Trent’s Blog

Over at arstechnica there is a glimpse at the new Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex. A few screenshots show that Ubuntu is still going dark. The direction they are headed is not very clear. Even by scanning other user’s comments it appears its not a very popular idea, and I agree 100%! Here are 5 reasons a dark theme will only hurt Ubuntu:

1. If they’re trying to prove a point that dark themes are pretty, I think they’re just going to satisfy the ones who already love dark themes,.. in which case those users probably have a custom theme they enjoy already. They’re not going to get the votes of mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa, who until they satisfy, Linux in general will always be an underachiever.
2. The darker theme, no matter how great the graphics, will only be eye-popping on higher end machines, thus going back to number one, only satisfying those true computer nerds who they’ve already captured their vote.
3. Its a proven fact that dark colors are more depressing. Although it may be easier on the eyes, after a while people want to see vibrant colors.
4. Dark colors are not suitable for the work environment. Businesses and schools will be hesitant to adopt such dark themes, partly because it appears “Unbusiness like” and also back to number 3, depressing workers.
5. It hurts the visual integrity of applications and websites running within it. Applications need colors that make them stand out, not so dark and smooth that they all blend in.

I think other approaches should be taken first to improve desktop appeal before the theme, take a look at OSX for instance, they’ve done really well with they’re organization of the desktop, and more linux distributions are starting to reflect what they’ve done because it works so well.

Its understandable that brownish/orange is Ubuntu’s color, but there’s no need to be obsessive with it, for god’s sake make it vibrant and beautiful!

Well i’m thinking once again on Impromptu. My new thoughts are having multiple “states”. This would be completely optional and would not change the way you can use Impromptu in its simplest form. The idea behind States is after submitting the prompt, without closing it may morph into another “State” (different content and buttons ideally using pretty effects). That being said there are a few ways I could go about doing this. I could allow a string or a array/hash for my content argument:


//simple one state
$.prompt('hello world');

//complex multi state
$.prompt(['hello 1', 'hello 2', 'hello 3']);


While this seams nice we still may have different buttons for each state, and this isn’t very flexible as far as that goes. Another option may be to have another function to add extra states, sort of queuing up the prompts..


$.prompt('my state');
$.addPromptState('my state 2',options1);
$.addPromptState('my state 3',options2);

//or pass a hash to name our states
$.addPromptStates({
state1: {...},
state2: {...},
state3: {...}
});


So again I’m just throwing it out there to see if I get any bites. This isn’t set in stone but I think it could be a nice feature to ad some application like effects and feeling to Impromptu. Any one have any thoughts or suggestions?

For those of you not aware of what aedCFC is, it is a collection of cfc’s which dynamically build end user ready add/edit/delete, ideal for administration areas to websites. You’re asking yourself, “Well a bunch of frameworks build crud for me, why should I bother with this?”. The answer is simple, crud applications are for the developer, aedCFC is for the client. Also this isn’t a content management system, but a tool to very quickly build a very customized cms, specific to your needs, not some blogger’s needs

It’s been quite some time since the last aedCFC update, and quite frankly it is in desparate need of a major overhaul. Well thats exactly what its getting! With more of a MVC approach it will become more versatile and extendable. The new version will improve 10 fold, as now you will be able to easily add custom views, use specific image manipulation libraries(image.cfc, imagemagick, and cf8’s cfimage will be available by default), and several new options. All this is still possible by means of a simple xml model to build the aed. Stay tuned for the upcoming release!

The new Opera is here with developer tools more cleanly integrated and a new look. Now Developer tools comes up within the window much like firebug! The standard tools that come with Opera are impressing me more and more each release. (I know I know its a Windows screenshot..)

I’ve always been rather fond of Opera Web Browser, but due to being dependent on firefox and firebug I’ve not been able to make a full switch. Times are changing. With the new Opera 9.5 Developer Tools (Dragonfly are supplied as well, and boy are they nice. With many of the same features I rely on in firebug(like mouse over elements, view CSS and see which styles are overwritten) I may be able to make the switch. I definitely recommend giving it a try!