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    comment on push to "understated / dignified" software GUI controls

    This is kind of hard to "explain" and it is not intended as a "criticism" so the devs of Kubuntu and KDE and upstream in general should take it how it's intended.

    The whole GUI of the old Windblows, ME, 98 etc, was "KLUDZY". I said it then and say it now. But the REASON for it was that there were not that many pixels on the early monitors.

    XP was a ramp up in terms of pixel density and "fineness" of the controls, such as buttons with the beginnings of shading and sliders. etc.

    With the advent of the high resolution flat screens things have take a quantum leap forward in terms of "nuance" of things like the "3-D" look of the GUI on most software and also....... for the sake of "being understated" and "dignified" there was an explosion of making things SMALLER.....

    With the new "metro" look there is also a "seeming" push for being UNDERSTATED in terms of muted colors etc.

    I've noticed posts about folks not being able to see "text" in a button. Now this is not really a new thing, it is often a situation of the rendering algorithms etc. It has been posted about years ago in certain pieces of software.

    But, the real point here is that things have become SO understated that a presently normal system can, at times be unworkable.

    Cases in point.

    a) some software has not "caught up" to the latest metro rendering and uses "white" lettering of a particular shade which makes it virtually impossible to read the text on a button or menu. Fortunately they include a nice symbol and when one gets to THEIR particular plan of what the symbols mean then things go reasonably well.

    b) but the whole thing about the "width" of the sliders has just become almost unworkable.

    Examples:

    ii) Blackboard in it's latest iteration has bottom and right side sliders which are SO thing that the college is being forced to purchase new monitors and new machines JUST to accomodate the sliders. I have problems myself with a very nice RADEON card that is just two years old on my home machine.

    ii) LibreOffice's slider between the right panel and the body of the page, again, is SO thin that I quite often toss the right panel out trying to slide the slider.

    iii) same right here at the forum, for the slider. NOW the REST of the forum is just fine, but the slider is "squeency" to say the least.

    So......what is the upshot of all this....I do NOT know..........nobody is going to go back to the "old days"....

    And, yes there are different themes which can be used in many cases to get an acceptable look.

    But, I have a GNOME machine running Lubuntu, my music player for the widescreen t.v. and they have not yet gone the route of really "dignified and understated". I mean I'm not going to GNOME but I wonder

    how many folks go to a particular distro merely because of being able to SEE the text, use the sliders, etc.

    Just a musing of little worth.

    woodsmoke
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    Love Thy Neighbor Baby!
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