For the first time in many years, the latest and greatest version of Ubuntu is actually worse than it's predecessor. I installed Karmic onto my Dell laptop over New Years weekend, and I was very disappointed.
I have a long list of complaints about the beast, but today I just want to rant about the butt-ugly notification tray icons. I'm talking about these guys over on the right.
Now, to set the stage a bit, my laptop is a modest old Dell Inspiron 1525. It's actually a hand-me-down from my wife. It was not top of the line even when we bought it a little over 2 years ago. But even this antiquated beast is capable of displaying at least 16-bit color depth at 1280x800 WXGA resolution.
I have a long list of complaints about the beast, but today I just want to rant about the butt-ugly notification tray icons. I'm talking about these guys over on the right.Now, to set the stage a bit, my laptop is a modest old Dell Inspiron 1525. It's actually a hand-me-down from my wife. It was not top of the line even when we bought it a little over 2 years ago. But even this antiquated beast is capable of displaying at least 16-bit color depth at 1280x800 WXGA resolution.
Why then am I stuck with flat gray-on-gray icons?
These icons are reminiscent of days-long-past when cell phone displays could only show simple, predetermined images in predetermined locations. In those days, these icons were the best visual presentation those poor little phones could present. These are not those days, and those limitations are no longer limitations.
I know that designers so often love to give retro-feel to things. It's like an urge they get that they just can't seem to deny for very long. Like a need that can only be denied for a short period of time before it must be addressed. Like having to pee.
And once they give in to this need, once they decide to design something in a retro-style, a wave of relief flows through them, sending shivers up their spine. But don't be fooled. They just peed.
So, lest I continue to ramble on about this, let me get to the point:
Designers, I want icons that make it look my machine is even cooler than it actually is, not icons that make my machine look like an old phone.
Meanwhile, I'm gonna go see if I can figure out how to hack better icons into place.
Update: Go see the Fix.
These icons are reminiscent of days-long-past when cell phone displays could only show simple, predetermined images in predetermined locations. In those days, these icons were the best visual presentation those poor little phones could present. These are not those days, and those limitations are no longer limitations.
I know that designers so often love to give retro-feel to things. It's like an urge they get that they just can't seem to deny for very long. Like a need that can only be denied for a short period of time before it must be addressed. Like having to pee.
And once they give in to this need, once they decide to design something in a retro-style, a wave of relief flows through them, sending shivers up their spine. But don't be fooled. They just peed.
So, lest I continue to ramble on about this, let me get to the point:
Designers, I want icons that make it look my machine is even cooler than it actually is, not icons that make my machine look like an old phone.
Meanwhile, I'm gonna go see if I can figure out how to hack better icons into place.
Update: Go see the Fix.
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