5 ms·

There have been various efforts over the years to improve the user experience for "desktop" linux users. I was deeply involved in one at Eazel over twenty years

There have been various efforts over the years to improve the user experience for "desktop" linux users. I was deeply involved in one at Eazel over twenty years ago. Before I make suggestions, I would like to turn the question back to you and get some more information. What do you think defines good user experience? Are there any existing distributions or environments that come close to what •you* think represents good user experience? Do you want to contribute financial resources, marketing resources, development resources or ...? I would try to think outside of the GNOME/KDE boxes if you can, but it is perfectly acceptable to think either of those are good representatives. Are there any existing solution out there that you think come close or any blue sky projects that really excite you? Rather than just say "You should support Project X", I would like to know more about your thoughts and opinions.

Engineering-MD 5y ago
All good questions. Good user experience is subjective and hard to define what is “good”. Reading the book “Design of everyday things” helped me think about what are good designs. In good designs, function dictates form- they are designed around how it is to be used. I think desktop environments do think about user experience, and try to have a cohesive experience. Bad experience is easier to identify. Many programs, even major ones such as GIMP, libreoffice, or thunderbird don’t (in my opinion) prioritise user experience over features. As for blue sky thinking, while there are some interesting projects, I think linux just needs some consistency and a good baseline of UX to allow non technical consumers to easily use it. In many regards Apple gets this right on macOS (although maybe less so with recent changes, and with reduced options for power users), and many third party apps for Mac think carefully about their design. For the record, some unusual UX I like include concepts app (iOS), scrivener, iA writer, ‘bum too’ desktop environment, and pathways.nice.org.uk (niche) I would like to financially donate as I lack time and necessary level of skill to directly help with projects.
- diskzero 5y ago
  An option, and this requires a bit of research, is identify a project that seems to have forward momentum. You can donate to the foundation that supports it. I find that approach to be a bit too anonymous for me. What I prefer to do is find a project/app/library that I think could use help and is active. I then look at their source code repo and identify the most active developers. I then can choose to support them using Github/Patreon/crumbled envelopes filled with tattered $100 bills/whatever. That way I have a personal connection.

Engineering-MD 5y ago

All good questions. Good user experience is subjective and hard to define what is “good”. Reading the book “Design of everyday things” helped me think about what are good designs. In good designs, function dictates form- they are designed around how it is to be used. I think desktop environments do think about user experience, and try to have a cohesive experience. Bad experience is easier to identify. Many programs, even major ones such as GIMP, libreoffice, or thunderbird don’t (in my opinion) prioritise user experience over features. As for blue sky thinking, while there are some interesting projects, I think linux just needs some consistency and a good baseline of UX to allow non technical consumers to easily use it. In many regards Apple gets this right on macOS (although maybe less so with recent changes, and with reduced options for power users), and many third party apps for Mac think carefully about their design. For the record, some unusual UX I like include concepts app (iOS), scrivener, iA writer, ‘bum too’ desktop environment, and pathways.nice.org.uk (niche) I would like to financially donate as I lack time and necessary level of skill to directly help with projects.

diskzero 5y ago
An option, and this requires a bit of research, is identify a project that seems to have forward momentum. You can donate to the foundation that supports it. I find that approach to be a bit too anonymous for me. What I prefer to do is find a project/app/library that I think could use help and is active. I then look at their source code repo and identify the most active developers. I then can choose to support them using Github/Patreon/crumbled envelopes filled with tattered $100 bills/whatever. That way I have a personal connection.