unity-design team mailing list archive

[Omar B. <estelar57@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

A toolkit and a theming problem/inconsistency are 2 different things.

Ubuntu is trying to follow the "just works" model, so must use the best available if possible. So i believe that is more important now, but better looks is not off the radar.



I agree there are theming inconsistencies in ubuntu. The biggest offender right now for me is LO.



But some apps, like Firefox for example will be looking a whole lot better and more consistent between OSs in upcoming versions.



http://www.webupd8.org/2012/02/firefox-to-get-new-default-theme-other.html

am all in favor of improving how the toolkits (and apps) integrate better.


Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:40:27 -0500
From: shrouded.cloud@xxxxxxxxx
To: unity-design@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Unity-design] Ubuntu, Toolkits, Precision, and the Future

I was greeted by a small surprise today in updating my Precise machines: a new version of Ubuntu One controls that is made using Qt. All well enough, as it can make it much easier to share code with the Windows version of the app... But there are still some consequences.

First of all, this brings the number of default toolkits up to five. We have Nux (for Unity), VCL (for LibreOffice), XUL (For Firefox and Thunderbird), Qt (for the new control panel), and GTK+ for all else. And no two of them look quite the same. What's worse is that, if we sync back up with GNOME in 12.10, we'll have six toolkits technically because of Clutter.*

Now, this goes against what I thought Precise is to be about, but that's personal.
The real issue is our outward appearance. Does it look good to users when they open a Qt app and it's JUST off enough visually for them to notice? 

Not only do we face the issue of visual inconsistency, but also in a bit of a bind with future aims. We want developers to create and they still don't know what they should use to make things based on what's available. Is all of it good? None? I know we don't exactly have a plethora of quality applications in a single toolkit, but for an LTS, was it really wise to expand the toolkit count further?

We're doing what I accused Linux Mint of doing in my OMGU article: we keep pulling in a bunch of apps because they are good without looking at the whole picture. We need a consistent platform not a station from which we have tracks going off into several very different areas. 

I would have us look into, by the time 14.04 rolls out, having defined an HIG for Ubuntu, a default toolkit and a STRONG push to have default applications only in that toolkit. (In some cases, it's excusable... I don't expect a native browser to pop up out of nowhere and be able to challenge Firefox-- which at least sort of tries to look native) Precise is pixel-perfect? Then let's make sure "T" celebrates the True Toolkit.


*I'm not counting Ubuntu for Android which, I believe brings in another 1-2 toolkits.

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