 DistroWatch Weekly |
| Tip Jar |
If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip.
(Tips this week: 3, value: US$30.00) |
|
|
|
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch |
|
| Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
|
|
| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Opinion Poll (by twodogs on 2016-11-28 00:06:51 GMT from United States)
Please, please keep Distrowatch the way it is. I think the website looks great.
I did notice a few days ago on my cell phone that it now shows a 'mobile' version of Distrowatch. Uh, I don't like that and have to 'request desktop site' to see it the way it was. I like more information and I could see it all before the mobile version.
Anyway, keep up the good work. This site is awesome!
2 • The site (by John on 2016-11-28 00:21:59 GMT from Canada)
Your site is famous because of the content, not the design. If you want to update, then fine, but don't cave to a redesign just for the sake of it. People come here for the info, and you do a great job of providing that. :-)
3 • Opin Poll (by Strmbringer on 2016-11-28 00:46:47 GMT from United States)
The coloration to me is a bit outdated, the vanilla yellow could go in my opinion. But, it is not my website and you guys did ask. So yea, maybe something in grey or blue.
Honestly very much like the side panel layout, easy to scan while scrolling. Regardless keep up with the good work and excellent coverage of our favorite distros.
Maybe go with what you think and surprise us all! That would work for me!
4 • Opinion Poll (by 2damncommon on 2016-11-28 00:46:52 GMT from United States)
"Different" or "New" can be nice sometimes but New + Weird or Different + Confusing is not so great. I'll guess that's what's behind most of the answers on the poll. I chose "other".
5 • look (by rich on 2016-11-28 00:51:38 GMT from United States)
web layout is fine, maybe different color combinations would be the way to go.
6 • KISS (by Chris on 2016-11-28 01:15:20 GMT from United States)
So long as the site is kept simple and clean, I don't care. The color scheme does seem a little outdated but I don't mind as long as its easy on the eyes.
7 • Website (by Dion on 2016-11-28 01:37:59 GMT from United States)
I think an update would be good. Even if it is just new color. If you are asking the question, then I am sure you are thinking about a face lift to the site is needed.
I do enjoy the mobile site. It does make reading it on my phone a bit easier.
8 • Layout (by Zork on 2016-11-28 01:52:37 GMT from Australia)
As with anything, People like the familiar because they feel comfortable using it... This is a big part of why Windows remains the OS of choice for desktops for a lot of people...
Asking if you should change the look of DW is a bit of a loaded poll considering none of us have seen what you're proposing to do to it...
Would it be possible for you to run a "Test" web-site in parallel to the current web-site for a month so we can make an informed decision on whether we want/like the change???
9 • Design (by Dou on 2016-11-28 01:53:06 GMT from United States)
I like it the way it is now. Functional.
And the only thing that i would consider adding, but not necessary, would be pages in the comments section.
Where you could go to the last page instead of scrolling through 50 or 60 comments.
10 • Rolling Distros Trial? (by Niko Z. on 2016-11-28 02:07:46 GMT from India)
I was looking looking forward to reading part 5 this week. Has the the trial been concluded already? That wasn't obvious from last week's article.
Regarding the website design, I wouldn't mind a small cosmetic face-lift, as long as the layout doesn't change significantly. Distrowatch carries a huge amount of information, and current structure works well for me.
11 • Mobile site / face lift (by user1397 on 2016-11-28 02:11:40 GMT from United States)
I'm surprised the mobile site wasn't a part of the weekly news! Seems like a pretty big change.
I welcome it as it is easier for mobile users, plus if you need the full site you can always switch to it if you want.
About the face lift, perhaps just a color change but I for one don't want it to become another JavaScript bloated website simply for the sake of modernity. If the site currently works without loading 100 JavaScript frameworks first, then it probably doesn't need to do that.
12 • Distrowatch redesign (by arms10 on 2016-11-28 02:21:24 GMT from United States)
You could include a user-selectable background option, but the content layout is great.
13 • Opinion Poll (by jonathon on 2016-11-28 02:29:26 GMT from Australia)
Please do what ever is best to maintain this wonderful website long into the future!!!
14 • Website Design (by TheChickenMan on 2016-11-28 02:37:43 GMT from United States)
I agree with the above comments about the design being fine but the color scheme needing some work. The off-white / yellow looks kind of old and bad but the underlying layout is great. What about a darker theme maybe?
15 • A button and a menu? (by Dave on 2016-11-28 02:41:59 GMT from United States)
How about a small 'button' at the top of the webpage to change between desktop and mobile views?
As far as the website update itself.. maybe you could have a small menu, or prehaps a color swatch with, say, five different good looking colors that the user could click one of the colors and the site would reload with that color complementing the website design.
Awesome content, I really like the side columns as there is a lot of information there.
16 • Website Design (by Barnfire on 2016-11-28 03:27:55 GMT from United States)
Should the Yankees lose their pinstripes? Should Tiffany choose a different blue for their jewelry boxes?
Through it's longevity DistroWatch is entering the rarefied air of the classics. Don't go changing for change's sake.
Personally I love the color scheme. It reminds me of the background color in the Terminal window in CDE.
17 • Content over aesthetics (by cpoakes on 2016-11-28 03:34:20 GMT from United States)
Content matters so much more than aesthetics. With the small team, revamping the website is likely to suck resources and time from content and content management. A "minor revamp" like a stylesheet color change and new logo could freshen the look without a painful restyle/reorg. But restructuring the pages? No.
18 • Layout (by DaveW on 2016-11-28 03:40:33 GMT from United States)
I visit DW for information. I want the site to load fast and have current info available immediately. The current format works fine. Don't change it just for the sake of change.
19 • @9 - Distrowatch designs re: comments link (by Hoos on 2016-11-28 03:40:52 GMT from Singapore)
I'm very comfortable with the layout but my one annoyance is how the link to comments work for every Distrowatch Weekly edition: you click on "comments" on the home page and you either get the comments if there are less than 50, or if more than 50 comments you are directed to the bottom of the weekly edition and have to click on another link to get to the comments.
Why not just have one consistent link and location for the comments regardless of the number?
20 • Distrowatch Design (by Andy Figueroa on 2016-11-28 03:52:00 GMT from United States)
"Modern" web designs are annoying. Content is king and functionality is good and familiarity is pleasant to return to and use.
21 • "Modern" web design is terrible (by David on 2016-11-28 04:18:22 GMT from United States)
Modern web design typically means horribly inefficient use of space, being completely unusable on 1024x768 screens, and practically needing a 4K tablet to be usable. Please don't do that.
As long as the design uses space efficiently and doesn't waste it with lots of empty space, and the rankings, list of updated software packages (left column on the front page), and DWW are visible and easily accessible, it's fine, so if you think you can come up with a better design, that's fine, but don't do it just to do it. Too many websites do redesigns for no reason and end up worse.
22 • Web Site Design (by Wedge009 on 2016-11-28 04:18:37 GMT from Australia)
In my experience, 'modern' just means big, flat blocks and over-sixed text that might be helpful for people using so-called 'smart' phones but is an annoying waste of space for desktop users. Don't change just for the sake of it. If some subtle improvements would help people, go ahead. As one example, seti@home just changed to a 'modern' site design a few days ago and while it's not as bad as some 'modern' redesigns I've seen, I'm starting to find some of the changes unhelpful and a waste of screen space.
23 • Web Site Design (by ttoilleb on 2016-11-28 04:34:28 GMT from United States)
As someone who is considered by many to be old fashioned, to me it boils down to the point of the site. That is, is it to be informative and/or educational, or is it for entertainment. This site falls into the first category and therefor should remain as clean and simple as possible with very little eye candy. Though some touch-up etc would probably go a long way.
Just my 4 cents worth (accounting for inflation)
24 • DW website (by billc on 2016-11-28 04:41:44 GMT from Australia)
Why not buck the trend towards complexity, obfuscation and discombobulation by making the site more simple? One which could be read in a non-graphical browser and on an ancient machine in the spirit of UNIX and the command-line? The OpenBSD site, for example, works OK in Lynx.
25 • Keep It Short & Simple (by Kragle von Schnitzelbank on 2016-11-28 04:49:19 GMT from United States)
Only if there's an "advanced" layer/option-set available, of course.
26 • Poll (by mcellius on 2016-11-28 04:53:17 GMT from United States)
Since "I Can't Bring Myself to Care" isn't one of the poll's choices, I selected "Other."
I read Distrowatch for the reviews and some bits of news, and if the topics interest me I'll sometimes follow the comments, but we site design really plays no role in my decision. Of course, a nice web design never hurt any site, so go for it if you want, but it really won't matter to me.
27 • website layout (by Ken on 2016-11-28 05:09:28 GMT from Australia)
I congratulate you on finally implementing a mobile layout. It was annoying having to scroll sideways and magnify to read on a small screen. It needs tweaking but it's a start. People who want the desktop layout can be provided with a link to access it, in addition to using Request Desktop Site.
28 • site design (by M.Z. on 2016-11-28 05:28:40 GMT from United States)
I'm not sure sure if a redesign of the main site is really needed, though I can certainly see both sides of the issue. I do however agree with the previous statements about needing some form of better mobile compatibility, especially give how heavily modern smart phones are used in general. If it's a question of not seeing much of that kind of traffic, I might suggest that there could be a 'chicken & the egg' type situation because I avoid using my Android on this site due to the way it doesn't scale down well.
Anyway, my suggestion would be to keep as much of the basic layout as would seem reasonable to make things work well with a mobile & later try bring in some of the changes to the main 'desktop' version of the site. Perhaps just a theme tweak to align the two after a mobile version is rolled out would work, but at any rate more mobile friendly would be nice.
29 • A new look is not necessary (by Misalf on 2016-11-28 06:38:57 GMT from Germany)
"Modern" looking web pages are usually just slower to load.
If more useful functionality needs to be provided, it might be considerable.
I think a new theme just for "the looks" is not a great idea and unnecessary.
However, providing an appealing looking web page, as opposed to a bad looking one, is a good idea. I wouldn't say the DistroWatch page looks bad though.
30 • No need to change (by Дмитрий on 2016-11-28 06:48:57 GMT from Russian Federation)
Don't fix if it's not broken
31 • Opinion poll (by Ennoia on 2016-11-28 07:19:53 GMT from France)
A new design that can easily been displayed on a 3,5" smartphone would be great ! I mean a website that change is display depending on the size of the screen. But it's definitively the information that I care about.
32 • Comprehensive_and_connected_review_of_openSUSE_42.2_Leap (by k on 2016-11-28 08:14:13 GMT from Japan)
Kudos Jesse and DistroWatch, this weeks feature story/review is
a timely and masterful reference for Linux users and developers,
especially developers of openSUSE Leap.
Jesse, your conclusion: "This is not an operating system I would
recommend to newcomers", perhaps true before the publication
of your comprehensive review, but with it as guide, and openSUSE's
fine documentation, even beginning users of Linux and DistroEatch's
resources should have a really positive experience from it.
Pity about lack of live DVD, repository more limited than Debian's,
and the codecs "business", but openSUSE developers should be
motivated and focused by your shared experience and expertise.
33 • the site (by Jeff on 2016-11-28 08:24:56 GMT from United States)
Another vote for keeping things as they are.
So often 'modern' websites seem to sacrifice usability for bling.
34 • Opinion poll (by Jerry on 2016-11-28 08:42:56 GMT from New Zealand)
56% (as of the writing of this post) would like to see some kind of theming improvement. I think that's a good indication of how visitors view DW these days. My personal view is that it is somewhat dated and could benefit from a 'facelift' without losing any of the useful features. Think 'minor cosmetic surgery' to enhance what is already there rather than a 'total body makeover'.
35 • margins (by shams kitz on 2016-11-28 09:06:42 GMT from United States)
A max-width on the main text content and some margins around it.
Send the 'trademark' vanilla-yellow to the background and try a neutral bg.
horizontal rules -- make em solid.
Other than that I wouldn't change much.
36 • Mobile view needs a tweak (by David Tillotson on 2016-11-28 09:22:12 GMT from United Kingdom)
I really appreciate the new mobile view - it saves my old routine of zooming to get a single column of the latest updates. Only issue is that it has now lost the tagging of new entries. If we can get that restored, I can't realistically think of any other *required* changes.
37 • If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it... (by Adrian on 2016-11-28 09:30:15 GMT from United Kingdom)
Nothing wrong with this website! I like the mobile view too.
I appreciate the content above all and I kinda like the "classic" look and feel.
38 • look (by Alan on 2016-11-28 10:00:04 GMT from United Kingdom)
Nothing wrong with a refresh, but remember form follows function.
My biggest request would be to not have any JavaScript for the user experience, it's my biggest bugbear with most modern designs and the reason I don't like most new sites.
39 • Old look vs. new look (by jeff on 2016-11-28 10:02:31 GMT from Europe)
I think this is a rolemodel for how it have to look a site.
The only think that have to change is the reason for deleting some comments.
40 • Old vs New (by Marco on 2016-11-28 11:06:20 GMT from United States)
The only change I would ask is to make it easy to switch between mobile and "full" web interface. One laptop would default to mobile, and I could not get it to switch.
41 • Distrowatch design (by Romane on 2016-11-28 11:18:58 GMT from Australia)
maybe I'm just old and don't like change. But then, my Internet connection is so slow that Distrowatch is one of the few sites that loads in a passable passing of minutes. Too many sites have too much flashy that forces me to wait in terms of minutes before I see the content - please don't destroy Distrowatch by making it so flashy I abandon it because I have to wait for the unnecessary and non-function flashy to load. Too much focus by too many people on looks which really mean nothing except vanity, and too little focus by these same people on functionality.
42 • Leave design unchanged, functional and familiarity rule. (by Screw on 2016-11-28 12:13:12 GMT from New Zealand)
Current website and colours are just fine and even refreshing as they are. Why change it to someones favourite colour of the week? It'll just be someone elses least favourite colour. And to poster of comment # 9 (Dou) - Scrolling through 100's of comments takes one or two seconds using Pgup and Pgdown keys. It's quick and easy to find where I was at, if I come back after a couple of days. I hate it when I have to click on page 3 and then find no that's not it I have to try page 5, etc...So Distrowatch please don't add pages to the comments unless there is the option to define how many comments I can see on one page. (and preferably an option to define 100 comments or more)
43 • New look (by Pikolo on 2016-11-28 12:21:55 GMT from United Kingdom)
tl,dr: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Current desktop site is a perfect example how to make functional websites. The new mobile site is nice, though I've never read DW on my phone before so I have no comparison to using the desktop site there.
I'm against change, because it almost never improves things. The only times I think a design update is warranted is when a site doesn't work, and that definitely isn't the case with DW. When most sites get updates they load slower, start depending on CSS and CDNs, loose RSS feeds(though I trust you wouldn't jump on the "follow me on FB/twittter/random_'social'_media" bandwagon), waste screen space and so forth. And they load slower, though I only notice that on wacation. Library WiFi could race a turtle and loose ;) Oh, and gain annoying popups too.
One thing that could use an upgrade is the comments section. I really like the "answer to" comments concept, though I'm not sure how hard that would be to implement.
If you're not content with the current look, please let users test the new design before implementing it.
44 • website_colour_scheme (by gee7 on 2016-11-28 12:30:55 GMT from United Kingdom)
Thank you, Distrowatch, for another interesting week of informative articles.
Please do not change the colour scheme.
My favourite colour scheme for easy-on-the-eye reading is one of black on light yellow. I also use this combination in all the terminals of my different Linux systems.
I peer and curse at faint on dark such as light grey on dark grey but accept the traditional black on white, a continuation of the typewritten page.
Easy access to links, interesting content and being easy on the eye are the prerequisites of good web design.
45 • openSUSE review (by ferri on 2016-11-28 12:45:15 GMT from Slovakia)
For the author of the review
https://en.opensuse.org/Additional_package_repositories
46 • Time for a new look? (by Jim on 2016-11-28 12:59:12 GMT from United States)
Wow, judging by the responses, looks like this is a hot topic of debate. Judging by the votes, looks like nearly 74% prefer to keep things "as is" or with "minor changes". With no additional information to consider, I put myself in that number. I find Distrowatch to be well-designed, visually appealing, intuitively functional, and comfortingly familiar. However, I have to ask the question "what are you trying to accomplish with a UI refresh?"
Is there an issue to be remedied? Or repeated comments/feedback to be addressed? Tweaks in the linux world are allowed (if not expected?), in the pursuit of perfection. Perfection, once achieved, is a dynamic concept that may change. Change for the sake of change is just busy work.
Do what you must in order to achieve "perfection", but in this user's eyes, you already have. FWIW...
47 • the poll (by dmacleo on 2016-11-28 13:21:09 GMT from United States)
I voted minor changes, very little needs to be done really if anything.
its the content that matters, but maybe re-arranging how the content is displayed may help.
I have no firm opinions on any changes, maybe stuff like making dw weekly always show comments and not bother with the no comments option but thats a purely opinion driven suggestion.
48 • Changes, changes (by Andy Mender on 2016-11-28 13:43:16 GMT from Austria)
I'm on board with people saying that DistroWatch should not succumb to the temptations of modern web design. It's mostly for hand-held devices, not for computers. Not to mention it's a passing fab started by Windows 8 and 10. It will go eventually. We know the current design and we've learned how to navigate it well. Lets stick to that :).
About openSUSE - whenever I try it, it gives the impression that it's a solid enterprise-class Linux-based operating system. Then things start breaking or don't work to begin with. If something is not right between 42.1 and 42.2, I would not choose it as a company GNU/Linux distribution. Jesse, you mentioned you managed to fix your issues within 1 day. You do point, however, that openSUSE is not for everyone. What if we're talking about several hundreds of users? The IT department would have their hands dirty for weeks, right?
Also, YaST is a double-edged blade in the end. It's complexity to fight issues resulting from complexity. It sounds to me a lot like a Windows-centric problem. I think it's much better to go for simple wrapper GUIs around basic system tools. In my experience, this works much more reliably.
49 • Distrowatch layout (by Quan on 2016-11-28 13:54:20 GMT from United States)
KISS! KISS! KISS!
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Maybe adding an option to easily switch color scheme.
The layout has been working pretty well for many, many years because it was simple and efficient. Hell, I have been a visitor to Distrowatch since beginning of time (I really date myself, don't I? :))
Anyway, my 2-cent worth
50 • A new look? Forgetaboutit!!! (by tom joad on 2016-11-28 14:13:21 GMT from United States)
I voted to leave the page EXACTLY the way it is. I spend enough time on the internet searching for this and that, here and there everyday. I don't want to have to do that here. Pleeeeeze!
Leave the page alone already!
51 • Intro needed (by jim rich on 2016-11-28 14:16:15 GMT from United States)
What is needed is new intro screen that has "DistroWatch" from edge to edge across the bottom of the screen. This would be 1/4 screen high. In the mean time we could have 'Dancing Baby' going back and forth across the top of the DistroWatch. Baby would travel at 6 inches a min. We would need a Java script to change the background color every second. NOTE: Make sure that the color to be presented will not conflict with any color previously used. After 30 seconds or so DW could make some money with a 10 second advertisement about how to make money at home by visiting aaa-
howToMakeMoneyAtHomezzz.nada. And last but not least the intro would go to the present day 'DistroWatch.com' web site where nothing has been changed. A poll should be started requesting input about 'How well do you like our new intro'.
52 • site design (by SlaxFan on 2016-11-28 14:18:40 GMT from Germany)
I have been on the Internet since 1993 and got my cable modem connection in June 2001. The first thing I did with the higher speed connection was to search for DemoLinux. I found Distrowatch on my first day with the cable modem and have checked it almost every day since.
I find Distrowatch still relevant and useful as well as easy to use. The current design allows me to check for package updates as well as new releases quickly.
I have seen lots of changes on other web sites. Some of them, I no longer bother with due to their changes. Distrowatch is the only bookmark I still use 15 years after discovering it.
53 • The poll (by Vukota... on 2016-11-28 14:19:10 GMT from Montenegro)
I voted minor improvements, as the site (parts of it) does not look nice on some Linux and mobile browsers. I would like for the look to stay clean and usable as it is today and that we can find things where we used to, though minor improvements coupled with minor modernizations so that content looks correct in different browsers/OSes and load times improved/optimized would be well appreciated as well.
I personally would not mind that mobile site look is different, as long as main areas of the site stay functional and without loss of information. I hate those "mobile" sites when they dumb down UI so that it is unusable for all but one use case.
Areas #1 where I would like to see improvements (this is more functionality rather than a look) is search results. Whenever I search for some DWW article I remember reading (or comments related to it), I can't find it as I get too many useless results back that doesn't even tell me whether that is the page I am looking for.
Area #2 where I would like to see improvements (this is more functionality rather than a look) is comments. Why not provide some kind of "non-manadatory" way to sign-in, so that we can update our posts or maybe have them grouped by topics (responses to the original "Topic") if we wish to? Why not allow comments to be tagged, so that we can later search by those "tags"? I found at the time some very helpful comments in the DWW, but the problem was that later I was unable to find them again few weeks/months later. Good example how this is implemented is IMHO dslreports forums, though DW's look is cleaner.
54 • DW website (by Dave Postles on 2016-11-28 14:24:36 GMT from United Kingdom)
Content is King.
No annoying scripts which keep running.
55 • DW Theme (by Sam Graf on 2016-11-28 14:26:36 GMT from United States)
As a rule, I don't revisit a site that uses overlay advertising or "before you go" nags. That's just me. I also don't watch inserted ads on YouTube (there are other devices at hand), and I dropped cable television because of disruptive advertising. I'm not at all opposed to DW generating revenue, but I hope it doesn't require "modern" (as if modern is always better) site treatments to make it happen.
56 • site design 2 (by SlaxFan on 2016-11-28 14:28:14 GMT from Germany)
re @9
"the only thing that i would consider adding, but not necessary, would be pages in the comments section.
Where you could go to the last page instead of scrolling through 50 or 60 comments."
Please, No!!
I like having the comments all on one page because sometimes comments have good discussions with lots of useful info. I have printed some comment pages to a PDF for reference. It was helpful when PDF/A was discussed.
57 • poll (by zykoda on 2016-11-28 14:47:44 GMT from United Kingdom)
Remove the Ads, The web and TV are oversubscribed with Ads, They take valuable bandwidth, clutter the screen and raise the price of the advertised wares.
58 • Read Distrowatch with Dillo. (by Sofia Smith on 2016-11-28 14:57:26 GMT from Spain)
I prefer distrowatch.com not changed, BUT if it is necessary, make a web that I can read with Dillo, please! (my hardware is low resources).
59 • openSUSE Review (by vw72 on 2016-11-28 14:58:46 GMT from United States)
I just wanted to make a couple of comments on the openSUSE review.
While OS Leap is stable, Plasma, itself can be buggy. It is important to differentiate between the distro and the plasma. If one had installed the Gnome or one of the other stable desktops, you would not have had the issue with the warning gongs. (Because of the nature of Plasma being in heavy development, Leap developers will updated it more often than the other desktops throughout 42.2's life cycle).
As for the comment about new users not needing YAST or btrfs, I would beg to differ. If these users are coming from Windows or OS X, they would be use to a graphical interface to do system administration. YAST provides a consistent interface and goes beyond what most distros offer in this area. Granted, there are many more tools in YAST that most users won't need, unless they are running a server, but that is a different issue. With regards to btrfs, again, using the recommended partitioning scheme allows for an upgrade that won't boot or otherwise function properly to be rolled back. A new or inexperienced user would be less likely to drop to the command line to fix a problem and the rollback feature can be quite useful (although more so with their rolling release, Tumbleweed version).
All, in all, though, a good and fair review.
60 • Site design (by Rel on 2016-11-28 15:05:40 GMT from United States)
Overall, I think the site design is functional on my desktop, but Distrowatch badly needs a mobile version that makes it easy to read new stories on my phone. As it is now, one must pinch and zoom around on the homepage to check out the content.
Keep up the good work!
rel
61 • Site design (by Rel on 2016-11-28 15:15:08 GMT from United States)
Ok... So you rolled out a mobile site today.. I didn't notice that!! Nice.
62 • Re-design (by dragonmouth on 2016-11-28 15:15:31 GMT from United States)
I come to DW for content, not for artsy-fartsy, stomach-turning glitz and eye candy. The color scheme may be considered "old fashioned" by some but it easy on the eyes and eminently readable. And readable is what's important.
It AIN'T broke so DON'T fix it or try to 'improve' it.
KISS!
63 • Site design (by Ray on 2016-11-28 15:18:05 GMT from Australia)
Please don't mess with it. Leave it how it is. Simplicity is the key. We know where to find things. I hate it when a site changes to some fluffy bullshit design.
It is good the way it is.
64 • Responsive Design (by tonny on 2016-11-28 15:27:21 GMT from Indonesia)
Use responsive design, something like bootstrap. It will help you much :)
65 • openSUSE and mobile site (by Jesse on 2016-11-28 15:28:34 GMT from Canada)
>> " If one had installed the Gnome or one of the other stable desktops, you would not have had the issue with the warning gongs."
Yes, I probably would have had the same issue. I tried installing a distro with GNOME yesterday and the same gong sounds quickly drove me up the wall. Granted, GNOME makes it a little easier to turn them off once the user finds the appropriate setting (it's not in a logical place), but the same issue is there.
>> "As for the comment about new users not needing YAST or btrfs..."
I didn't mean that. I think YaST and Btrfs are extrmely useful, for anyone willing to use them. The issue I was pointing out was that less experienced users tend not to understand what a snapshot is or how to use it. Most newcomers could greatly benefit from Btrfs and YaST but will not have the knowledge (or often the desire) to dig into the features offered. I have tried explaining snapshots, sudo, MAC controls, etc to people (even more experienced Linux users) and their eyes tend to glaze over. Which leads me to believe they are not going to use the features. They would benefit from them if they did, but many won't try them out.
>> "my cell phone that it now shows a 'mobile' version of Distrowatch. Uh, I don't like that and have to 'request desktop site' to see it the way it was"
The good news is once you select the full desktop version of the site once, you shouldn't ever need to do so again. A cookie will be saved in your browser remembering your preference. If you wipe cookies on your phone then it'll keep sending you bck to the mobile version of the site. If you want to always get to the full version of the site, then when you select "Full Webiste" on your phone, it'll take you to distrowatch.com?mobile=0 (forcing the desktop version to be displayed). You can bookmark this link to always see the desktop version and skip the mobile version of the site.
66 • Site Design (by Rcik on 2016-11-28 15:56:30 GMT from United States)
I have permanently fled from sites that adopted a more modern look, i.e. "Metro". News sites were the worst. What good is screen real estate when the childish links and tiles are so large that only 4 or 6 show at a time? I like my information compact and fast to scan.
67 • new look = Other (by far2fish on 2016-11-28 16:06:39 GMT from Denmark)
I have for a while hoped there would be a "Mobile" version of DW as I often read it on my phone. Now there apparently have been made one, and thank you for that :)
One suggestion to the Mobile version though: Please make the fonts a big bigger please. I still need to scale the page up to about twice the size to read it comfortable :)
68 • Site Design (by Bill S on 2016-11-28 16:08:21 GMT from United States)
Minor tweaks to feel like you're doing something, otherwise -- If it ain't broke, don't fix it. #5.
69 • GUI &c (by Kragle on 2016-11-28 16:28:01 GMT from United States)
Dumbed-down is not better, it's only "simpler" for lazy devs and IT staff. For example, YaST is a tool that brings organization "to fight issues resulting from complexity" inherent in all systems.
(If "their eyes glaze over", you're not presenting it right.)
...
Smaller screens or 'touch' controls require thoughtful accommodation; thanks, Jessie, for mobile version control - may come in handy when vision/device requires. (But is it support-able?)
...
I wouldn't recommend OpenSUSE Leap to a novice (just like DebIan/Devuan) but I would suggest trying a Gecko spin or two. That's what some spins are for.
70 • Site design (by David on 2016-11-28 17:05:30 GMT from United Kingdom)
If it's not broken, don't mess with it! As for the colour, black on yellow is the most legible combination: that's not mere opinion, but a fact established experimentally many years ago.
71 • @19 - DWW comments - Hey, waitaminute.... (by Hoos on 2016-11-28 17:08:09 GMT from Singapore)
I just noticed that currently we have 70 comments (ie > 50) for this issue of DWW and the link on the Home page has brought me straight to the comments, which remain underneath the issue of DWW, instead of a separate comments page, which it used to do once comments exceeded 50.
Very cool.
Apart from that, I don't have problems with the current layout and site design.
72 • Site Design (by Justin on 2016-11-28 17:11:45 GMT from United States)
I also voted to keep the site as-is. I hate "modern" websites' waste of space, huge pictures and text, and that I need to scroll several times to see the whole page (e.g., Apple). I'm not interesting in a giant, multi-page advert from a newspaper, which is what those sites feel like. I like how things look now, and if you really had to, I could be persuaded to like a new color theme. I am against Javascript-heavy sites. Many are slow and gimmicky. I like not needing any JS on this site and so do the platforms on which I view it. Keep up the good work!
73 • What Fresh Hell... (by cykodrone on 2016-11-28 17:35:37 GMT from Canada)
I'm so sick of sites changing their look and kabillions of scripts like underwear, and mostly never for the better. DW is a constant in a very messed up world, an island of sanity. I was going to vote 'some changes', but then changed my mind. I will say this, it is still looking a little last millennium, like late 90s/early 2000s.
74 • Site Design (by DelD. on 2016-11-28 19:06:09 GMT from Hungary)
I'm lurking around VMS/UNIX since late 80's. Later on, when the 'distro big-bang/inflation' happened I was lost, and also because my work forced me to switch over Win, nevertheless, which was a nightmare/shock for me. When I've came to this site many years ago - so I've sneaked back to the Linux world. And yes, I came to this site for the content. Not cared about the LaF (look-and-feel). Until I've tryed to persuade two of my friends to give a try for Linux on their old hw. When I've presented them DistroWatch first time, their reaction was "I don't want to go back into the 90's! My Vista is slow as hell, but at least pleasant for my eyes!" Told them: this is the site where they can find the most important infos about distros, and the site is not to be confused with the UI of modern Linux. After a few minutes explanation, they've understood it, then said "it is still ugly".
So, to answer the question in Opinion Poll, you have to answer a few other questions:
- Who is the targeted audience?
Looking around the site, I can hardly say the main purpose of the site is only to attract old-school Linux fans.Why are then here ads for "Linux Beginners", or distro reviews? I doubt any review is made for old Linux users only. I personally read its "conclusion" chapter only. I can "review" it for myself, if I'm really interested in one of the distros. So I think we can safely say: the site is for old-hands and newcomers too.
- What is the purpose of the site?
Is DW really wanna be only an on-line database of distros? I doubt it. I honestly think, Jesse's and others mission is also to advocate Linux/alternative solutions too. And "advocate" means: you have to attract the audience.
So, after the long intro, I think these are the rules to stick to:
- Rule Nr. 1: you have 30 seconds to attract your _NEW_ visitor's attention
- Rule nr. 2.: rule #1 doesn't apply to old, returning visitors who are coming to read "content only"
- Rule nr. 3.: if you wanna convert the "newcomers" into "old-hands", you have to stick rule nr. 1
Personally, I don't really care of how "modern" the site is. But don't drive away the new generation of internet (and possible Linux) users.
And yes, there is a danger to make the site with a new look-and-feel unusable, overbloated, fancy, useless "modern" site. But I don't think we need tons of Java scripts, frameworks, whether it is jQuery or MooTools (or whatever) to make a nice, pleasant site. Just use pure CSS - and you can make wonders.
75 • Please NO! (by Steve on 2016-11-28 19:21:26 GMT from United States)
Change for the sake of change is, quite frankly, stupid. And, based on my experience, most new and improved elements frequently are not improvements at all, usually quite the opposite. The only change that makes much sense is to SIMPLIFY but that is rarely the direction change takes.
I'm surprised at the number of comments saying that the color scheme is "outdated". What does that even mean? The current color scheme provides good contrast with easy reading and little eye strain. I, for one, would hate to see that changed. Why change what works just because it's been around longer than you've been alive?
And just to show what a grouchy old fart I am... my win 7 desktop is still configured to look like win2k. As far as I'm concerned that is the last time they had a decent desktop experience. All the changes I've seen since just made things worse, not better. I use a Mate desktop on Linux and BSD because Gnome new and improved themselves way past being a good desktop experience.
But that's just my opinion, obviously not shared by many, otherwise we wouldn't see functional being replaced by so many dancing cows... now get off my damn lawn! 8^)
76 • Site layout (by Pearson on 2016-11-28 20:49:30 GMT from United States)
First, i like that Distrowstch looks great on my phone now. I had to zoom in to see it, before.
Overall, i like the look and feel. A small recommendation would be to update the comments section, to perhaps allow threaded conversations, or at least link related comments (maybe convert an @xxx to a link? ). Definitely a minor nit pick.
77 • GUIs across devices (by Ron on 2016-11-28 21:08:30 GMT from United States)
I would be crazy to want a Desktop with a touch screen! (sore elbow!) What's wrong with people who would want that, just because it can be done!
Actually, I would much prefer a mouse (wireless) for the phone/pad, sure, a small thing to carry in my pocket, but oooohhhh the improvement.
Maybe its just me, but I have endless trouble with finger swiping, missed aim, etc (ok we're talking computers here, ha, ha.
Have all a great day. Ron
78 • New Theme Distrowatch (by Ron on 2016-11-28 21:14:50 GMT from United States)
Don't mess with it. Pretty darn good like it is. I love the black on yellow - too bad more sites are not doing this, very easy on the eyes, not like a deer in headlights!
79 • Distrowatch looks (by a on 2016-11-28 22:47:07 GMT from France)
Like everybody above except one or two people I’d rather not see any change than see the site require JS enabled for a dozen different domains and lots of scrolling due to the wasted space.
The yellow bg is much better than white; maybe you could drop the white bg everywhere there is one as it looks ugly and hurts my eyes. I’m using a custom style sheet most of the time anyway as 99% of all web sites are too bright.
The text is too small and I have to zoom it to 115% to reach a normal size (but it’s still too small in this text edit box). Web pages should never specify a custom font or font size; then the font the user has chosen in his browser settings is used, and it’s perfect for them.
80 • New Page Layout (by Jon Spoonamore on 2016-11-28 23:17:33 GMT from United States)
The main problem with this page is... TOO MUCH SCROLLING!!!
Overall, the page layout is fair. But, it's time for a stationary Nav-Bar.
It would also be nice to see better stats on Distro Popularity over time. Maybe a Time-Line chart.
And, I would like to see two more options: (1) A better Base Distro listing and other Distro based on the selected Distro and (2) Listing of Distro's based on either keyword search or classification. It would be nice to search for a Distro based on certain functionalities like Science, Server, Math, Gaming, Desktop, etc....
81 • website botox (by wallpaperer on 2016-11-29 00:53:26 GMT from Netherlands)
It would be good to see the wallpaper of the distros on the Page Hit Ranking list featured on the background of each distrowatch edition - especially on the comments page (e.g., one large image, or tiled small images):
* the number one distro each week gets its wallpaper featured on distrowatch background.
* if the number one spot doesn't change much, then you could cycle through the top ten.
* or if there are 50 editions of distrowatch/year, you could feature one distro's wallpaper/week as background by counting down from 50 (from January) to a Xmas finale of revealing the end of year number 1 distro.
Otherwise, you could feature the faces of prominent linux/open source people as a different background each week - e.g., Torvalds, RMS, Ritchie, Pottering, Trump, etc.
82 • site change (by Not-Ever on 2016-11-29 01:55:48 GMT from United States)
I've probably been with distrowatch since day 1, but this is my first comment.
Please, please keep things exactly the way they are.
The comments about sites changing to the preposterous 'so-called' modern looks are spot on.
83 • DW Stats (by Kragle on 2016-11-29 02:21:23 GMT from United States)
DistroWatch 'hit' counts aren't about updates, installations, or downloads - they're about 'eyeballs' looking at distro pages. This implies curiosity, not popularity, but advertisers love such stats.
84 • INFORMATION!!! #6 I need INFORMATION! (by woodsmoke on 2016-11-29 02:24:32 GMT from United States)
To paraphrase the sixties t.v. show "The Prisoner".
It is my perception that "almost all" people who REGULARLY come here want information, detailed information.
It has also been my perception that "almost all the time" when a site tries to "get into the more modern style"....that detailed information goes by the by.
The colours may be "old" to the folks who have been here a lot, but the colours are also "easy on the eye".
The format is just about as good as it can get in terms of a person being able to "skim for the highlights" and also quickly get to the details.
As to the adverts, if the advertisers are paying to put them up then there is an old saying to the effect of "follow the money". If they are paying then they must at least not be UNhappy with the present adverts.
There will always be people who want change and there will always be people who don't want to change anything.
But, it would seem that "most" people like it as is, and that should maybe have some weght in forming a decision.
85 • Vote for the Old Look! (by Some Guy on 2016-11-29 04:50:55 GMT from Germany)
I'd really like for you to go back to your old DW banner, featuring the good-looking sweetheart.
86 • Why would you want... (by A on 2016-11-29 06:23:26 GMT from United States)
Why would you want to change the site? I like the look of it, it loads fast and I find information quickly. I feel the Windows cult is coming here to say it should change thendeisgn just for change. The old saying is correct, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And there isn't anything broken on this site and I do like this off-yellow color. I don't think anything needs to change and it should stay exactly the same.
87 • @74 (by billc on 2016-11-29 06:25:16 GMT from Australia)
"Rule Nr. 1: you have 30 seconds to attract your _NEW_ visitor's attention"
Peer-reviewed references please? Including definitions of "attract", "new" and "attention"? We also need to determine whether the existing site actually fails in this important mission.
Or is this just the usual marketing claptrap to justify change for the sake of change?
88 • DW and beginners (by Jeff on 2016-11-29 06:34:04 GMT from United States)
DW isn't really high on the radar for beginners, there are other sites and pages that cater to them.
The mentions and reviews here of beginner distros are themselves more aimed at the experienced user looking for an easy transition to set up for someone else.
So redesigning DW for them is not worth doing.
Far better to have this be the information site that the experienced users go to.
89 • Colour (by What is web"design"? on 2016-11-29 09:21:43 GMT from Germany)
First off, I like the current design. For me the whole point of a web site is information and how to present it, and DW is spot-on in that regard. No excessive JS bollocks, good use of space, looks good on both 1024*768 and HD displays etc.
I voted "minor improvements" because the colour scheme is what looks a bit dated to me and could be changed without changing the parts that the current design does exactly right in my books.
To me, web design has become a term for saying "create web pages that are slow, waste space and time, and try to distract from the content, or the lack of it".
90 • DW pages (by noar on 2016-11-29 13:02:01 GMT from United States)
Of the sites that I frequently visit, the ones with the "new improved" web interface are usually the first ones to get dropped - because while "new", they are almost never "improved" when it comes to actually interacting with them. DW works. It is intelligently laid out, puts the info we come for out in front, then gets out of the way. (If only desktop managers these days could do the same.)
So please don't go nuts. You are one website that would be hard to replace.
91 • website (by Roy Davies on 2016-11-29 14:43:55 GMT from United Kingdom)
There is an old saying 'if it ain't broke don't mend it'. The DW website definitely 'ain't broke', so leave well alone. Tweak colours if you must but keep the format, it's great as it is and long may it be so.
92 • DW theme. (by tuxedoar on 2016-11-29 15:10:02 GMT from Argentina)
Even though I wouldn' reject the idea of DW website being redesigned, I also wouldn't care if you don't do that. I'm perfectly fine if you leave it as it is!. :)
Cheers!.
93 • DW's website color scheme (by Ted H in Minnesota on 2016-11-29 15:37:56 GMT from United States)
Re your DW weekly question:
Your "yellow/yellow-brown"? background color. Someone else (Reader nr 3) called it "Vanilla yellow", tint color on my Chromebook, always excessively grabs my attention. Perhaps a black text on white background wouldn't, and might save you some bandwith and be a bit less distracting or might load faster? I don't care about flash and style, I am just interested in the informational content.
I notice that a number of other readers mention the the site's color, probably something to examine and evaluate here. Otherwise, the layout of your website is fine - no need to change anything there.
Nr 8 has an interesting proposal, about showing us some of the proposed changes you envision!
Nr 44 wrote: "I peer and curse at faint on dark such as light grey on dark grey but accept the traditional black on white, a continuation of the typewritten page".
- His black on light yellow color-scheme would work.
I myself am "color-confused" (not color-blind!) And I can say to every web developer, and consumer food product ad/soup can label, art-director everywhere: IT'S THE CONTRAST, STUPID! Amongst the worst color-schemes to read is black text on a red background!... But I digress.
Whatever way you go, Jesse, I look forward each week to reading your inciteful and comprehensive reviews, et al. DW is one of the highpoints of my week! I look forward to dling (downloading) it every Monday!
Thanks for the fine job that you do with DistroWatch!
P.S. Someone wrote; "The only thing that has to change is the reason for deleting some comments."
- [Out of curiosity, what are the criteria for deleting comments?? While some are quite off-topic, many/most excised/deleted comments seemed inoffensive. ?? You'd see the comment one day and it would be gone the next day. What is the criteria?]
94 • @93Ted_colour_scheme (by gee7 on 2016-11-29 17:42:11 GMT from United Kingdom)
Hello Ted
Just to clarify: although I wrote in post 44 that I would not mind black text on a white background, my strong preference is actually for DistroWatch to keep the current colours of black text on a light yellow background.
Also I would like to point out a young person, say a 15 or 16 year old who has been introduced to Linux using a Raspberry Pi and is now interested in a desktop Linux distro, may mostly have encountered bling websites in his or her life and find this website something "new" to them. The need here for an easy-on-the-eye presentation and for uncomplicated access to information is just as important as when a seasoned Linux user comes to the site.
95 • More Modern Theme. (by Edward W. Fischer on 2016-11-29 18:17:17 GMT from Canada)
I Believe That A Newer Modern Theme Will make Distrowatch.com More Noticeable
To The People Of The Linux World. But! That is only My Opinion. Thanks and God Bless The Linux World.....
96 • Colors (by Jay on 2016-11-29 18:40:13 GMT from United States)
I didn't even notice that the background on my screen is yellow. I turn down the brightness to protect my eyes from staring at screens all day, so maybe that's it (white looks similar). I agree with protecting eyes. Maybe just invert all the colors and be done with it.
97 • Website (by Mitch on 2016-11-29 20:14:08 GMT from United States)
As many point out, it's the info and content which drive Distrowatch's popularity, not it's design. The layout works: ads are definable and definitive, non-intrusive. So many modern sites are plagued with the up-sale, ad push, sale push push and click bait . Their ads clog virtually every facet and block any ease of use; try and halt with a click of the x, and the page reloads in an endless cycle, the sale is king...there! Not here! Most of the content on these sites is parroted from others, hard to tell their news is real news or viable. Distrowatch clearly highlights comments, quotes and story tidbits from the original source. There's no guessing on the part of the reader as to who said what or when. One of my old pet peeves: clerks roaming the floor trying to talk everyone into buying. Stand at the counter, where everyone can find you, smile and be attentive. I also tip any waiter more for the same attentiveness and non-intrusive behavior. It's the details and functionality here which I find as relaxing as an old friend. Over a decade of viewing and no complaints. If it ain't broke don't fix it...they're called trends for a reason.
98 • minor change? suggestion (by Frank on 2016-11-29 20:43:32 GMT from Netherlands)
Hi,
I would like to suggest to index the reviews on certain distro's. Of course I can find the reviews but it is a bit of a drag
Keep up the great work
Regards
Frank
99 • website look (by sylvester on 2016-11-29 22:50:35 GMT from United States)
Would it be possible to show examples of different website themes in upcoming newsletters, that we could vote on ? Any vote at present, is not going to reflect a well thought out response.
100 • Site update (by Pete on 2016-11-30 00:21:57 GMT from United Kingdom)
Whatever you do ... Keep the site roughly looking like this ... it's classic! ... I'd love slightly more information .. perhaps a few more links (to the 32bit stuff too) ... I love the fast load times ... I love the top 100 down the side ... (increase to top 150?) ... distro weekly is also awesome .. maybe another stats page thats easy to click on? ... I've visited probably ten times a day for the last 15plus years ... it's a winning formula! don't mess it up! lol ... I used to visit frozen techs live cd page but it changed and went off the boil ... ? Thanks for all you do!!
101 • Site (by Barone on 2016-11-30 01:10:26 GMT from United States)
Hi...I'm an old nerd that's been reading for years. You can't change the format because I use DW to test and see if I have a trackpad or mouse setup properly. If it scrolls DW it's ready for production !!!
102 • New look? (by Silent Warrior on 2016-11-30 05:25:33 GMT from Sweden)
Not that I particularly like the present look of the site, but Windows 10 is ample evidence that a "modern look" can be unforgivably ugly. Maybe you could try to emulate a popular GTK2/GTK3/KDE3/KDE4 theme? There should be relevant filter settings at gnome-look.org, for example, to help narrow things down.
103 • better look (by Regis on 2016-11-30 08:27:28 GMT from United States)
This site has lots of readable and useful content, and that is the opposite of modern --Text as content. I read the page. The modern look is widely spaced lines of pale text decorating a multi-layered page with transparencies that vary with scroll/swipe/mouseover --Text as texture. The page reads me. The look is already good for what you do here, and what I come here for.
104 • DW web design (by Andy Mender on 2016-11-30 10:54:09 GMT from Austria)
I think Regis (#103) struck jackpot with his observation. It's about absorbing the content. The current web design allows that and "new" is quite seldom "better".
The only bit that might need polishing is the Comments Section. Scrolling down through tenths of posts is a bit inconvenient. A "posts per page" mode would probably solve the problem. With an added "Show All", of course, to not take the old default away from all of us grumpy geezers ;).
105 • website look (by Mark D on 2016-11-30 11:13:45 GMT from United Kingdom)
The website is clear and has all the useful information I enjoy. No need to change, IMO!
106 • openSuse (by Bob on 2016-11-30 11:47:01 GMT from Austria)
The current Leap 42.2 seems to be way better than their previous Leap 42.1. A bunch of users (including myself) obviously decided to stick with 13.2 after the first Leap distro became available. Despite the somewhat infantile setup (sounds, bouncing cursor, unneeded animations) Leap 42.2 might end op on 3 of my computers if hardware is happy with it.
The first installation worked like a charm (after disabling all the crap of course). On desktops I'd usually replace the default Btrfs by proven EXT4. Btrfs still feels like beta testing to me.
107 • Whatever you do ... (by curious on 2016-11-30 13:25:45 GMT from Germany)
... please DON'T equip your pages with "social media" share-functions, especially the dreaded F***book "like"-button.
108 • The ONLY thing CONSTANT is CHANGE (by RollMeAway on 2016-11-30 21:11:18 GMT from United States)
Seems to apply to most everything in life.
For desktops, kde3 and gnome2 were stable, reliable, fully functional desktops.
Nothing more to change, so the developers threw them out and started something
new, so they have something to CHANGE.
Grub-097 had not been changed is a while, everything worked fine.
Can't have that! More developers fork it so they have a more complicated thing
they can CHANGE, constantly.
The list is endless, but this make my point.
109 • Look, change and contents (by monara on 2016-11-30 21:47:56 GMT from India)
Distrowatch comes out once week. Its contents appear to be written by one person. I feel this because I keep someone's website on all the time - all text, pictures etc is mine, and that is going on for more than few years. After a while, the contents get the same style, and another guy would have had a hard time change it. The web designer even does things the way I want now. But becoming routine is not good, and business might fall. So, change is desired. Here at DW, change is a must.
110 • The site (by Dan on 2016-11-30 22:04:40 GMT from United States)
"Your site is famous because of the content, not the design. If you want to update, then fine, but don't cave to a redesign just for the sake of it. People come here for the info, and you do a great job of providing that. :-)"
Echoing John from Canada's sentiment. I would just add that, if you were to "modernize", I hope it won't be a bear to load your pages on my less than optimal Internet connection.
111 • The Site (by Clarke Sideroad on 2016-11-30 22:58:03 GMT from Canada)
It is the information that matters and the current desktop layout delivers.
By all means feel free to change the colours or top banner, but please keep it easy on the eyes. My old eyes think attention grabbing is tiresome.
112 • Colors (by Jeff on 2016-12-01 05:15:43 GMT from United States)
I actually like the colors, much like a US legal pad they are a very readable, the contrast is good, but not as glaring to the eye as text on white.
My favorite non-electronic note taking method.
113 • Background Color (by Ross on 2016-12-02 04:59:18 GMT from United States)
When I went to MIT, every student had a slide rule. (I know that dates me, but if I didn't date myself, I wouldn't get any action at all.)
The division was between the K&E (light yellow background) and Post Versalog (white background). As I had gotten it in HS, so my Post was what I had.
In any case, the background color reminds me of the K&E slide rules I used to see at MIT.
114 • New Site (by KJ on 2016-12-02 12:31:45 GMT from Australia)
Most Linux distro sites now have a nice new look, I think Distrowatch should follow suite. Forget about the old stick in the mud, bite the bullet and show us a nice new refreshing site with lots more content.
115 • Site is Good (by Justin on 2016-12-02 14:54:08 GMT from United States)
"Forget about the old stick in the mud, bite the bullet and show us a nice new refreshing site with lots more content."
Interestingly, I think this makes the point that the content is king here. I bet if we could all get more content (which, btw, is independent of a website redesign), we'd all love it. That being said, I like the format as-is because it maximizes the amount of content I can absorb. I am against a site redesign on the grounds that I don't see how that would improve an already streamlined site. Additional content (or links/partnerships with other major Linux sites) to make more of a portal here would be fine. But again, without new content, new dressing for the current content isn't worth it.
116 • DW page look (poll) (by Jordan on 2016-12-02 15:46:53 GMT from United States)
Can't predict the future, but I'm thinking that changing this site much will have little if any effect on popularity. DW is one of several good sites about linux.
I voted with those who want it to stay the same, though. It's very readable and so very easy and intuitive to navigate as it is.
I've noticed a commonality in newer sites, especially the look of various distro home pages. One word: YUCK!
Please don't do that (see Korora, Manjaro, etc). Please.
117 • Beauty (by Somewhat Reticent on 2016-12-02 16:16:39 GMT from United States)
Most browsers allow users to adjust colors and fonts to suit. Layout and style, not so much. Some facilities give users a choice of theme templates … tracking usage thereof could be a useful survey.
…
The latest PartEd_Magic ISO image file's background is one example of trying out (a little) change. For fun.
118 • Upgrading to Leap 42.2 (by FOSSilizing Dinosaur on 2016-12-02 16:21:55 GMT from United States)
Haven't seen many (thorough) descriptions of how to upgrade Live from 42.1 to 42.2 offline, even with a Gecko spin.
119 • Change is a must (by mn on 2016-12-02 17:43:40 GMT from United States)
Its the end of 2016, and the world had seen man changes. Today, people carry computers on their wrists. A simple smartphone has more power than any computer in the 60s. If change is thought about, then the change must be. Old fashioned is not always nice. No one wants to use kernel 2.26 today.
120 • Current state of DW Website. (by Michael on 2016-12-02 19:22:28 GMT from United States)
Although I agree with many of you that DW's strength lies in its content, we can still do a lot better for ourselves and those new to Linux and BSD. Bear in mind that this site is over fifteen years old, and even if the "look" remains unchanged, the site needs a major front-end overhaul.
At the time of this writing, these are a few of the issues I see with DW.
1. HTML CSS and JavaScript is mixed into one document. I realize that the site uses PHP to generate markup, however. jumbling all three languages in a single document makes life difficult for those who rely on screen readers or other assistive technologies.
2. HTML tags are misused. Instead of being used to delineate content on a page. Markup is often used for page layout. Once again, this is an accessibility issue and may also cost us some valuable SEO points.
3. The site navigation is confusing. Additionally, there is uneeded duplication of effort when it comes to searching for distributions. I mean, do we really need two search fields, a drop down menu and a link, just to find Ubuntu?
4. Images on the site take a long time to load.
5. The web site needs to be responsive. Through the use of modern CSS, DW could be made to support devices of different resolutions without changing the codebase, or referencing a barely visible link in the site navigation. Once again, this move will also help our SEO.
I realize that many of us come here strictly for content, but for new users it doesn't matter if we're the best at what we do if we ignore user experience.
121 • mx 15 (by loader72 on 2016-12-02 21:31:22 GMT from United States)
windows oldie here.. been messing with linux for awhile hoping for a painless weaning from MS tit... gotta say mx 15 live booted up faster than any live usb I've ever seen. omg, this damn thing was amazing fast. whoa... smokin...
122 • I voted modern (by Claus Futtrup on 2016-12-03 18:01:33 GMT from Norway)
When I read some of the comments here, I'm surprised how conservative people are - and how some people associated web design by the color layout (??). I voted for "modern" user interface. By this I mean an interface, which works better on a tablet or possibly even in a browser on a smartphone.
123 • re #28 (by M.Z. on 2016-12-03 20:12:09 GMT from United States)
As an addendum to my previous statement about the mobile version of the site, I have to admit that it does look fairly decent in Firefox when I turn DW weekly sideways on my Droid, but in Opera Mini or when held upright the mobile site still needs a fair amount of work. The text is very tiny by default & the columns that give so much interesting detail on the desktop crowd out everything else from being big enough to be useful.
124 • Distrowatch site design (by Simon Wainscott-Plaistowe on 2016-12-04 00:31:50 GMT from New Zealand)
For many years Distrowatch has maintained a distinctive, clean and functional design. It's your trademark look, recognizable at a glance. No need to change it, the site draws viewers for content not bling.
125 • Readability for DW site is paramount (by R O on 2016-12-04 03:27:38 GMT from United States)
I'm with Minnesota Ted H: it is definitely the contrast that makes/breaks readability. Dark on light - i.e. very pale colors of any sort work fine. I usually set my browser to override backgrounds, especially white, with very pale blue or green, but the yellow used by DW works equally fine. Whatever you do, keep that sort of color scheme for a text-rich resource (at least as an option). And, PLEASE, do not use pale grey fonts for the text!
126 • FastMail recently did "Modern" w/o losing simplicity (by Chris on 2016-12-04 17:54:46 GMT from United States)
I vote for "Modern" b/c sometimes I send my clients here, or they'll happen to see me checking here for reference while looking over my shoulder as I work. I think something more current, which doesn't scream 'outdated' would better do justice to the quality content- the current look doesn't compliment the fact that the site is a world-class leader in its field.
A few years ago, my email provider, FastMail did a new modern look after having been spartan forever. Very much similar to what DW faces here. They were able to pull off a newer look without sacrificing their snappy-quick UI with its built-in simplicity. I'd love it to see DW follow their lead & do something similar.
My 2c...
127 • gripes and aggravations (by Anonymous Old Fart on 2016-12-04 18:27:50 GMT from United States)
re: #87
Peer-reviewed references please? Including definitions of "attract", "new" and "attention"? We also need to determine whether the existing site actually fails in this important mission.
Are you really serious? Is this your way to quell any dissent and discourage anyone from making ANY comment about ANYTHING? Why should the poster be required to perform 600 hours of research and find all the references, and compile them into an annotated report with bibliographic references JUST to have the right to say ANYTHING on the internet?
I have been around since the 90's and have always found this kind of thing to be the most annoying thing about the community.
128 • DistroW.W.S.Design (by CucumberLinux on 2016-12-04 23:09:04 GMT from Germany)
I am here for the Information, not for some fancy looks.
This DistroW.W.Site has suited me very well in the past!
It is perfectly functional, the way it is.
Number of Comments: 128
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
| | |
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Archives |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
| • Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
| • Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
| Random Distribution | 
APODIO
APODIO is a Linux live and installation DVD with a large collection of open source audio and video software, as well as graphical utilities for making system administration as simple and intuitive as possible. It is based on Ubuntu.
Status: Dormant
|
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
|
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
