doronba

can good open source interface design be achieved? and if so how?

I agree with this, it has nothing to do with X. this has to do with design choices, and the method in which the consensus is achieved.

My friend Mushon Zer-Aviv is attempting to tackle this issue

http://www.mushon.com/2009/12/18/shortaudio-my-open-source-d...

That is reasonable, albeit something i regret at times.

I have many friends who develop open source software but resist Linux. I have been working on Linux desktop for some years, but at times it is irritating to no end, especially in the realm of design. I often advocate for Linux, but it is still messy, it is not for everyone.

interface design seems to be a real problem for open source apps, few manage to get it polished enough, and mostly on web apps, not on the desktop.

I used KDE for years, and switched to Gnome when KDE 4 was too messy to deal with. now that KDE 4.4 i think ii might give it a try, but from online video i wasn't too impressed

obviously its not a uniform experience, and there are problems with the article, but i do think it stands to reason that rich content, and in my mind especially Advertising, grind the experience which I recall was faster in many cases.

Adobe CTO seems to have been suckered into a discussion that while factual, is almost beside the point and at odds with what apple is actually doing.

For the vast majority of users, being Windows based, flash works pretty much fine most of the time. At this moment in time a lack of good flash support is more of a problem for apple then adobe. If Adobe will manage to get a good droid flash port, then this tiff will turn more barbed.

i am reminded that the whole issue was really sparked not over the flash client on the desktop or laptops and its supposed performance, but rather its lack of its existence on the iphone and future ipad, of which apple is rightly criticized.

Most people who denigrate flash on osx, still have it installed, you can always avoid installing it, and keep the system pristine and flash free, but you install it nonetheless, why? because you want to see flash generated content.

while performance and stability of flash is indeed an issue, the decision not to have it on said platforms is much less due to bad code and much more because Flash undermines the entire app store ecosystem, it is easier to create a native app experience on Flash and ActionScript than it is using the iPhone SDK and Objective-C. There are really great Flash games, think what this fact alone can do to app store revenue, and of course there is the benefit of wider range of developers too.

Suppose they revamp the code of flash on OSX, its blazing fast and stable, i still doubt apple will include support for it on its cash cows.

Interesting, Macromedia was geared on its flagship products to the internet, While Adobe was essentially revolving around print publications and single user PC software. In that context it makes sense that Macromedia will take the helm in a sensibility.

I am not sure. Many of my technophobe relations are Multitaskers (messy ones to be sure but multitasking nonetheless) and have a problem abandoning the nested folder system they hold so dear (and Itunes will not help there) They are familiar with office applications (by which they send jokes etc) and will resist unfamiliar tools)

many older people rely on their computer to keep contact with their relations through skype etc.., and it does not offer it.

If it was a little more robust, did not require a persistent connection to a desktop (to manage files) and had Flash then maybe so, as it stands i just don't know, im fairly confident my mom wouldn't like it.

What about long dead artists? what about recordings done many years ago, where the covering of recording prices has long been achieved

Software, like most intellectual property is a Non-rivalrous good. Nothing in software design prevents simultaneous consumption, indeed, we would not have any website if that was the case. A T-shirt or a Meal is a Rivalrous good, my consumption of the meal prevents your ability to eat it.

The law affords protection to non rival goods be enacting author rights, exclusivity for a period of time, copyright etc... historically the limits ware set to release non rival good to the public for its general use.

Software companies, entertainment companies etc.. seek to milk those rights to no end, it will be an interesting case to see what an early mandatory release to public domain will have on piracy as a whole

Apple has too much stock (literally and figuratively) in Steve Jobs. It is not at all clear that Apple has the capability to survive and innovate without him.