Default Theme

[Bryan Pizzuti]

Agreed 100%.  If I'm going to show Ubuntu to potential clients as a possible
alternative to Windows (I used to consider Mandrake for this, heft and
all...kudos to Ubuntu for winning me over so quickly), it's got to look
clean and professional.  First impressions are key, and there's certain
things buisnesses just don't like. Or, at least, they don't like others to
see them liking it. ;) Stuffed shirts? Yeah, maybe. But they're the key to
increasing Linux popularity and use.

The default login screen and the replacement "Loading GNOME" dialog
box...well, it looks happy, but not what I would consider "professional."  I
just changed it in my VMWare install, but I think something a little
different would be good for a default.  And as long as we're discussing the
graphical greeter, can you consider one with a user browser for the initial
default?  Origially, that was one of the best features that Linux/KDE/GNOME
had that Windows didn't...now Windows has it, and so Linux is trying to get
rid of it? Come on! :D

It's really a little weird because other than the two items above, Ubuntu is
the cleanest, nicest, most professional-looking default Linux install that
I've laid eyes on. 

-----Original Message-----
From: ubuntu-users-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com
[mailto:ubuntu-users-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com] On Behalf Of Martin Pitt
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 4:03 AM
To: ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
Subject: Re: Default Theme

Hi!

Ben Novack [2004-10-13 13:17 -0400]:
> I've got no objection to it being available as a "Human" theme, but I 
> really don't like it as a *default* that just anyone will run into. I 
> ordered CDs through ShipIt so I could hand them out to folks and say 
> "Check out this great OS," including people who might hopefully want 
> to use it for professional purposes, and I'd rather they not install 
> it and instantly see seminaked people. It creates a bad first 
> impression.

Seconded. If I show this to the boss of the company my father works in (who
asked me to evaluate the possibility of a Linux migration), or any other
folks, they will just LOL and bitch on me.

The problem is not that the pictures itself are too offensive for a western
culture (they are scandalous in Islamic and Jewish countries, but that's
another story), the problem is that the very first impression I (and
possibly many other folks) get is: "Hey, they took Debian, put a few chicks
in the theme and hope that it sells because of this". Western cultures are
so fed up with nudity pictures that every commercial that uses it is
commonly disregarded.

Ubuntu shall become a great distro because it excels in functionality, ease
of installation and usage, and universality. Not because it has the most
nude default pictures. They just do not belong onto a professional Desktop.

Martin

-- 
Martin Pitt                       http://www.piware.de
Ubuntu Developer            http://www.ubuntulinux.org
Debian GNU/Linux Developer       http://www.debian.org