On 09/02/2010 11:42 PM, Mark Shuttleworth wrote:
That said, I think the feedback on the wallpaper is representative of real concerns about it. Otto, the lead visual designer for our desktop work in the Canonical design team, blogged about where he wants to go with it at http://design.canonical.com/2010/09/ubuntu-default-wallpaper/ where he also invites folks who are keen to help pursue the underlying idea. As a result of the feedback (even though some of it was, ahem, undiplomatic ;-)) we'll revamp the wallpaper (and yes, it's a failure on our part to have to do that post-UIF).
I was very happy to read Otto's post and thought this was a very intriguing idea. I would love to see an evolving wallpaper and his description grasped my sense of fancy. I'm afraid the resulting wallpaper did not match my expectations from his description, though, and I'm relieved to hear that it will be revamped.
Although I'm getting used to the wallpaper, first impressions always matter, and Ubuntu is in a very difficult position of being dramatically more elegant than Windows but perhaps not quite as elegant as Mac OS X, which it is now compared to. This means the stakes have never felt higher.
This is also an incredible achievement, and definitely one I would not have predicted from Linux when I adopted Ubuntu 5.04 so many years ago. I'm thrilled that Canonical is boldly moving to improve design and usability. And I recognize the pressure this places upon the design team and am definitely grateful that community feedback continues to inform the finished product. The frequent updates from design.canonical.com have been a real pleasure to read, and I also appreciate the further update on the wallpaper status.
Regards, Nathan -- Nathan Haines Ubuntu California Local Community Team