Author: Steven Garrity

Open Source Software Needs Visual Designers

by Steven Garrity

Open source software is flourishing in terms of code. The interface design aspects have improved dramatically in the last few years. There has also been improvements in the aesthetics and visual design aspects of many prominent open-source projects. Firefox and Thunderbird are getting to be better looking than any proprietary app I know of. The BlueCurve theme by Garrett LeSage, formerly of RedHat, was a dramatic improvement for the overall look and feel of desktop Linux.

That said, there is a both a great need and a great opportunity for visual designers in the Linux desktop world. The Gnome and KDE desktop environments are themeable, and have plenty of themes available. However, like with Firefox, it’s the default theme that matters to me, and to the majority of people using the software.

I get the impression that many interface and visual designers have pledged allegiance to Mac OS X, or are living with the majority (understandably) in the world of Microsoft Windows. Come and help us!

There opportunities are significant. Right now, for example, Gnome is debating an updated default theme and RedHat has several full-time positions for visual designers in Massachusetts to work on the RedHat desktop.

Garrett LeSage, in his two years at RedHat, made a dramatic impact on the visual aspects of the Linux desktop with his BlueCurve theme for Gnome and KDE. Garrett has left RedHat, and they need people to take up where he left off.

You’ll often hear that Linux “isn’t ready for the desktop”. Maybe, maybe not. However, it won’t ever be ready if people don’t use it and contribute it (which they are doing, in great numbers).

Are you a designer that thinks Apple and Microsoft are stupid for not hiring you to improve their interfaces? Go work for RedHat, help out with the default theme Gnome.

 

New Default Theme Coming to Firefox 0.9

by Steven Garrity

The crusade to make the world a more beautiful place inches forward. The Mozilla Visual Identity Team is happy to see the preview of a new default theme for Firefox, which will be included in the next release (0.9 – in the next couple of weeks).

Winstripe Theme Preview

The new theme was designed by Kevin Gerich and Stephen Horlander, the dynamic duo behind Pinstripe, the default Firefox theme on Mac OS X.

The new theme, called Winstripe (“Pinstripe” and “Windows” – get it?), aims to bring more polish and consistency to the Firefox interface. While it is based on the original artwork behind the Mac Pinstripe theme, it has been heavily reworked to blend in nicely with the Windows look and feel.

There will inevitably be a lot of feedback by those who loved the previous theme (called Qute), and might not like the new theme. Constructive feedback is appreciated, but “I hate it” doesn’t count as constructive feedback.

We realize that the new theme doesn’t blend perfectly with the Gnome / Linux interface, and we do hope to make improvements in that regard. That said, we find that Winstripe does work relatively well in Gnome for the time being. All kinds of good work is going on to make Firefox look and feel better in Gnome. Also, the Winstripe theme was rushed in to make it into the 0.9 release, so you will see improvements and refinements over the coming months.

If you aren’t a fan of the new look, give it time. Wait until the new release and try it out for a few days. See how you feel then. If you still don’t like it, you can always install the previous theme.

People tend to get very attached to the look and feel of an application, especially when it is an open-source application. I get the impression from some of the early reaction that people feel like we went into their living room and painted the walls.

I can understand this reaction, but there are a few things to keep in mind:

  • At the rate that Firefox is growing, there will be thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of people who use the 0.9 even more, the 1.0 releases as their first introduction to Firefox. They won’t have any attachment or familiarity with any previous default themes.
  • We see familiarity as quality. People are used to the previous theme and anything different will take a bit of getting used to. Give it time – reserve judgment until you’ve used it for a week.
  • We’re not trying to create great art here – we’re trying to create a clear, simple, elegant, and unobtrusive set of toolbar icons that are easy to understand and don’t get in the way.

Great work Kevin and Stephen.

 

Why I’m Voting Green (and you should too)

by Steven Garrity

Green Party of Canada logo

Last week, thanks to the efforts of office-mate Peter Rukavina, I had an unfortunately extraordinary opportunity. Each of the four candidates in our riding in the upcoming Canadian federal election was invited to come to our office and spend an hour with us. It was part job-interview, part debate, and part social chatting.

After meeting each of the candidates, I feel more informed about their personalities, but I can’t say my views on any of the parties has significantly changed.

The first canadiate to come in was Will MacFadden from the Green Party of Canada. Of all of the parties, the Green Party platform best represents my views. As I’ve written about before, the Green Party supports, endorses, and uses open source software. In meeting Will MacFadden, I really only wanted to confirm that he wasn’t a lunatic. I can now declare with confidence that he is not a lunatic.

All of the other candidates were quite positive about the Green Party and about Will MacFadden himself. Despite a few mentions of “strategic voting”, which I find a turn-off, I was left with the odd feeling that everyone generally agrees with the Green party platform, but the other parties don’t see it as realistic.

An example of the important, but difficult positions of the Green Party is their proposed gas tax: “Increase fuel taxes by ten cents (to be phased in over three years)”. The other candidates scoffed at this idea because it would obviously be unpopular – especially given the “high” fuel prices in the past month.

However, several of us that met with the candidates agree that an extra ten cents is the least we should pay. Yes, fuel is more expensive now that it has been, but it is still ridiculously cheap given the environmental, social, and political costs that aren’t being reflected in the prices as gas stations.

That the main party candidates thought such a proposed gas tax was laughable (they didn’t say this – but I’m guessing this by the fact that several of them actually laughed) makes me all the more determined to vote in favour of such a platform.

Also, after meeting the candidates, I have found that the term “progressive” has been completely robbed of all meaning.

 

Acts of Volition Radio: Session Ten

by Steven Garrity

Acts of Volition Radio: Session TenBack in February, Matt Haughey kindly referred to me as “a tastemaker for Canadian indie rock”. I blushed, and ever since, I’ve noticed that there has been some pretty heavy Can-Con in my shows. Session ten of Acts of Volition Radio ended up, unintentionally, as another all-Canadian extravaganza.

More Canadian content. Recorded Thursday, May 27, 2004 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 30min.

Session Ten Playlist:

  1. Joel Plaskett Emergency – Work Out Fine
  2. Thrush Hermit – North Dakota
  3. Inbreds – Any Sense of Time
  4. Sam Roberts – The Canadian Dream
  5. The Weekend – Perfect World
  6. Moxy Früvous – The Gulf War Song

For more, see the previous Acts of Volition Radio sessions.

Acts of Volition Radio
Acts of Volition Radio
Acts of Volition Radio: Session Ten
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Gnome Outliner: A Project is Born

by Steven Garrity

Wow. Earlier this week, I posted a draft spec for, Gnome Outliner, a project I hoped to see developed. The response has been remarkable. Only four days later, there is a beggings of implementations in Java, Python, and C. It looks like, as I had hoped, I’m not the only one who would like to have a nice outliner for Gnome.

We have create a project on SourceForge to act as a home for the project. This will provide a bug database, patch tracker, CVS, and mailing list. So, if you are interested, please sign up on the mailing list (gnomeoutliner-devel) and get involved.

Thanks for all the great feedback.