Apologies to Harry Enfield and Kathy Burke
I see this morning through reading Robitaille’s Blog that Paul Thurrot doesn’t like the brown theme that Ubuntu has by default.
Paul (a major league Windows fan/fanboy/apologist/weenie [delete as applicable]) tells us that he has installed the latest version of Ubuntu under VMWare, and the only thing he has to say about it is that he doesn’t like the brown theme!
A few things spring to mind whilst reading this.
- We are doing something very right if that’s the only/first negative thing he can come up with!
- It can be changed, and he even says ” it’s the first thing I change when I boot into Ubuntu”, so why even bother mentioning it?
- Many people don’t like the default theme in Windows, but that’s not the thing they bitch about over and over. If I am on an XP machine I change to the Win2K “classic” theme, but I don’t think that’s blogworthy, it’s just a personal preference.
- Maybe now that 18 months has passed since his somewhat lightweight review of Ubuntu 5.04 it’s time he reviewed Ubuntu in full?
Personally I don’t have a problem with the brown/orange, I quite like it in fact. I have four machines running Ubuntu Edgy or Feisty, and only one of them has a non-brown theme, and that’s my wifes computer. But that’s the great thing, it’s a personal choice. If you don’t like it, change it. There are loads of themes supplied by default that aren’t brown, and many more that are just a click away. Just pick one of them and move on.
Really people, if like Waynetta Slob you don’t like brown, then change it!
11 Comments
I personally find the brown theme quite in-your-face. A more neutral color like blue, green, or even a lightyellow would be much better.
This isn’t Windows-specific (I find Windows’s window borders ridiculously huge), but it’s something that KDE (or Kubuntu), MS, and Apple do.
Clearlooks is a fine theme and comes bundled, but it would be nice if there was a blueish background image bundled as well. (or the green thing I see on recent Gnome screenshots? Where’s that from?).
If Ubuntu should change its default theme is arguable, but certainly it should have the option of using a blue default desktop for those users who just can’t stand the brown. (I happen to know the RGB code of my fave blue, so I just use a plain background, but not everybody is so lucky)
There’s always blubuntu – maybe it should be an install option?
I’ve never had a problem with the brown. I thought it was orange in recent versions, though – has it gone back? (I stopped using Ubuntu after edgy went final), and orange is associated with strength, prosperity, generosity & kinship – quite appropriate, really… (OK, so it’s also gluttony, protestantism and hazardous chemicals, but nothing’s perfect
)
I’m a Kubuntu user myself, but I do have an Ubuntu box, and I myself don’t mind the brown at all and haven’t changed from from the default. However, the brown colour scheme is a common complaint from people moving from Windows. If we want to attract people over from the darkside, when they see an Ubuntu desktop they should be excited by the colour. It’s a well known fact that colour and emotion are closely linked, (e.g. Red = Fire, Danger, Green = Go, Trees, Fields, Yellow = Happy, Bright, Blue = Water, Calming) but generally (and although the art team do a fantastic job) Brown = Dirt, Dull, Drab.
I know it can be changed easy enough, but when a new Windows user first boots up the LiveCD they’ve been given. Excitement and freedom are not the feelings they are going to experience; they should be.
I personally would prefer it if the Ubuntu art moved towards, yellows, oranges and reds; or perhaps green as Linux Mint has done. Brighter, more lively colours.
> Brown = Dirt, Dull, Drab.
Actually, brown (as it is used in current versions of Ubuntu) is:
* a relaxing sandy beach
* a field of wheat rustling in the wind
* the plains of africa or the prairies
* the city of gold
Not at all drab by anyone’s standards. The problem many people have with brown is that’s what they’ve used on Windows and they’ve gotten used to it. But tastes change. At one time people liked green on black or red on black for text. Now most people prefer light grey on black or white on black.
I really *hate* the brown theme. That’s the first thing I change when I install Ubuntu. I wish they’d change the theme to something nicer that doesn’t remind me of a turd-colored Zune.
Brown is fine but they need to change the name. Ubuntu is supposed to be about unity and the theme is supposed to represent humanity. Unfortunatly not many of us are represented by this theme. We are a people of many colors and if the theme was about humanity it should represent that.
Just because you can change something that’s not a reason not to have the best possible default – the GNOME philosophy in a nutshell, if you wish. This is regardless if “brown” is the best default or not.
People who say that it’s ok if something is crap because it can be changed are missing the point completely, there’s a lot of us who’d rather not have to tweak everything for a day before the computer is set up.
That is why I switched to Ubuntu from Gentoo and to GNOME from KDE – my old system was tons and tons of fun, but finally, it got boring to play with the computer itself and now I want to use computer to play instead.
If you like brown, fine, but your arguments amounts basically to give up any progress – a “why bother” when bothering has brought us so far up till now. Rethink.
My argument isn’t quite “why bother” it’s more “doesn’t he have anything else he could look at?” or “aren’t there bigger things to worry about?”.
I like that the look and feel of the ubuntu desktop is changing, the improvments to backgrounds and colour schemes, and the tango-ification.
What I don’t like is the constant focus on the brown theme as if it’s the be-all end-all of Ubuntu.
Maybe I am just a luddite.
I personally love the brown theme actually I prefer the windows title bars to be a darker shade of brown something I change immediately after install
. The idea that someone would want to make Ubuntu look like a barbie house (see XP)horrifies me! I use windows everyday because of work I am even dark side certified(MCSE) but if Ubuntu starts looking anything like windows I’ll cry
I used to love Ubuntu in brown, but now time has passed, and I so much used to it, that I don’l like it any longer.
Green would be nice !!
Fresh and good for springtime !!
If not this year, then next year please !!
Brown kicks ass
It is the chocolate, you haters
But I’d prefer something shiny blue, black and white with a bit of green, what d’ya say?