unity-design team mailing list archive

[Omar B. <estelar57@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think we need to do more than just shrinking down unity.

If we are going to enter late game than we cant offer anything less than the competition if we want to make this new platform really *attractive*. And desing wise the "phone unity" needs to become a lot better looking than its *current* desktop counterpart. There is a lot to improve in the next 2 years.

I believe this is another good read (what open source can learn from S. Jobs's mistakes and achievements):

http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/73581.html

Lots we can learn from his mistakes and the mistakes of others.

________________________________
> Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2011 06:20:33 +0100 
> From: joerlend.schinstad@xxxxxxxxx 
> To: ayatana@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> Subject: Re: [Ayatana] What should Unity look like on Smartphones and  
> Tablets? 
>  
> Den 08. nov. 2011 00:24, skrev Omar B.: 
> You can get some ideas here (maemo): 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuYaOxfoJ1g&feature=related 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhTtsZATwBQ 
>  
> The plans (ubuntu on phones): 
> http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTAxMDY 
>  
> The critics (some very good comments): 
> http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/73688.html 
>  
>  
> After you see and read those, we can get an idea of how to make ubuntu  
> on mobile and hybrids a success. If not we lose... 
>  
> Really? I actually disagreed with most of that. But let's handle the  
> mistakes lots of people are making. They think that Unity is a visual  
> design. Unity is first and foremost a set of APIs. Then, there is a  
> visual design implemented by two primary interfaces, and a few others.  
> For instance, as I understand it, both LXDE and Xfce supports  
> indicators. They don't look and feel identical to how they look and  
> feel in Unity, of course. That's the point. You move the task of  
> displaying these things away from the app and onto the shell. The same  
> is true for all parts of Unity, be it the global menus, indicators,  
> notifications, the launcher or lenses. They don't have to _look_ the  
> same way. They have to have the same features. This is perfectly  
> compatible with mobile phones. So, when people say that Unity will fail  
> because you can't have the same interfaces on different devices,  
> they've completely misunderstood the point, which is that if you know  
> how to make an app for the desktop, then you also automatically know  
> how to make an app for a tablet or for a phone. This is not true for  
> any current operating system, unless you count HTML-apps, which is so  
> user hostile, I don't even understand how anyone can consider it a  
> viable option. As an example, on desktops, if you need help with the  
> current application, then you press F1. The web doesn't even have  
> _that_. 
>  
> Then there is the omnipresent notion that "it is too late". Too late?  
> Most people who are alive today, have no experience with computers at  
> all. Of those who do, a great many do not have a strong preference. And  
> loyalty is declining, which is obviously a very good thing for  
> everyone. I've been using web browsers for about twenty years now. Does  
> that mean Google Chrome cannot become a viable option to Internet  
> Explorer and Firefox, who both joined at an early stage? 
>  
> Reality seems to disagree with the people who speculates that it's too  
> late. Another popular claim is that Ubuntu cannot succeed on the phone  
> because Canonical won't get any exclusive partnerships with hardware  
> manufacturers. But I don't agree with the assumption that hardware  
> manufacturers will want these kinds of exclusive partnerships. Why on  
> earth should they refuse to take my money because I prefer Android to  
> Windows Phone, or Ubuntu to Android? Or what if I want to dual boot? I  
> have a Nokia N8. I really love the phone, but the software is so  
> horrible, I can hardly use it. If I could install Android on it, or  
> Ubuntu -- even current Ubuntu with no modifications -- then I would. If  
> Nokia doesn't want to sell me a phone unless use Symbian, then I've  
> bought my last Nokia phone. It's that easy. Hardware manufacturers  
> aren't stupid enough to reject even a few million customers. 
>  
> It is certainly not too late. To learn from that thought, is to admit  
> defeat without even raising the shield -- much less the sword. After  
> all, most computer users haven't even been born yet. Computers is not a  
> fad. Let me quote Churchill: «Now... this is not the end. It is not  
> even the beginning ... of the end. Though, it is perhaps the end of the  
> beginning.» 
>  
> Wow, I didn't intend for this to become so verbose. :) 
>  
> Jo-Erlend Schinstad 
>  
>  
>  
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