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0e1f616
(Get the code!)
@magnes:
For what seems to be the first time ever in open source, Unity is actually being designed in conjunction with "usability studies," which involve a close look at the habits of a sampling of users interacting with the desktop. Statistics are gathered on things like where their mouse pointer moves and where they click, where they pause and where they spend time. This is a more scientific approach to usability than the community is used to. It doesn't mean there's no overall vision, but it does mean that the weight of a lot of design decisions ends up being external to any one person's opinion. Of course, you also look at statistics and not just the average: if you seem that half of the test sample exhibits one habit and the other exhibits the opposite habit, you need to take that into account in your design.
I don't think this is "blind," I think it's actually perceptive. The limitations of this approach are that you need to present the test sample users with an actually running desktop to play with. So, it takes a few iteration until things are perfected.
I definitely applaud the Unity team for this innovation, and hope other open source projects learn from it.
@paul:
Market rules and leadership notwithstanding, Launchpad is an integral part of the process of improving Ubuntu. Some of the complaints here are indeed over-the-top (people "threatening" to move to XFCE, oh noes!) but there are a few reasonable arguments, too. Everyone here wants Ubuntu to succeed.
The irony is that you are whining about our whining. If you don't agree with this effort, just get over it. :)