What Really Happened To Ubuntu's Edgy Artwork? 297
angrykeyboarder writes, "Many Ubuntu users expressed surprise, dismay, and disappointment when Mark Shuttleworth (sabdfl) nixed the popular community-developed artwork during the beta phase of Ubuntu 6.10 ('The Edgy Eft'). Some Ubuntu community members were downright shocked, and many were ultimately dissatisfied with the final product. What exactly happened? Short answer: the Art Team was less disturbed than some other community members were. Linux.com has the scoop." Slashdot and Linux.com are both part of OSTG.
Re:My guess? (Score:0, Interesting)
Re:Ending life good, creating life bad. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Sex Bad Violence Good (Score:2, Interesting)
Perhaps my sarcasm detector is malfunctioning, but have you turned on a television or played a popular computer game in the last, oh 50 years?
As an example, today's FPSs look almost identical to some of the training simulators I used in my unit a few years ago minus any of the moral context and maturity of the personnel. Give Lt. Col. David Grossman's "On Killing" a read - it's quite an eye-opener if you haven't thought too deeply about how pervasive entertainment can easily desensitize and incrementally condition unwitting persons.
Re:ok, I'm pissed (Score:2, Interesting)
Ubuntu 6.10 (The Edgy Eft): October 2006
http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/releases [ubuntu.com]
Ever wonder why the icons look nice? (Score:5, Interesting)
http://iconfactory.com/design/detail/ubuntu [iconfactory.com]
By one guy. Working directly with Mark.
My suggestion for the art team would be to establish someone as an art director. Someone that Mark trusts to implement his vision. And then have that art director give specific tasks to the designers that report to him.
It sounds like they're heading in that direction by giving Frank Stroep the title of "Artist in Chief". His task now is to tell people what he wants. And if you think it's easy being a hard ass when it comes to design & the people who do it, let me assure you IT IS NOT.
If this doesn't happen, they'll end up taking the "design by committee" approach. The result of this kind of process is something that no one loves -- a lowest common denominator. Sort of like when software is designed by a committee
For what it's worth, I'm a principal in the company that did the Ubuntu work -- so I speak from experience about this stuff
-ch
Re:Sex Bad Violence Good (Score:5, Interesting)
Violence is obviously wrong, and you can usually rely on that as enough of a disincentive to discourage it. Even if you can't, the availability of bazookas also limits it. Sex, on the other hand isn't obviously wrong like violence, but it can lead to unwanted and unconsidered consequences - pregnancy, disease, etc, as well as increasing the complexity and intensity of a relationship. It has to be discouraged because it's so available - whereas violence of the action-movie sort remains remote; the viewer is rarely going to be in a situation where they could emulate it.
Backgrounds and splash screens (Score:3, Interesting)
O. Wyss
Re:Sex Bad Violence Good (Score:3, Interesting)
When did taking a dump last profoundly change a relationship?
How big is the market for pictures of people eating lunch?
Do you get spam offering mouth enlargements?
How often to people seek psychiatric help over luncheon problems?
Do you think "agile and developed" is a synonym for "adolescent"
Re:is this irrelevant or what (Score:1, Interesting)
It's the one thing they can do that gives them some power over their environment - it stops becoming this faceless machine and becomes _theirs_
Looking round the office, most the IT staff have their Windows desktops on the default theme and default background (though some have reverted to Classic), a quick look around the sales people and customer service reps and there's not a single one with the default settings. Most have just changed the background, but a few have changed themes, and some have even figured out how to mess with the colours and fonts.
It's the same with my 8 year old daughter and her not so technically literate mother - both feel the need to customize their desktop.
The idea that customizing the desktop is something scary that new users would never do is just not something I have ever seen demonstrated in the real world.
Re:Sex Bad Violence Good (Score:3, Interesting)
You know why?
Because they don't have relationships without sex!
Only scared teenagers do, and when the hormons gets the better of them, and they always do, they will have sex, wether their parents want it or not, and if they are not prepared for it they will not be prepared, and then it leads to undesired consequences (teen pregnancy).
Re:Sex Bad Violence Good (Score:3, Interesting)