Is the MEPIS Desktop in Need of a Makeover?

*FIXED*
The two lines of unbroken underscore characters here: http://www.mepis.org/node/11647#comment-43048 were the root of the problem.



"You have two labs?"
"Each has its place. At the university, I try to please the Federal Government. Here, I negotiate with God."

I recently put Mandriva special edition 2005 on an older computer for I wanted to see what this OS LINUX version was about, and my husband had already copied the disks, so I thought, why not. I've been using Simply Mepis for about two months or so, and I have to tell you, that Simply Mepis desktop look is fine! After looking at Mandriva, I didn't know how slick and nice that SM was. It's very inviting, and the colour is easy on the eyes, and the bottom action bar has stuff on it that the new user finds useful. With Mandriva, I felt like I was using Wndws 98.

As for wallpapers, I always choose plain, for the icons get lost on busy, patterned wallpapers. As for scenery wallpaper, I always line my icons up on the left side, so as long as that area is plain for a landscape or outerspacescape wallpaper, I am happy.

Keep up the good work!

Lisa

I love Mepis, but those fish and the weather thing REALLY REALLY have to go. As stated by many others, it can be added in a few clicks, but most people will not want it anyway.

I am perturbed by the endless DISTRACTION over some trivial fish & a weather applet.
The fish issue came up long ago & at that time people were strongly divided but then the significant majority ended in favour of keeping it. I have to admit that I am one & all I do is resize the whole lower bar & squash my fishies up into a slightly smaller "fishbowl"
BUT Oh my goodness if you don't like it for goodness sake just click & delete it - same as I do instantly with the weather thingy - NO DRAMA - "click done" almost that simple.

BUT NOW - Please let us start to focus on REAL issues or we will NEVER get anywhere.

Let's keep THE BIG PICTURE in front of us & begin to work constructively towards that.
We have already had a couple of very stimulating glances in this forum of what MEPIS could start to look like.

Personally (IMHO) I don't like to see "glitz or Disney or "dark"" I certainly would prefer to see what several people have eluded to already - MEPIS currently has a relaxing colour theme that is already different from most other distros - I believe it works - colors affect mood & I find it relaxing, peaceful & unobtrusive - unlike some other gaudy distros.

Now all we have to do is take some lessons from submissions like ceti's where he showed examples & summed up THE BIG (MEPIS) PICTURE for me..

>>> " solid, modern & professional " <<<

If we follow that concept IMHO we will be well on the way to a very successful end product.
We already have "solid" so that part is well in hand & will continue thanks to Warren.
( The man who works 24 hours a day )

Now with our collective input & cooperation we have the chance to help make MEPIS into an even better distro than it already is.

seagull

I'll throw in mine, which I've used since 2004. I like it because it is unobtrusive, and because I created it To comply with the MEPIS looks I could throw in a pyramid, e.g. hovering just above the word MEPIS...

Newbie or not Newbie, there's always a question

mepis-oz_pyramid

I think aesthetic change would be good, especially b/c many reviewers have brought up the critique that the distro's first impression is neither attractive nor professional.

IMHO, the default wallpaper has to have the following properties:
--have wide appeal
--suggest ideas such as new, hopeful, beautiful
--set a color pallet that integrates the various elements such as splash screen, etc.

Has anyone looked at the website of that fabulous nature photographer whose WV pics Warren included among 6.0 wallpapers? Here, for instance, are his photos that have the theme "spring," which seems to cover the properties I listed above:

http://www.jonathanjessup.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=search&type=full&search=spring

My favorite:
http://www.jonathanjessup.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/jjessup-wv-pasture-in-spring.jpg

Nature themes do have wide appeal, and I think a big plus would be the grounding and branding created by using a regional image.

My $.02

Like many, I usually flush the kaquarium fish. However, I think it would be pretty cool to have a really good screen saver program (maybe a realistic aquarium theme). That would certainly win my wife over. She accepts MEPIS, but is not a 100% fan.

What's the strange stuff in the sky?
looks like three pictures rolled into one
For distribution initially a plain sort of background.
Rudi has offered some assistance.

I just want to live anywhere in that first search page...Seneca Creek looks wonderful.

"You done filled my wagon chock-full to burstin' with nonessentials. Look at this: Cinnamon, oregano, ci-lantro...What in the cock-a-doodle is ci-lantro?"
"I got your four basic food groups! Beans, bacon, whiskey and lard!"

I think something like this (maybe with different icons) is a cleaner look to strive for:
http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=311544266abe1adda4az.jpg

I like it.

"You done filled my wagon chock-full to burstin' with nonessentials. Look at this: Cinnamon, oregano, ci-lantro...What in the cock-a-doodle is ci-lantro?"
"I got your four basic food groups! Beans, bacon, whiskey and lard!"

Hey everyone;

Just to see if I'm on the right track, what do you think of this, is this sleek enough. Do you want the MEPIS-blue, or do we need anything like brushed metal?

http://img388.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wallpaperor5.jpg

Have a look and comment please...

Ruud
=====
Compaq N1050v, Pentium 4 1.8 GHz, 1024Mb Ram, Syllable 0.6.1.
Shuttle SN41G2, AMD Athlon XP 3000+, 512Mb RAM Mepis 6.0.
Linuxuserreg # 417292 Tiocfaidh ár lá
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Very interesting Ruud. Abstract and modern. I must say that my tastes tend to be more conservative, but the connection with the original Mepis image is slightly attractive.

How would it looked with a brushed metal appearance?

I agree that the initial desktop that is presented to the user should be very clean and straight forward. If he/she wants something fancier then they can choose after installation.

Jon

Hi Jon;
Take a look to get an idea of the brushed metal:
http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wpbrushedmetalos2.jpg
or this one:
http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wpbrushedmetal2id6.jpg
Remember, they are lowres, I still need to fine-tune these...
Have fun

Ruud
=====
Compaq N1050v, Pentium 4 1.8 GHz, 1024Mb Ram, Syllable 0.6.1.
Shuttle SN41G2, AMD Athlon XP 3000+, 512Mb RAM Mepis 6.0.
Linuxuserreg # 417292 Tiocfaidh ár lá
=====

My feeling is that the current presentation is actually rather good. It is a useful business/home wallpaper with a pleasing colour and it is clean and tidy.

We run a computer shop where we have SimplyMEPIS on offer for sale and it compares very favourably to any Win desktop on offer in looks - in my opinion it is better. I actually tire rather quickly of nature, fields or other noisy features as wallpapers.

I prefer a refining of what already is present. For those who want something more radical in wallpaper perhaps they could be available as optional changes. The pyramids are fine - perhaps they could be a little smaller or perhaps a bit more subtle. The blue colour is also excellent.

What is on the panel is minor and hardly worth mentioning.

--Tony

Hi, ruud

your brushed metal wallpapers are very good, but I prefer the blue one, since it connects to MEPIS tradition. Good work. Maybe the word "MEPIS" could be slightly short?

Hey Ruud, thanks for the demos! I have to agree with ceti; I like the blue one better. The brushed metal is interesting, but I like the simplicity (and connection to the original Mepis image) of the blue one. Also, I don't think it's been mentioned here, one reason I like simple desktop backgrounds (SimplyDESKTOP?) is because they will eventually get cluttered up by a bunch of icons, and then the icons get lost amid the pretty, or bright, or jarring stuff in the background. If icons are placed on the desktop, they have been placed there to make getting the application or folder up faster. Any searching/thinking/confusing is not good.

I must say, I respect folks like you, Ruud, who can so quickly throw together these images and have a flair for graphic design! If I were to try to do something like that, the image would be like a 4-year-old's finger painting of his family on a picnic: Lots of browns, blues, and purplish-redish blobs smearing into each other. Yeah, that would be user-friendly

Jon

How about a clean and smooth look?

This was posted on Mepislovers, this is a GNOME desktop, but KDE might look very similar and instead of GNOME center image we could have MEPIS logo.

--
Check out Mepis wiki: www.mepis.org/docs

Anyway, could we have at some point a vote between 3-5 options that are favored by Warren? I think that's the best way to involve the community.
--
Check out Mepis wiki: www.mepis.org/docs

sorry to be a party pooper, but i think the home-made solutions so far are only OK.

on the other hand, i do like that last one that was posted of the gnome desktop. still i've seen much better. here are some more screenshots, some look really good.
http://shots.osdir.com/

i like the idea of starting a contest at deviant art, where freespire did theirs with terrific sucess.

i think we really need input from warrren or erin.

Hey Guys

I think its about time that the mepis team improved the look of the desktop, I havent had time to play with graphics software for a while, but did so some time last year, and this is what I came up with, all graphics created with gimp and inkscape!

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~julioa/downloads/snapshot4.jpg
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~julioa/downloads/snapshot3s.jpg
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~julioa/downloads/snapshot11.jpg
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~julioa/downloads/snapshot3.jpg
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~julioa/downloads/preview191205.jpg

Didnt get much feedback when I posted on the old mepislovers forum, so I stopped playing with it

Regards

Julz

ps may be willing to part with inkscape .svg and gimp .xcf files if the right request comes along!

i would agree that mepis need a face lift, i have tried every distrobution available. mepis is the best as far as detecting hardware but, even operating systems such as; vecter linux seem to have a professional look, where as we have fishtanks.
i like mepis as it is because i do not have to spend hours trying to set up my video card, sound card, modem, etc...
a few hints....different backgrounds, penguins, and more penguins, more games for children to learn with.
i am unable to help other than to give my input.

Problem is that people have different tastes and expect different looks, see for example the image that I liked and the comment bellow.... Having a vote would eliminate the least liked theme.
--
Check out Mepis wiki: www.mepis.org/docs

I'm being a bit frivolous here but have already been told "no bodies" meaning no people in the picture & even nature scenes can easily become cluttered to the point where one cannot even find the icons.
As an Australian I am however divided between keeping the blue tones symbolic of Mepis & at the same time reducing non essential "clutter" to a minimum.
So if the "clutter" here offends anyone please let me know & I will personally do the removal to my shack.

http://img378.imageshack.us/my.php?image=blskyblseawtv0.jpg

Not offensive, but she does detract from the scene.

"You done filled my wagon chock-full to burstin' with nonessentials. Look at this: Cinnamon, oregano, ci-lantro...What in the cock-a-doodle is ci-lantro?"
"I got your four basic food groups! Beans, bacon, whiskey and lard!"

Was that "detract" or "distract" you meant?
As mentioned I would be only too happy to remove her & take her home with me if she's any bother... dribble.
But more seriously, a uniform background is IMHO far more useful than one that has 'items' all over it & where one can't find anything.
Just wish I had the creative abilities that some have already shown in this forum.

Okay Jon;
These would give some space to the icons and would still be recognized as a MEPIS Wallpaper because their Blue...:

http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mepiswallpaper7bu7.jpg

http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mepiswallpaper6gc9.jpg

http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mepiswallpaper5ug2.jpg

I always can make them some smaller, if you need?!?
Have fun!
Ruud
=====
Compaq N1050v, Pentium 4 1.8 GHz, 1024Mb Ram, Syllable 0.6.1.
Shuttle SN41G2, AMD Athlon XP 3000+, 512Mb RAM Mepis 6.0.
Linuxuserreg # 417292 Tiocfaidh ár lá
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doesn't appeal to me at all - i prefer blokes to sheilas..