I'm excited for the next iteration when they revamp the default theme.
Ubuntu owns but it needs to look prettier out of the box to really grab prospective switchers.
Ubuntu owns but it needs to look prettier out of the box to really grab prospective switchers.
Really, geeks and marketers can't be wrong about what normal people like, except when that contradicts with what normal people say they like :)
I actually tried to organize a theme contest in conjuction with DeviantArt for 8.04, working with Ubuntu Artwork team, with prizes etc.
The first thing that happened was that winners were limited to working with the existing palette. The directive comes from Mark Shuttleworth and Ubuntu art are powerless to change it. The contest didn't go ahead.
However Mark seems to have recently changed his mind.
Also, 9.04 ships with 3 community themes that are very attractive.
Optional community themes don't help much because people need to turn the machine on and think:
"Ooohhhh"
not
"Hmm, I bet I can make this look cooler if I go searching through the Preferences menu"
Linux is sort of like that. You can't use all of it without exploring, so it's good to hide little customizations and treats all over so when somebody stumbles across it, they say "This is so cool!" and keep looking, learning. :)
"The desktop will have a designer's fingerprints all over it - we're now beginning the serious push to a new look. Brown has served us well but the Koala is considering other options. Come to UDS for a preview of the whole new look."