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Forgive me if this comes across as snarky, but when "beautiful" is the very first word used to sell me a piece of software, it would help if it were actually be

Forgive me if this comes across as snarky, but when "beautiful" is the very first word used to sell me a piece of software, it would help if it were actually beautiful to look at. I'm sure it's well-built, but Geary looks like every run-of-the-mill mail client I've ever seen.

sergiotapia 14y ago
Remember that this is Linux, where 29 out of 30 applications look like ass. And what's worse - the Linux guys strut it as a badge of pride! Riddle me that! --- Edit: I'm not claiming that they're struting _this_ particular app as a badge of honor. I meant struting _bad designs_ as a desirable outcome, placing "functionality" over "design". Example: Gimp. Works fine, looks terrible.
- adestefan 14y ago
  Because sometimes I just want to get shit done and don't care what it looks like.
  - sergiotapia 14y ago
    Function and design don't have to be mutually exclusive, you know? I have to wonder, if someone were to fire off a pull request with GUI improvements for aesthetics and UX, would the maintainers approve it, or refuse it? Is there a precedence for this?
    - adestefan 14y ago
      Yes, but sometimes I really just want to get shit done. Right now I'm sitting here as Calibre converts a epub file to mobi and is going to automatically send it off to my Kindle. Calibre is really, really ugly and the work flow is terrible. But I don't care because it does what I want, can suck in a ton of different formats, and in the end I have a document sitting on my Kindle that I can read.
    - zalew 14y ago
      > I have to wonder, if someone were to fire off a pull request with GUI improvements for aesthetics and UX, would the maintainers approve it, or refuse it? This model may work for one evening js libs, not serious opensource projects with a large userbase. You just don't fire off a pull request that turns the project upside down because you feel like it without any consulting, expecting it to be accepted right away because it's nice (even if it is). So the most probable scenario would be to reject it and invite you to engage in working on the project before you propose drastic improvements.
    - unwind 14y ago
      Assuming you're talking about the GIMP when you ask about precendence, at least there is a user interface designer since a couple of years (peter sikking, GIMP UI blog at http://blog.mmiworks.net/search/label/GIMP http://blog.mmiworks.net/search/label/GIMP). Most folks who drop by the GIMP developer mailing list with UI suggestions are not providing very high-quality feedback, is my understanding. Of course, the GIMP is a large project, and it's hard for "outsiders" to know where things are headed and how to fix things. Most open source projects don't have the luxury of having a person dedicated to UI design, which of course can be problematic for modern "UI-intense" applications.
DanRabbit 14y ago
Unfortunately, that's 90% how craptastic Ubuntu's GTK theme is. I wish they would have shown off Geary with a better theme and icons.
shadowrunner 14y ago
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I think it looks pretty good for Linux especially. Besides, I'd rather support these guys than tear them down. It's not like they're selling knives designed to kill people.

sergiotapia 14y ago

Remember that this is Linux, where 29 out of 30 applications look like ass. And what's worse - the Linux guys strut it as a badge of pride! Riddle me that! --- Edit: I'm not claiming that they're struting _this_ particular app as a badge of honor. I meant struting _bad designs_ as a desirable outcome, placing "functionality" over "design". Example: Gimp. Works fine, looks terrible.

adestefan 14y ago
Because sometimes I just want to get shit done and don't care what it looks like.
- sergiotapia 14y ago
  Function and design don't have to be mutually exclusive, you know? I have to wonder, if someone were to fire off a pull request with GUI improvements for aesthetics and UX, would the maintainers approve it, or refuse it? Is there a precedence for this?
  - adestefan 14y ago
    Yes, but sometimes I really just want to get shit done. Right now I'm sitting here as Calibre converts a epub file to mobi and is going to automatically send it off to my Kindle. Calibre is really, really ugly and the work flow is terrible. But I don't care because it does what I want, can suck in a ton of different formats, and in the end I have a document sitting on my Kindle that I can read.
  - zalew 14y ago
    > I have to wonder, if someone were to fire off a pull request with GUI improvements for aesthetics and UX, would the maintainers approve it, or refuse it? This model may work for one evening js libs, not serious opensource projects with a large userbase. You just don't fire off a pull request that turns the project upside down because you feel like it without any consulting, expecting it to be accepted right away because it's nice (even if it is). So the most probable scenario would be to reject it and invite you to engage in working on the project before you propose drastic improvements.
  - unwind 14y ago
    Assuming you're talking about the GIMP when you ask about precendence, at least there is a user interface designer since a couple of years (peter sikking, GIMP UI blog at http://blog.mmiworks.net/search/label/GIMP http://blog.mmiworks.net/search/label/GIMP). Most folks who drop by the GIMP developer mailing list with UI suggestions are not providing very high-quality feedback, is my understanding. Of course, the GIMP is a large project, and it's hard for "outsiders" to know where things are headed and how to fix things. Most open source projects don't have the luxury of having a person dedicated to UI design, which of course can be problematic for modern "UI-intense" applications.

DanRabbit 14y ago

Unfortunately, that's 90% how craptastic Ubuntu's GTK theme is. I wish they would have shown off Geary with a better theme and icons.

shadowrunner 14y ago

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I think it looks pretty good for Linux especially. Besides, I'd rather support these guys than tear them down. It's not like they're selling knives designed to kill people.