Dream openSUSE Initiative

Hello there

It has been an interesting journey working with artwork on openSUSE this time. I am happy to report that Marcus Moeller's "Lightray" design received the most votes on our poll and his design will be the default wallpaper on the next openSUSE 12.2. At the same time two of my own designs will also be part of the release Chameleon 2 and Chameleon 3. Also, one of our new artists, Lars Gardmo who contributed a few wallpapers will have one of his designs added to the distribution. I am so happy for the response we received from our members and people who love openSUSE. To all of them thank you.

I am here today to discuss a new initiative from the artwork team. We call it the "Dream openSUSE" initiative. The idea behind it being to collect information from our users as to how they interact with the desktop environments that openSUSE provides. It is not a matter of "I like KDE or Gnome better than others," but rather it is a way for our team to understand how much we tweak and change our desktop environments to meet our needs. You can find the submission page here. Some of us also have a vision of what we would like openSUSE to look or behave like. In those cases you can create a desktop mockup and then turn it in, explaining why you want a particular change on the desktop. If you want to create mockups, a good tool is cacoo.com. They can sign you in with your Google account and you can also export your designs.

For the most part, our friends have posted screenshots of their desktops highlighting the little changes they have made to make their desktops work better for them. There are a couple of good tools that can help you achieve this, ksnapshot and shutter.

Either way, we are calling everyone who want to collaborate in this research proposal to submit mockups or screenshots to show us the way they interact with their graphical interfaces. Show us the changes you make, show us the system settings on KDE or Gnome if necessary, but the more we receive, the more we understand about how we can make openSUSE's graphical environments better for everyone.

In the mean time, enjoy a picture of Camy, my chameleon.

Read more

Two More Wallpapers

I worked on these two wallpapers along with another friend who does photography and Camy. If you want to check out my friend's pictures, feel free to drop in here.

Enjoy my friends :D

Read more

SOPA/PIPA Blackout!

It is time again that this question of cernsorship is revisited by the Internet. It has been a long battle between the MPAA and the Internet and it feels as if this time the Internet has taken the lead as a moving force for change.

I would like to adhere my opinion to that of many about the over-the-limit idea that SOPA and PIPA propose to the American Congress. The Internet is a copy-based environment. Every use of video, images or sounds represent the creation of a new copy for the personal use of an Internet user. However, the problem lies in the usage of such material. MPAA still seems to be in the past where the control over creative material was simple. It was either printed or placed on a physical medium for others to use. MPAA does not understand the world we live in. They simply want to maximize return on investment. They would also like to police people like you and me for having access to copyrighted material. This is wrong and it goes against all ethical views on free speech. The Internet is public domain. If the MPAA does not want to have their copyrighted material be used in different ways, they ought no to use the Internet as a medium of advertisement, see how far that goes before artists, creators, and businesses start plummeting in their profits. We are not China, we do not have a private network controlled, not even by government, but by a for-profit entity. It is the height of an old-fashioned system.

So, as a means of protest, I will add my blog to the blackout of Wednesday 18, 2012.

This is what happens when corporations impose on people's creativity.

Read more

New Green Wallpaper

Here is another green wallpaper I created trying to work with noise and emboss effects and a few others. I will create a zip file with a few additional resolutions. Enjoy friends :D

Thanks!

Link to additional resolutions here!



Read more

Yast Graphical Installation GUI Revision

There are some graphical inconsistencies in the Yast installation program as written by
openSUSE programmers. Currently, these inconsistencies are easy to work out if one
only limits himself to work with the graphical user interface.
This report intends to show some of these graphical user interface inconsistencies as
well as to show some possible improvements. Additionally, the report will attempt to
show other GUI options to what Yast currently does with it’s installation method.
There are a few ways that an openSUSE installation is accomplished. They all
eventually rely on the use of Graphical Yast to be installed. For this particular analysis
the report will use a downloaded ISO image of openSUSE 12.1 with a typical KDE as
the window manager.

Please bear in mind that this is a critical GUI analysis of Yast. The contents of this article may only be treated that way and in no wise as an attack to the wonderful contributors who have created the powerful tool Yast.

The first step is to locate the “Install” icon on the desktop of the live CD image. The icon is descriptive of its function. To copy the contents of the CD into the computer as represented by the back screen. However, there could be a different conception of its function because of the differences in screen design by the icon just next of the Install icon. It reads “My Computer” and the screen is radically different from the one with the installation icon.
There is an inconsistency with screen design. There should be a decision taken to determine which screen design will be the default for our icons on the shipped distribution.

Next in this process is a packed set of options that deal with language and a license
agreement for the product. Additionally, this next screen shows a selection of
translations in different languages in case a user would like to read the license in a
different language, other than the default. Areas of improvement on this screen
would be the separation of this license screen from the language choices. The
openSUSE license agreement and the language settings are important enough that it
could be daunting trying to work out these two on the same screen. Another idea
would be to have a keyboard layout tester module added to the keyboard screen.
That way, users can determine if the keyboard layout of choice actually corresponds
to their keyboard and the layout that they expect. It is also noticeable that while the
fields of the top where layout and keyboard are selected have icons preceding them.
A trend that is not uniform throughout the installation screens. The majority of
drop-down menus do not have icons preceding them. There needs to be a decision
as to keep or delete these icons.

Next is the selection of time and date. It seems appropriate to have the clock and the
zone time settings on the same screen. There could be changes made to the map and
the way the mouse pointer actually locates the cities to which the time zone is
selected. There are currently very small dots that represent the city for a particular
time zone. The map can be made different by simply selecting a better contrasted
map image with only time zones for selection rather than a myriad of small dots. There
is also a discrepancy about the clock settings. While the tittle of the page reads “Clock
and Time Zone” the organization of the screen is rather “Time Zone and Clock” since
the map image, the region selection, and the time zone selection occupy the whole
screen, leaving the “Clock” settings at the very bottom right with a button that only
says “Change” for a hint as to what to do with the clock itself.

 If the "Change" button is clicked. This next screen appears. There is ample spaces
where the clock can be changed to set the appropriate time and additionally, the user
has the ability to synchronize the time with a web server.
There are a couple of settings here that may seem daunting to new users. The prior
naming of "UTC" and in the clock screen "NTP" server have no hints as to what they
entail. Synchronizing with an NTP server may be simple but the settings shown here
do not recognize that learning curve. They simply show the user all of the possibilities
for configuring the time from a web server. I would suggest placing these settings
under an "Advanced" button. Then change the NTP tag line to something more
welcoming, such as "Synchronize your time with a web server." Then choose yes or no.
Further configuration can be done once the system is installed. Also recognize the
time format depending on the area one has chosen.

 The following screen requests users to choose their favorite partition method. Again,
there are lines and phrases that may seem hard to understand for most adopters but
there is yet to exist a simple method of explaining partitioning to people. By default
openSUSE will create 3 partitions, one for root, one for home, and one for swap (if
necessary). This means that the user will have to determine how to work out these
partitions from that perspective, yet there are no indications about this process on
this screen.
The top screen shows a summary of the default settings that will be used for the
partitions that openSUSE requires. The second part asks users to choose a "Proposal
Setting" that will enable an LVM-based proposal, Separate Home Partition, or use the
new BTRFS as a default file system. All of which that belong to an "Advanced Setting"
rather than a default. Other "Advanced Settings" are the ones represented by the
buttons below. Users can "Create a Partition Setup," "Import Partition Setup," or "Edit
Partition Setup." All of which may be redundant since the screen that will appear for
the three options is the same partition table for experts that will be shown next.
Maybe the most prevalent button here is the "Edit Partition Table" since the changes
of any kind to the disk will be an edit of it.

 On this screen is probably the best opportunity to make a difference with the
"Advanced Settings" button and a good read as part of the help. There are many
options here that the majority of users will not ever touch, yet they are very present
on this screen giving, probably, too many options to choose from. Work could be done
in developing an interface that has well-set defaults and buttons that can choose
them. Additionally, the disks names and tags can be made more descriptive. /dev?sda,
RAID, Volume Management, etc. Seem to belong to a different kind of installation.
Maybe an early suggestion of "Server" and "Desktop" installation could do the trick.
Users installing a "Server" openSUSE would understand the most of these advanced
options. Whereas, "Desktop" users might just need configuring simple partitions
without the rest of these options.
Suggestions: Create early option of Installing as "Server," "Desktop," "Novice," or
"Advanced" user.

 The "Create New User" screen is simple and direct. It has options that determine how
a user will login to his newly installed openSUSE. Only a couple of things here can be
done to improve directness. Use and "Advanced Settings" button in order to move the
summary to an advanced setting. Also, the different underlining of the buttons
throughout the installation are to be key presses. They add visual clutter to the
reading of the text. Making these optional at the beginning of the installation is an
option, or simply doing away with it is a recommendable default setting.

 One the "Change" button is clicked on the summary this screen appears. The title
changed to "Expert Settings" and the authentication methods and the encryption
method is also shown here.
Suggestion: Revise all of the "Change" buttons throughout the installation and use
more descriptive names. Also, correlate screen names to a standard making "Expert
Settings," "Advanced Settings," etc all be the same.

 The installation process then asks for yor confirmation to your current password.
Hinting at the possibility that your current password is unsecured. It only says that you
have "lowercase letters" for the password but it does not suggest appropriate
changes to it.
Suggestions: Make suggestions for passwords. Also add a password generator button
for easy password creation.

 This screen shows a summary of the different settings that the user has chosen for his/
her system. Again the disply resembles a note taking organization with green links as
their headers. This summary deviates from the look of other summaries that present
the text and colors of the screen and use a "Change" button in order to modify the
settings. Likely this makes users pay more attention to the screen but it also deviates
from the work flow which could be hard to understand for new users. Again, a
mismatch in design preferences and guidelines.

 A last confirmation screen asks the user to confirm his settings and "Install" the
system. The tittle "Confirm Installation" is highlighted in light blue giving it more
importance to the message that follows. The color is again different than most of the
highlight colors in the installation process. While green seems to be the color of
choice, this confirmation uses light blue.

 The installation screen shows two progress bars for the installation of the system. The
top one is for one-by-one installation and the bottom one shows the overall
installation progress. Moreover, the top section of this screen shows the output of
each of the processes of the installation. Likely this is something that only some will
find of interest whereas the majority will only worry about the bottom progress bar
showing the overall installation progress.
Suggestion: Make actions performed and top progress bar an "Advanced View Mode"
for experts. Eliminate visual clutter.

 Once the installation process is over this screen will ask users to reboot the system
without the Live CD. A question that I have asked myself about this screen is why do
we need an "Abort" button. The installation process is now over, the files have actually
been written on the disk and there is no real turning back, unless the user actually
wants to reinstall the system. Maybe this option could be removed since it may give
the impression that you can actually revert all of the changes made. If a user installs
the system and they replaced a different OS with openSUSE, clicking "Abort" will not
bring back the former OS.

 Once back from the reboot, this screen appears to configure what is left from the
installation process. It will also ready for the first window manager launch.

Please post your suggestions in the comments section.

Read more

openSUSE 12.2 Wallpaper - Linux For Open Minds

Here is another wallpaper that I just finished working on. I hope you like it.

Read more

The Ultimate Pet

You may think that I am the nerdiest person on the earth but I am very happy to introduce to you my newest pet: a Chameleon. Yes, I was inspired to have this pet because of openSUSE and I am sure that the chameleon will do for a lot of good artwork to come. Say hi!

I do not have a name for my new pet yet, please send me some suggestions.

Additionally, we just launched out openSUSE 12.2 Wallpaper submission. Please be sure to show us your artwork and put it on the race to be the next openSUSE default wallpaper. Simply go to

en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Wallpapers

and sumbit your artwork :D

Thanks

Read more

New Lotus Flower Wallpapers

With the help of Youtube I put together these lotus flowers, then I put white paper over my dinner table and waited for the right light of the day. After that I tried a lot of different arrangements until I got to this. I tweaked the colors and all with GIMP and added a couple of cool typography fonts to make it better. I like it. I added extra blur so that it feels distant making the desktop feel fresh and open. Check it out. What do you think?

Read more

Swirl Wallpaper Dark Version

Here is an idea for a dark version of the posting I made yesterday.

Enjoy

Read more

Another Wallpaper Idea

Hey my friends. Great to see you all around using openSUSE 12.1 :) I was just thinking out loud this evening and created a wallpaper, rather designed a concept wallpaper, that I would like to share with all of you. Sorry for the delay in the posts. I have been soooo busy. The artwork team for openSUSE is working great. So, they're keeping me busy.

 

Enjoy!

Read more

Brainshare!

This week I will be blogging from Brainshare 2011. I am part of the "Meet the Geeks" booth, so if you're around, come say hi. The idea behind all this is to make sure that the attendees are able to get a closer look at what the community is doing and how that helps. There is a lot of people here as well as a lot of food. Gotta say that I have to put on some pounds.
I think this is also a very good time to show a little of what I do, and with so much time in my hands, I should dedicate myself to do some reviewing and prototyping. M

Read more

Additional Wallpapers

Here are two more versions that I created upon request. I created the light versions for openSUSE.

Read more

I created a dark version for my wallpaper. I also corrected some of the edge problems that I was seeing. I also changed the openSUSE title to the right font. However, I think it should be a little different, maybe the title should be inset or something of the sort. Comments please.

Read more

Just a little wallpaper that I have been doing recently. Work in progress. You be the judge :D

Read more

Who Am I and What I Do

Hey readers.

It has come to my attention recently, posts the seem to bring up a rebuttal of the things that I blog about. The openSUSE Revolution blog is mostly about brainstorming design concepts that can make the openSUSE/KDE desktop work in ways that have not been thought of before. Through this effort, I generally intend to create debate and outside-the-box thinking so that eventually, these ideas come to fruition in one way or another. I have also stated clearly through this blog that I am not a programmer, therefore I know little about the ideas that circle the minds of those who make openSUSE or KDE a reality. I generally rely on their intellect to solve simple design problems on their software.

I hope always that my comments are not take offensively or personally. My intention in blogging about problems that I find with the design of an application or widget, generally come from the world of the unknown. I am a newcomer when it comes to technology therefore, my comments and experiences with the openSUSE or KDE software come from the world of an average user exposed to these technologies. Annoyances and problems that I face might also be problems and annoyances that people who are trying to give Linux a shot experience as well. Moreover, this could be a learning experience for those who code on these pieces of software. To become too personal about your coding for an application that will become widely distributed is not feasible.

It is part of the creation process to think of who is the intended audience that will receive your software. If you think that you should not write something too simple for the idiots like me out there, then think again, because we are many. Simply explained, there needs to be a balance between what we want to do with our personal time and programming as well as who will end up with our software. That is also why openSUSE has an excellent team of artwork creators and brainstormers.

Please, I beg from you readers, take my posts in the light of my understanding. Meaning, that they come from someone who understands little about technology. Once you read the post, please do not simply think "Well, he just doesn't understand how it works" but rather "What can I do to improve my software design so that even Anditosan gets it." Much better right?

Thank you for staying faithful to the blog, plus I am currently working on a concept for a social widget, so stay tuned.

Read more

Custom Setups for Revolutionized Desktop

Ok my friends. Here is the thing: An idea came up recently in the artwork mailing list to make openSUSE a little different than other times in the graphical aspect. The idea would be to add different default plasma widgets, as well as to make subtle changes to the panels. A friend also suggested that it would be cool to create a more socially integrated widget. I thought of one that was included in the Kickoff menu. Added to one of the tabs in there, there could exist a simple update tracker for different social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Google Blogs. Whatever the service that may be, it doesn't matter. The main idea is to add something social to the default desktop in KDE under the new release of openSUSE.

As I was brainstorming on this, I tried to create at least 4 different setups. I went then, to Cacoo to create some simple mockups and ended up with one that I am trying to get a feel for from you. Down below would be a simple menu setup and default widgets for the openSUSE KDE desktop. Take a look:

1, Minimal, Folder View, RSS (Small), Desktop Switching
2, Minimal 2, Folder View, Weather, Desktop Switching
3, Featured, RSS, Folder View, Top Panel, Weather, Desktop Switching
4, Fully Featured, Facebook, twitter, Folder View (minimal) Weather, Desktop Switching, Dock

As I worked on Cacoo for the mockup, I realized that it can be shared with other people who can also edit the mockup. I am now inviting you to tweak (or create a new one) the panel I came up with. My main idea behind this is to create something powerful yet simple enough that can make sure that you focus on your applications. You can edit this mockup as much as you want, but please keep the original as a guide.

Here is the link to make edits:

https://cacoo.com/diagrams/Qwmnz9CqLnrTya2r

Read more

To All

Some may wander what I have been up to these days. I am eager to let you know of a few ideas that I have come up with that can enhance the openSUSE experience, at least, from a design point of view. However, I have a new job and my time to post things on this blog has lessened. This lack of time will only last until the fall though :D

Please, be patient for the next series of articles. I will mostly be discussing Yast and its design enhancements. Yast is single-handedly, the most important and characteristic element in openSUSE. I love it.

Nevertheless, Yast has fallen behind on design. The program is powerful and versatile. But there could be some improvements made in organization and space-use customization.

Stay tuned my friends. In the mean time, I am always happy to hear from you, so please write me to

anditosan1000@gmail.com

Maybe you have created more awesome ideas that deserve a spotlight or growth, so please write me :D

Read more

How do we make a stand? Revolution

This post is not intended to represent complete ideas or possible solutions. It is rather a post relating to the thoughts that I have had concerning the upcoming changes in Gnome 3, Ubuntu Unity and KDE 4.6.

Drawing away from the technicalities of these programs, it would seem useful to identify openSUSE's stand in this wide variety of environments. I was happily surprised that Gnome 3 was released, even before a fomer release date. But this has not come without controversy. The fact that Ubuntu is not including Gnome 3 by default with it's newest release has made some take the fork in the road and add support for it. Other Gnome 3 enthusiasts might feel lonely now that Ubuntu decided to go with the Unity interface. Then we find KDE still going strong with updates and new features for version 4. However, it may seem rather obvious that computer graphical environments are taking a turn. They are becoming different, new, and updated. Ideas about the desktop that we have had for a couple of decades are now changing, greatly propelled by the appearances of touch devices.

Touch devices have a flair to them that one cannot dismiss. The interfaces used for them tend to be very simple, app based, internet connected, and are beautifully animated. The part that I like the most about these interfaces is simplicity. They understand that their device will be in the hand of a wide variety of human beings. All of them with different understanding of the computing world. Therefore, they try to make the learning curve for these devices a smooth as they can. Obviously, this does not benefit everyone, as there are people who would prefer having maximum control from their interaction with the device. For that, I have seen many of these devices be patched in a way, that they allow advanced interaction with the device. In a way, the touch-enabled device has a default (simple) and an advanced (patched) mode.

These devices are becoming part of our lives, they are highly mobile, durable and connected with the user's life through the internet. However, these devices are coming at odds with traditional desktop computers and their operating systems. Even Apple recognized the power of a touch based interface and some of the ideas they produced for their phones and tablets have now been transported into their latest OSX version, Lion. Then also, open source projects such as Gnome and KDE saw the expansion that they were able to achieve through touch enabled devices and lower end netbooks. For that KDE created the netbook interface which looks beautiful. Gnome was the only one lagging behind a little and pushed for a different interface that resembles much of what is seen today in touch enabled devices. The same goes for Unity from Ubuntu.

All of them are trying to target a market where instinct is the primary teacher of the interface and not technical knowledge. Why? I believe it is because we are recognizing that open source products are becoming ever more accessible to the average user, we recognize that not everyone is at a developer level of computer understanding, and that there are infinite possibilities for even further expansion as all sorts of people use this software.

This is where openSUSE has a window to be different. Can openSUSE be, in a way, like Ubuntu in designing a whole new interface for it's desktop computer? Are we at the level that recognizes the reach a Linux distribution can have with a wide audience? Ubuntu decided to step up to the challenge of placing their product in the hands of the masses, for that they decided to change their UI to meet the standards of the mass. They use part of the Gnome libraries and yet they have decided to be and look different. They are trying to brand themselves through their OS image. My question would be, can openSUSE be this way? openSUSE needs to be part of our everyday life, it s a quality product with a bright future but a blurry face. Why? because we accept defaults from KDE and Gnome, and there could be hundreds of Linux distributions that look like us. Where are we? are we branding ourselves in a way that we stand out and reach out to more and more people?

I would agree that to these thoughts there is no definitive answer. Neither from my end, as I review the graphical properties of openSUSE, or the developer end. If you feel enticed to leave further comments about this thoughts, please feel free to do so.

Thanks gang

Read more

YAST Revolution - Concepts for a simple version of Yast

In these series of revisions on Yast, I have decided to start first with the semantics of Yast. One thing that sticks out to me is how little there is about what Yast tells users its elements do. I am not saying this is wrong. Users who know and understand how to configure advanced elements in openSUSE will find Yast quite simple and full-featured.

Categories in Yast

Currently look like

Descriptions in Yast have little space to be placed and Yast focuses on its power and configuration skills. For example, when taking a look into the current modules of Yast, I found that descriptions only appear in the general sections under the icon and name of such module. Also, only some modules include a description on the left-hand side about what the module does.

Pics

Then, if I want to create a novice-friendly configuration tool from Yast. The best would be to decide what features are easier for a new user to figure out and which ones can be reserved for an "Advanced Mode."

Read more

Settings for the Novice: Yast Revolutionized

Read more