Hello Stephane,
Tuesday, May 22, 2007, 11:53:08 AM, you wrote:
> The following is not an attempt to push the logo or name issue one way
> or another, neither an attempt to judge or estimate value. Its aim is to
> make clearer the current implications of the project's name and logo.
Well, I also mostly uttered my opinion, just would like to
show few reasoning mistakes which go with embedded distro for years.
With "embedded", because "desktop" ones got idea about that for now.
> Jeroen Hoek a ecrit :
>> - A graphing compass looks just like an A
>> - It is an useful portable tool just like a PDA with Angstrom :)
>> - It references the drawn circles in the OE logo
> Those observations seem relevant.
> This kind of logo is actually in sync with the Angstrom name :
> precision, high-tech, clean, industrial, technical, not for the masses.
> Ask Grandma to write "Angstrom" on paper. How many times does she ask
> you to repeat ? Look at the paper. Count the errors.
Phew! What a geek dream! "Angstrom" is catchy word first of
all, and someone don't really need to know what it is ;-). Those who
have pleasure to know that though, may find it an amusing pun
that distro for small system called by the name of small unit of
distance. Full stop here, please. Don't go further with images of
precision measurement, technicalness, industrialness, and other
nightmares of overworked engineers. Because otherwise, it's hard to
stop with that too, and one may vividly imagine page from an Angstrom
manual:
"As the name suggest, to install Angstrom, you must have
angstrom-resolution ruler ready. Oh wait! There're no such rulers!
An electronic microscope measures such sizes. So yes, electronic
microscope is what you need to install Angstrom!"
> Angstrom is not yet a tool for Grandma.
> <prophet mode>
> When the mainstream handheld/embedded distro project matures enough, its
> name and logo will change. Only after that, it may gain some more
> widespread momentum (e.g. through adoption by third parties, like Ubuntu
> does). Until that maturation and name change it will stay a tool for
> highly technical users.
> </prophet mode>
What's funny is that no matter how much time was spent on
distro-development for embedded systems, the bright future is still
way ahead. Few years ago it was the same way for desktop systems, and
that funless image still weighs upon Linux distros - many people still
think that Linux Desktop is something imaginary and one can't just
install distro and have it.
That shows harm of such attitudes, and most distros and
frameworks well understood it by now, and fight by all means, including
crowding visual and sound themes on default installs. But we're of course
fancy to repeat old mistakes, right?
Also, ask Angstrom founders if they consider their role as
washing pavement for big guys to come along, instead of reusing and
rethinking 5+ years experience of working on PDA-targetted frameworks.
> If you doubt, consider the Mozilla (Mosaic's Godzilla) suite with its
> red dinosaur on a red five-branch star, e.g.
> http://community.wvu.edu/~ast002/mozilla/moz-10.png
> Compare with the name and logo on :
> http://community.wvu.edu/~ast002/mozilla/fx-10.png
> Ask Grandma to write "Firefox" on a paper. No error.
> Grandma can use Firefox and be happy.
Spelling tests don't work here, sorry - it's assumed that
great majority real-world of people just can spell any word w/o
problems. Mozilla vs Firefox logo also hardly differ - both have cute
animals on them. It would be different story if Mozilla's was withered
rendering of html or css source, or, say, a computer box of the same
scale as 'zilla (conveying message that "we kinda wanna show you tools
with which Mozilla associates; so, we used a computer box to write it;
oh, many boxes, so we show you big box, so you get an idea how
industrial it is all").
> OpenEmbedded / Angstrom may follow the same evolution.
> And if you ask my opinion : at present, Angstrom looks like a relevant
> name for the current state of the project and a compass logo is in
> harmony with that name.
Thought shapes future. If we accept that "current state", that
it will stay that way here forever, and someone else will skim cream
of world domination.
The logo is obviously is just one small aspect of it. And as I hope
the logo matter will be solved this time, it's good idea to think well
what implications it gives, and what we want at all.
> -- Stephane
--
Best regards,
Paul mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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