Subject: Re: Klunky X
From: Nathan A. McQuillen (nmlists@steaky.dhs.org)
Date: Sat Jun 17 2000 - 21:26:05 MDT
On Fri, 16 Jun 2000, Jim Cole wrote:
> Scott Piccotti's bits of Fri, 16 Jun 2000 translated to:
>
> >
> >> Anyone else have an ugly desktop or is it just me?
> ><rant>
> I think your rant is a bit unfair. To imply that the Linux community
> does not care about the graphical interface is just wrong. Other than
> the kernel and improved installation, I cannot think of any single
> aspect of a typical Linux distro that has received more attention over
> the last couple years. The graphical interface is the key to growth in
> the desktop arena. People know this. People are working very hard to
> address this issue. And in my opinion, they are doing a good job.
>
> I guess I can't understand your implication that your Linux desktops are,
> for all practical purposes, unusable. I find the setup I use to be quite
> adequate for my needs. Fast, flexible, convenient. Not so much in the
> way of eye candy, but that isn't something I have any need for. I would
> have to guess that you either have some configuration problems or we
> simply have radically different biases ;) Personally I think the MacOS
> interface perfectly defines the notion of tedious. Maybe OS X/Aqua will
> live up to the hype, someday, when it is actually released. I am looking
> forward to finding out.
I've got some reservations about the Aqua interface, but I find working
under most non-Mac GUIs feels like driving with the windshield frosted
over, and only a tiny spot to see through. I've been /very/ impressed with
the recent X environments I've used, though, and I think they're
approaching the functionality of the Mac for non-graphics tasks.
For graphics, though, I must concur with Scott. Only the Mac and NeXT
seemed to have the reliable and responsive GUI elements that us Mac folks
expect; when a window is drawn in chunks, or fails to redraw properly when
it's scaled, or when a font is poorly kerned or erratically leaded, it
tends to make those of us used to the reliability of the Toolbox pretty
uncomfortable.
X is clearly still a front end, and its graphics functions, as we all
know, aren't prioritized in the same way as the MacOS's. For all that,
I've become used to its rather garish typefaces and quirky renderings, and
if Apple is incorporating elements of official Display Postscript into
Aqua, I don't imagine we'll see those sorts of problems.
- N
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