What is Digg?112 Comments
- Philluminati, on 10/11/2007, -12/+77Your off to a good start mate, you've identified a problem. Now just download the source code and poke through it. Find out if it's using GTK or QT and then set about changing the properties of the elements. When your happy you can customise the theme from a coding point of view all that's left is to read / write that config from a text file and add your own menu option.
I'll come back and check on the project in a month or two, I look forward to seeing your patch in the repository. - Mejogid, on 10/11/2007, -0/+49I can accept that he doesn't find it exciting enough, but that doesn't mean it's something that should be changed. The entire point of GTK is to provide a unified and consistent toolkit across applications (compare this to Windows, where there are dozens of slightly varying imitations and plenty of completely made up, unfitting GUIs such as safari, WMP11, Windows Messenger Live, iTunes etc). What's so special about pidgin that it needs to break with consistency and simplicity to look cool? It's a core Gnome application, and usability and integration are far more critical than looks.
If anything, I'd say the author is scratching the surface of an entirely different problem - a lack of 'exciting' GTK themes that aren't over the top and tacky. That's certainly something that anyone can work on - designers through pixmap themes, coders through GTK engines and hobbyists through either with a bit of effort. - Lane, on 10/11/2007, -0/+39I would love to see a simple vista sidebar transparent list instead of some theme. minimalism rocks!
- sw3t, on 10/11/2007, -1/+35pidgin needs video support, not a facelift
- oobuntu, on 10/11/2007, -1/+28Personally I would prefer resources to be spent on functionality first: voice chat and video calls.
It's not exactly ugly is it? - obsaysditto, on 10/11/2007, -3/+27what else is amazing is that Adium on OSX using the libpurple libraries. There needs to be a way to edit the theme.
- lassegs, on 10/11/2007, -0/+24While i kind of agree with the author, that pidgin looks dull, I must say I like applications that uses the system wide theme, so everything fits in. That being said, both shape and design can vary as much as developers see fitting, in my point of view.
- JockeTF, on 10/11/2007, -0/+20I like Pidgin's design as it is very clean and simple. I'd hate to see the look of my desktop messed up just because of that one application should look "exciting".
Someone might be able to add a plug-in or an option to theme Pidgin though, I wouldn't really mind if I didn't have to use it. - shad0walker, on 10/11/2007, -2/+18Needs a better name and themes. I don't have any problem with the default appearance and quite frankly the articles opinion of fabulous is revolting to me. Oh and lets not forget that if we start making it look like Vista (Please don't, not that good) then we have people that will flop over to the opposite side and complain it looks too much like Vista. Give me themes or give me... uhh... something.
- NikoKun, on 10/11/2007, -2/+16Everyone is always sooooo concerned about fanciness and making things look neat with tons of useless graphics effects... give me simple design and simple colors any day.
Trying to make it look like Trillion would ruin it's appeal to me, and only make it harder to use... trying to change pidgin would probably end in confusing... - wisam, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12Exactly what I was going to say. The last thing Linux apps need is "skins". Unified toolkit theme along with unified icons are what make Linux desktop applications look consistent. On windows right now as I speak, I have Google talk, Windows Live Messenger, Free download manager and Firefox all having different icons and different toolkits. I don't want my Linux to become the same.
- pixelate, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12Holy *****, this is the worst-written article I've seen hit the front page of Digg in a while. A sample, everything [sic]:
"Trillion realized there previous version of Trillion did not fit in with the new look of Vista. So what did they do they updated there look, to fit in with the New Desktop. THe new Trillion is beautiful. All us Linux users all know that Windows Vistas new spiffy look doesn't even come close to anything that Linux can accomplish with snazzy looks, but we too need to update some of our desktop applications to fit in with the new look."
This site needs to stop digging content just for the headlines, I'm guessing that not many people actually tried to wade through the article text. - vdxc, on 09/29/2008, -0/+11Sadly, it makes the whole window transparent including the actual buddies.
- corevette, on 10/11/2007, -5/+16the name is fine, what's got to change is the stupid purple bird icon. it's sooo unappealing nor relevant to instant messaging. it was supposed to be a 'play on words'
- praveenmarkandu, on 10/11/2007, -3/+14i seem to identify a hint of sarcasm :D i like
- SpeKopuZ, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12It's TrilliAn, with an A!
- abdulla, on 10/11/2007, -4/+14Why not just use Kopete? It's far more customisable and with far better protocol support.
- randomgeek, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11Adium on OS X is beautiful. The best looking client out there for any IM Protocol/OS. The buddy list is small and gets out of my way, unlike everything else out there. I don't notice Adium unless I want to, and I think that is the perfect way to design an IM client. I just wish the OS X IM clients were a little more mature. No IM client currently offers voice chat, for example (skype not included) and I'd really love to be able to use MSN's Sharing Folders on my Mac also.
- DBNKR, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10Its all about themability, assheads. Not a *new* theme. Some of us want it for example even SIMPLER, so let us. They made it on Adium before webcam, they can here. No need to be so god damn conservative.
- praveenmarkandu, on 10/11/2007, -3/+12looks fine to me. when you have gnome running with a decent theme like gilouche, pidgin doesnt look bad ( i wont say it looks extrodinarily great either)
but how can you compare it to the trainwreck which is trillian astra's default theme. its a MESS!
pidgin is open source and there are lots of developers working on it. its normally late for their scheduled releases (but you cant blame them). its not easy to get people to follow a set theme. everyone has a different picture in their mind. i think this article is irrelavant. i just want more features from pidgin (if not that, then just more MSN support) - shankarganesh, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9when will pidgin have file transfer feature fully supported?
- noamsml, on 10/11/2007, -2/+11No. Just no. One of the best things about GTK/GNOME apps when compared to their Windows counterparts is that they all use the same toolkit rather than trying to look snazzy by re-inventing the wheel with a new interface. Honestly, pidgin looks pretty much like the rest of your desktop, which is exactly the way it should look. All that luster and shine just ends up encumbering the user's memory and making the whole desktop uglier.
- Aythun, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8"Yeah friggin right. Jello wobbling and spinning virtual desktop cubes do not look anywhere near as good as the frosted glass look of Aero which was created by professional designers over many years."
You're comparing apples with oranges. Linux compositing programs have both those effects _and_ Aero look-alikes, as well as other window decorator themes anyway. - randomgeek, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8No one wants the Amiga looks, but it seems as though everyone is so focused on "how pretty" things look as opposed to how well they work. This has all come about because Apple made a pretty OS with some desktop effects. Since then, everyone else is trying to have better effects and better looks, but they've forgotten that OS X isn't just about those - it's also about usability. Take IE7 for example. There was absolutely no reason to redesign the toolbar for a browser, other than to make it different, or to fit in with the "new look". When you start putting looks over functionality there is a problem.
- NikoKun, on 10/11/2007, -3/+11I dono, I really like Pidgin as it is right now. I'm used to it and if they changed it again I'd be a bit frustrated... lol
- saddad, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8I think Trillian Astra looks like ass.
- dpmcalli, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Couldnt agree more. Pidgins interface in simple and elegant. It does what it needs to without un-necessary clutter. In fact, pidgins simple interface is one of the main reasons I use it.
The solution would be to implement a skinning plugin that allowed people to customise if they really wanted to. - Herzasche, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7And better support for MSN, but that should be coming soon http://developer.pidgin.im/roadmap
- captjc, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7I am tired of hearing the same old "If you want it, do it yourself!" There is nothing wrong with writing a whiny blog post. Not everyone is a programmer. Nor does everyone have the time to devote to such a project. However some people do like the software and want to see it improved. The purpose is basically to get the attention of someone who has the skills, desire, and the same ideas to maybe get active.
I am well aware that there are more official channels, so don't reply saying to create a feature requests and bug reports. In my experience, the gaim guys, while fairly slow, are pretty good with getting some of the more useful feature requests in the newest releases. The problem with that is the only people who really look at the feature requests are the main developers themselves. The best way to get the features that you want is to make your ideas known to the general public. There is a way better chance of finding someone who agrees and has the talent and time to bring it to fruition. Currently this article has 645 diggs. If even one person is a programmer who would like to put time and effort into making this happen or if enough diggers lobby the pidgin people to get these changes put in place than this whiny post made a difference. - thedez, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Lesson learned: most programmers are not artists.
- ahawks, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6GAIM/Pidgin isn't the issue. Sure, that's where the author aimed his attention, but the fact is that the current versions of windowing toolkits (QT for KDE apps, GTK for GNOME apps - including Pidgin) aren't "aware" of compositing. They don't support it.
Why should they, really? On a widget level, a button or a text field has no need to be transparent.
Anyway, Pidgin can only do so much with the GTK library. And the things he's requesting just aren't possible as it stands. - jlebrech, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Not happy with the name and look. just fork it.
Personally I would wait till webcam support is implemented then i can moan about the name, look and feel. - dschep, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Uhm.. dumbass, it does. Go to file -> Sort Buddies -> Manually
- TechCF, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Ye give me AmigaOS 3.5 looks
- ozid, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8They just need to let me decipher my AIM buddies from my Yahoo Buddies on the buddylist, and if I have multiple of the same protocol accounts up, don't mash my buddy lists together so I have two of everything. Just give me two different lists, please.
And somebody make me a Vista Sidebar gadget for my buddylist... because I want one. - ThrobbingBrain, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Really? And the logo they had before was good? That one looked like AIMs logo's obese and unemployed brother that does nothing but sit on the couch all day eating chips and drinking beer. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
- Kazanoe, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Lots of people move away from windows in order to get more basic software that doesn't kill they're computers. Making Pidgin pretty just makes a good deal of users not want to use it.
- saftaplan, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Pidgin looks great already. Do we really need gradients and transparency everywhere? I don't want another ugly Windows Live Messenger. And if you make it "prettier", it's window will probably get bigger (look at that Trillian window). I want to be able to have a very small IM window, again, not something like WLM.
- TechCF, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5So it is just like using Compiz Fusion transparency
- Neph, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Amen to that.
This is exactly why I use Gaim instead of MSN Messenger, even on Windows and even though I only need one protocol: gaim's interface is streamlined and discrete, not a loud mess of distracting shapes and colours (the advertising is another reason).
You want exciting, play with GTK+/gnome themes. - bigtomrodney, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3But you can already sort them into groups. It's a simple drag and drop job. I have been doing that for years.
- pygmalion, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3What about iChat ?
- Zaggynl, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6It's fine :3
- yogiincork, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3that quote is really pidgin ;)
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I thought the point of using multi-protocol clients was so that you didn't have to worry so much about what the other person was using in the first place. Back when I still used IM, Adium let me merge multiple accounts (regardless of protocol) into metacontacts (with the real accounts sorted by priority).
- pHr34kY, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Sorry, but I could write an entire thesis about how wrong you are.
- Samji, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3The author kind of has a point. But I mean I'd rather it runs smoothly than make it super-customizable.
Being able to do both wouldn't hurt though. - amdinator, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4it looks perfectly fine to me, and I use it every day.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4The name and the icon are fine.
- liquidcola, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I think Pidgin is perfect the way it is (looks wise anyway). You wouldn't put a giant spoiler on your vintage Bentley just cause your neighbor has one on his Honda. You wouldn't "Bedazzle" an Armani suit with pink rhinestones to make it flashier... If you really wanted to show off your tackyness though, DO IT... It's open source!
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