux can supply decent drivers for our hardware, but things like graphics cards are always going to perform better when using the closed-source drivers from their own manufacturers until we can change their minds on that issue. In the interim, how about something as simple as a directory like ~/.drivers where users can place proprietary drivers for use by the system as needed. I mean a simple schema like this: System boots up. System finds built in drivers for all hardware. System shows log in screen. When user logs in, system scans ~/.drivers for any drivers that purport to be for hardware that is currently being handled by a system driver. If a driver is found, the system driver resets with the user driver. If not, the system driver continues to work. This is brain dead simple, allows a user to decide for themselves if they want a proprietary driver running on their system, and makes it easy to make such a thing a user preference. Of course, it would be appropriate to have a way to turn this option on and off and the system level so that corporate users can't play with drivers without the admin's permission. Easy enough to add that option to an /etc/userdrivers.conf file. Each distro can decide for itself based on its target market what the defautl setting will be. Red Hat, being corp user centric might defalt to "No", Ubuntu being home user centric might default to "Yes". How hard is that? I know there are some logistical issues with swapping drivers during login, but to the best of my knowledge none of them are real showstoppers. Seems like something that would take a kernel hacker a day or two to throw together. And yes, I do understand the stability ramifications of this idea. I still think it's better than the current solution!
- Mac Menus: Yes, it's been discussed ad nauseum, but I have to side with the pro-Mac menu guys on this one. It'll free up real estate and make for a cleaner interface in general. It's a major change (in that it'll require retooling of a lot of extant apps, but the end result will be worth it. For the record, it'd be much easier to do the retooling if Gnome had a unified API already! ;-)
- Hot chicks: I'm gonna have to reinclude this item. I mean seriously, what's it all about if not being the idol of millions of screaming girl-fans?
Gnome 3.0 Needs To Clarify and Unify the API
Posted on 2005-08-18 at 08:05
It's time to invite in the outside developers. It's time for Gnome to design a clear and hierarchical Application Programming Interface modelled after Java or Mono. Something that can be bound to many languages, but which is, itself, simple and powerful. Said API should be heavily based around the First Class Objects I described yesterday. A progmrammer that hasn't ever worked in Gnome should be able to sit down and figure it out. Something that looks sane like this:
Person John = New Person("John Doe")
John.SendMessage("Hi John!")
or maybe something like this:
Event BirthdayParty = New Event
BirthdayParty.AddPerson "Bob"
BirthdayParty.AddPerson "Alice"
BirthdayParty.AddPerson "Krusty the Clown"
BirthdayParty.SendInvitations(viaEmail, withRVSP)
Of course, those are extremely simplified, but I don't see why the final API couldn't be pretty close to that easy. A simple dotHierarchy like that found in Java and .NET or Mono is the way to go. No reason why programmers couldn't choose to write their apps in C or even Assembly, but the API bindings should expose the objects in a manner similar to that which I've described briefly here. This mess about each different subsystem having it's own API that may or may not bear any resemlbance to other APIs and which does not relate to the system as a whole sucks. It's ain't working. Gnome is not sucking in new developers at any serious rate. Take a play from Microsoft's playbook: Attract the developers, let them write interesting apps, then watch the users follow the interesting apps like breadcrumbs to your platform. It works.
Gnome 3.0 Needs To Make Eye Candy Useful
Posted on 2005-08-18 at 08:04
Use Eye Candy. Use it liberally. Let there be transparent windows and morphing movies and glowing buttons. But make each piece of eye candy be justified. Make each piece prove that it should be included. The criteria should be as simple as Gnome itself. Does this piece of eye candy make the user's experience easier? If the answer is yes, then include it. If not, then discard it. Don't make it a circus of pulsating pixels, bothersome banners of information, and wobbly windows. Make each thing matter. And make it degrade gracefully. Test the video card. If the card can take it, turn it all on. If the card can't, only turn on that which ican be handled. What do I mean when I say "useful" eye candy? I mean a task bar that shows a miniaturized version of the task. I mean buttons that brithen when you hover over them, or glow when the user's attention is needed. I mean sliding sidebar windows that come out when the user must be informed of something. I don't mean transparent windows just for the sake of being able to see the desktop underneath. Transparent windows should be used only to let the user know something underneath requires their attention. that's what I mean when I say "useful".
Gnome 3.0 Needs Focal Computing
Posted on 2005-08-18 at 08:03
Show only one thing at a time. Make applications take the screen. Conform the entire screen to the task at hand. If the user is typing a letter, let the whole screen be about typing that letter. This goes deeper than making all windows run maximized. I mean to suggest a screen that is intensely focused on the task at hand. If the user is copying files to a disk, let the whole screen be about those files and that disk. That is not to say the user can't move that task to the background and move on to another, but that while the user is focused on that task, make it the computer's whole world. Offer inline help related to the task, allow the user easy access to all related activities. If the user is playing music, let the screen be about the artist, the album, the song. Let the screen offer to find more music from that artist. Let the screen offer to queue up the rest of the album from which the song is playing. Let the screen offer the user an immersive musical experience. If the user is typing a letter, let the screen offer to look up words. Let hte screen offer to find related correspondence on the system. Let the screen offer help with formatting. You get the idea.
Gnome 3.0 Needs To Own The Corners
Posted on 2005-08-18 at 08:02
SymphonyOS does this to great effect. Gnome needs to own all the corners. This is prime screen real estate. There are no easier spots to click than the corners and the four most common functions should be tied to them.
Methods of Project First Class Objects
Posted on 2005-08-17 at 08:10
A Project FCO is a different sort of FCO in that it is really just a grouping of other FCOs. A user may choose to create a new Project, and drag in 3 or 4 Person FCOs, 2 Event FCOs, and maybe a Multimedia FCO (a presentation). In this way, he can track a group of objects at a glance without having to resort to a keyword search. A Project object would allow a user to:
- Add objects
- Remove objects
- Add keyword
- Remove keyword
- View objects as slideshow
Methods of Event First Class Objects
Posted on 2005-08-17 at 08:09
Events are appointments or tasks that are to be tracked, attended to or otherwise addressed. An event should alow the user to:
- Cancel
- Invite people/Assign to others
- Mark as attended/completed
- Decline to attend/complete
Methods of Conversation First Class Objects
Posted on 2005-08-17 at 08:08
Technically, conversations are a sort of subset of the Person FCO, but there interest to the user warrants the promotion for FCO. The user should be able to click on a conversation (like an email or IM) and choose whether he wants to:
- Reply
- Make it an event
- View similar conversations
Methods of Person First Class Objects
Posted on 2005-08-17 at 08:07
People ought to be considered FCOs. Much of what we do on the computer nowadays revolves around working with and speaking with other people. To that end, there should be People objects that have the following actions associated:
- Talk
- Read blog
Methods of Data First Class Objects
Posted on 2005-08-17 at 08:06
Almost as much as pictures, users like to be able to store random data. We are not as organizaed as we'd like to be, but computers should facilitate organization. To that end, Gnome should make it trivial for users to start a new table of data to be stored just as you would a letter to mom or a picture of your dog. That data should be easy to edit (something that looks like a spreadsheet would suffice) and it should be easy to find data when you search. People could keep lists, names, ideas, or whaever else interests them it these data files. Look to applications like Glom for inspiration here for easy user access to data tables. With such a table, users would be able to:
- Modify the table structure
This FCO is probably the most likely to cause controversy, as it is the largest departure from the traditional user experience, but I feel strongly that it warrants some consideration.
Methods of Picture First Class Objects
Posted on 2005-08-17 at 08:05
Users like pictures. They like to store them, look at them, print them, and show them off. Graphics, in Gnome 3.0 should be associated with the following actions:
- View
- Make into presentation
Methods of Document First Class Objects
Posted on 2005-08-17 at 08:04
A Document FCO is any text-based file; be it an OpenOffice letter to Mom, a PDF file downloaded from the web, or a simple text-based reminder note (like those created by Tomboy or similar apps). With a Document, the user can:
- View
Methods of Multimedia First Class Objects
Posted on 2005-08-17 at 08:03
Multimedia FCOs would include movies, music, presentations and any other object that requires or allows VCR-like control. The gnome desktop would recognize the following actions with respect to Multimedia FCOs:
- Play
- Stop
- Pause
- Fast Forward
- Rewind
- Record
Methods of All First Class Objects
Posted on 2005-08-17 at 08:02
All FCOs will have the following actions associated with them:
- Send to a person
- Copy as new object
- Cut/Copy/Paste to and from object
- Edit the object
- Edit the object's properties (like its keywords or owner)
- Search
- Create new object
- Associate with a project
Gnome 3.0 First Class Objects
Posted on 2005-08-17 at 08:01
For version 3.0 of Gnome (currently codenamed Topaz), there has been some talk about centering the desktop experience around a set of what are being called "First Class Objects" (FCOs).
These FCOs will define and fence the user experience. For example, rather than firing up a Word Processor to write a letter to Mom, you might instead just "Create a new document" then "Edit the document". Though it seems like an obvious evolution, it is nonetheless a major break from the previous paradigm.
The user would no longer be concerned with applications, per se, but with the products of applications. The user experience would begin to focus on the end results of computing rather than the computing itself. Like any self-respecting linux nut, I have my own ideas as to how this should play out.
Firstly, I see 8 basic FCOs: Multimedia, Documents, Pictures, Data, People, Conversations, Events, and Projects. I describe how I understand each in the blog entries that follow this one.
I see an interface that strips away all the garbage that doesn't push the user toward these FCOs. Applications would be hyper-specialized but follow a design that blends them all together in terms of look and feel. It's the natural evolution of the Gnome HIG. Why open a whole mail program is all you want to do is read a particlar email thread? Aggregate as much as possible and open the APIs to allow developers to tie into the desktop aggregation. You can view some example screenshots of this sort of aggregation. You can read about the current developer thoughts on FCOs. My thoughts here deviate from those ideas slightly, but are heavily based on the same base concepts. The entries below that detail properties of those FCOs are an expansion of what is found on the linked official Gnome page.
And since I'm making sweeping statements about how others should do stuff that benefits me, let me add that gnome should start right away stealing liberally from SymphonyOS, which implements some really cool ideas.
Multimedia in Ubuntu
Posted on 2005-07-18 at 08:02
To fix many of the problems I had with Ubuntu's multimedia, I did the following:
- Install totem-xine. This will uninstall totem-gstreamer. Fine by me. The out of sync AV sucks. Xine is a better back end for now.
- Install mozplugger. This will let me set up totem to handle embedded multimedia content.
- Add "stream noisy ignore_errors: totem "$file" </dev/null" in /etc/mozpluggerrc everywhere that the MPlayer command is currently referenced. This means changing all the defined variables at the top.
- delete ~/.mozilla/firefox/pluginreg.dat
- Restart firefox.
- In Firefox, go to "about:config" to see the mozplugger plugin shown.
- Go to http://www.movie-list.com and watch a trailer to test the setup. It worked for me! :)
- Sit back and enjoy your new system hotness!
Gnome 2.10 feature preview
Posted on 2005-01-19 at 08:02
Someone has posted a draft of the Gnome 2.10 release feature preview. Looking good.
Why is no one fixing the problem?
Posted on 2004-10-18 at 08:01
It's been a while since I blogged about personal finance options in Gnome. Things have not changed even a little bit. Frankly, I expected some movement on that front. Everyone knows its one of Linux's primary weaknesses (along with smaller hardware and miscellaneous issues).
And speaking of .NET development in Linux
Posted on 2004-08-13 at 08:02
I've drooled and waited, and yet still after all this time still no Fedora install packages for MonoDevelop. Who do I gotta smack to get this done?!?
My First Linux App
Posted on 2004-08-13 at 08:01
Having now written an app for Linux, I am left wondering what I should use my newfound great powers for. Forthwith, I present to the world, the "Click the Damn Button!" application written in C#, using GTK#, and compiled to run in mono on Linux:
using System;
using Gtk;
public class ButtonClicker
{
public static void Main()
{
Application.Init();
Window window = new Window("Click The Damn Button!");
Label label = new Label("Name");
Entry entry = new Entry();
Button button = new Button("Click Me!");
window.DeleteEvent +=
new DeleteEventHandler(window_DeleteEvent);
button.Clicked += new EventHandler(button_Clicked);
VBox vbox = new VBox();
HBox hbox = new HBox();
hbox.PackStart(label, false, false, 12);
hbox.PackStart(entry, false, false, 12);
vbox.PackStart(hbox);
vbox.PackStart(button, false, false, 12);
window.Add(vbox);
window.SetDefaultSize(200, 100);
window.ShowAll();
Application.Run();
}
static void window_DeleteEvent(object o,
DeleteEventArgs args)
{
Application.Quit();
args.RetVal = true;
}
static void button_Clicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine("You clicked the button!");
}
}
Where is the proof that it works, you ask? Well, suck on this screenshot, bizzotch:
gTweakUI: Just what the doctor ordered
Posted on 2004-06-10 at 08:01
gTweakUI is an app that offers an easy interface for changing settings that power users have been asking for for a while. If you are like and use Gnome, but want to change more than the standard UI offers without having to go into gConf, then this might be what you need.
Lists are all the rage
Posted on 2004-05-31 at 08:01
And so I, too, will join in the fray with my List of Things Linux Needs Now (patent pending):
- Money Management Engine: Gnome needs to standardize on a back end financial management engine that other apps can call upon it for data. Ideally, that back end would also feed iCal files to the Evolution back end so we could show a financial calendar in Evolution as needed. Why shouldn't my calendar also show me stuff like "Pay The Light Bill" or "Rent is Due"?
- Music Engine: Gnome needs to standardize on a server back end for multimedia. I know that gStreamer is fixing to fill the spot with solid back end playback, but I mean multimedia management. There should be a standard call to show music files, stored video, etc, that other apps can use without reinventing the wheel. I recommend following Rhythmbox's lead. Let them move to a SQLLite back end for storing the data, let other frint ends attach (like Muine or XMMS) and then expand it to include multimedia beyand just music. Very cool. Frankly, why doesn't every Gnome desktop have a back end shoutcast-like service (perhaps something based on the great jReceiver app)?
- Supplyline integration with the entertainment industry: I said it recently, but it's true. The world is moving to e-delivery of all your multimedia content. No one is really looking to set standards, and Gnome could really give it a go. Make it and advertise it as an open standard for multimedia e-commerce. Who needs 15 different proprietary interfaces for buying music and video online?
- Better SDL/OpenGL APIs: Games designers ain't gonna write for Linux unless we make it as easy as they do in Windows. SDL is a good start. OpenGL needs to update itself and the SDL API needs to make it easy to access.
- Better Hardware Integration: I know it's in the works, but it bears saying anyway. We need to know that when we plug a device into the system, that the Kernel will react by telling Gnome what's happened, and Gnome needs to react by telling the user what's going on. Ideally, it'll be nothing more than a notice that a new device is now attached and ready for use. Little or no user intervention is key to this!
- First-Timer Wizards: Gnome needs to ask the user the first time they log in if they want a Gnome-like, Mac-like, or Windows-like experience and adjust the default preferences accordingly. Maybe even do it on a sliding scale from Windows to Gnome and where on the scale the user sets the defaults, determines the level of Gnomeness that is present in the defaults. That'd be kinda cool.
- Hot chicks: Linux needs more hot chicks. There is a distinct paucity of hot chicks in linux. ;-)
Personal Finance Ideas in Gnome
Posted on 2004-03-22 at 08:02
What they need to do is create one that integrates fully in the new Gnome environment. Recurring or otherwise expected payments should show up as a "Personal Finance" calendar in Evolution. Among the list of valid payees should be the members of your Gnome address book. This should work in reverse as well. If I schedule a lunch meeting with someone, when I open the Personal Finance app, it should see that I had a lunch meeting and ask me if I paid, how much it cost, and whether it was a tax deduction or not. These are the sorts of things that will make Gnome a totally integrated, desktop leader. And why not make the Personal Finance software act as a system service like the Evolution-Data-Server? Other apps could query for financial info. OpenOffice Calc could offer more advanced financial analysis tools by grabbing data from the service. Evolution could add a "Business" address book that consists of people for whom payments have been made/received.
Personal Finance Options in Gnome
Posted on 2004-03-22 at 08:01
I'm still waiting for a real personal finance solution for Gnome that rivals what Microsoft put out with Microsoft Money. There are a few out there (Kurush, GnuCash, CBB) but they either aren't complete, suck, or just plain look like ass.
Easter Eggs
Posted on 2004-03-17 at 08:01
In Evolution, create a new mail message and in the "To:" field type "why?" or "easter-egg?" Cool.
Monodevelop
Posted on 2004-03-04 at 08:04
Monodevelop gets its own web site. Additionally, it has put out its first release!
Straw
Posted on 2004-03-02 at 08:03
Just emerged Straw. Doesn't work. Fails because of a "gnome" dependency. I guess I didn't compile Gnome with Python support or something lame like that. Irritating.
F-Spot and gThumb
Posted on 2004-03-02 at 08:02
I'm all about Mono and I wouldn't mind seeing more of Gnome built on it, but I really like the gThumb application and it looks like F-Spot is starting to take hold in the Gnome community.
Fuzzy Clock
Posted on 2004-03-02 at 08:01
Gnome gets a fuzzy clock. Neat.
GTKFileSelector Widget
Posted on 2004-02-24 at 08:01
The new GTKFileSelector Widget is starting to look good. It's long overdue.
Monodevelop
Posted on 2004-02-23 at 08:01
I'm really starting to drool over the upcoming release of monodevelop. Much goodness will be had.