Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 13th Apr 2011 22:13 UTC
New open source projects have been launched by KDE developers aimed at bringing a consistent user interface across a varied of touch screen interfaces like tablets and entertainment devices and take data integration to a new level. The new Plasma Active and Contour projects were developed to offer a new user experience for tablets, smartphones and set top boxes.
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Member since:2006-07-23
slow dragging from an invisible area on the right side of the screen
Invisible? Isn't there a handle? I actually think a not-so-intrusive handle is a good design on small form factor touch screens.
confusing multiple ways of representing things (cover-flow/stack view vs. icon group window view thingy
Isn't this kinda norm these days? Look at how many "confusing" ways any reasonable file manager has.
Plus this project is in its infancy. Yet it shows interesting possibilities with the current KDE plasma framework.
Member since:2006-06-12
Most KDE apps use MVC, so it is possible to create new views for most of them without major refactor. The future of Linux is on mobile (Android alone apparently...) so laying some work to be able to survive at some point in the future seem to be a good idea. Its like knowing an asteroid is coming to earth and just waiting until you can see it without a telescope to act. I don't think Plasma will gain that much traction on mobile until there is an Android UI based on it, but still good to know that they think about it right now.
Member since:2005-09-27
Member since:2008-10-30
Member since:2010-03-08
How could the future of Linux be on mobile while there's currently only few open mobile devices to install it on, and mostly through hacks that won't work with the next generation of each handset ?
An android that's not rooted is not much better than iOS as far as openness is concerned. I wouldn't expect major system modifications like the installation of KDE to work without root access...
Member since:2007-05-31
Member since:2005-11-17
I'm being negative, I know, but did they test this thing with real users, or is it just some developer's dream vision?
Just to reassure everybody on this: we have actual user interaction designers doing actual user testing working on the project
so, I expect the UI of this first prototype to be significantly different in the first actual release
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:35 UTC
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/11/13 17:07 UTC
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/10/13 23:13 UTC
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/08/13 14:57 UTC
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/07/13 11:40 UTC
This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/04/13 12:45 UTC
Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
Linked by nfeske on 05/31/13 10:12 UTC
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/29/13 16:59 UTC
At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!More Features »
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Member since:
2005-07-06
I'm being negative, I know, but did they test this thing with real users, or is it just some developer's dream vision? This UI looks finicky, it's got tons of hidden control points (e.g. flicking with a small gesture outside of the primary icon area, slow dragging from an invisible area on the right side of the screen, dragging an arrow-shaped thingy to the left to open groups) and confusing multiple ways of representing things (cover-flow/stack view vs. icon group window view thingy). Very skeptical.... Sorry.