The Big Picture

Quoting mickeyl
[http://www.zaurususergroup.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=454
1]:
>>... being a member of the Opie community means more than just using the
opie
>>cvs and supplying code. It means helping to decide where Opie as the one
and
>>only open source PDA environment for Qt-Embedded should go.

Where should Opie go? Perhaps into purposeful reorganization - not rm -rf
/opie/, at least I don't think so .... read below re: organiztion.

>>Maybe I'm dead wrong in trying to get the community work together. Maybe
>>there is really no use nor interest in Opie at all. In this case I think
we should
>>discuss cancelling the project at all and look for something else to bring
the open
>>source PDA community forward. This also should be discussed on opie-
>>devel@handhelds.org

I think the opie project is wonderful - in theory. In purpose and practice
(at least with the current participation levels), opie seems to be sadly
inconsistent. Details below...

>>I think it makes no sense to artificially keep a project alive when
there's no need
>>for it (hence no fun working on it when you don't like to work alone). So,
if you
>>think we shouldn't bother working on OZ and Opie, make us know it. It was
fun
>>while it lasted but with that few people contributing it's no longer fun.

I've used opie for a while now - since before 0.9.3. I've tried every
(Official) Sharp ROM that has been published. I've installed a couple
versions of TkcROM. I've compiled and used three or four builds of Opie
directly from cvs. I've even tried a rom by mallum with matchbox in it - all
this experience is just with my zaurus. Additionally, I've owned a Psion
Revo, Psion 5mx, Palm IIIc, Palm V, and a Newton 2100 MessagePad.

-Out of all of these PDA environments, my favorite for usability, speed,
organization, and whatnot was the Psion Revo (5mx too big and bulky -but
that's just hardware.) Psion's UI was thoroughly organized and fit to its
screensize. Psion's developers designed the UI for a PDA and organized it
based around the user's information and tasks, not the user's applications.
For those of you who have never used a Psion - splurge on ebay and get a
Revo -it might change the way you look at PDA user interfaces. The biggest
part of the Psion that I liked was that it is _consistent_ across apps,
across dialogs, etc.
-The best Sharp ROM that I've used is the TkcROM - the apps "feel" solid -
regardless of their lack of interoperability/opensource/features -they felt
and worked reliably. The UI generally was uniform and consistent - though
not nearly as perfect and organized as the Psion and the Palm.
-What the Palm OS lacks (in my personal preference) it makes up for with
organization and quality. (I urge every PDA developer - regardless of
platform - to browse the Palm User Interface Guidelines -
http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/docs/ui/UIGuidelinesTOC.html - at least
read the "design principles" section -
http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/docs/ui/UI_Design.html#969979). Again -
consistent design, consistent UI.
-Ahh yes - the Newton - the first holy grail of PDAs and a lasting cult
platform. Big and bulky, hardware-wise - yes. Though the UI was good. What
really set the newton apart was the handwriting recognition (hwr). hwr is a
whole topic in-and-of itself. (I'm working on creating a hwr engine like the
newtons for linux with a neural network and a context serach - slow going
tho! For more info - just ask.)
-I haven't even touched on matchbox, GPE, etc...
-Opie? Below...

Okay, what's the point of all of this? I think that the Opie project as such
needs to be reorganized and perhaps thoroughly pruned. I'll volunteer to
help guide this organization and pruning according to the direction of the
community. If all that's needed is someone to take charge, then I'll be glad
to help - or defer to a more senior and experienced member
(mickeyl?)....Opie seems to present a lack of consistency and organization.
Yes, the codebase is superb - seriously - better than Qtopia 1.7 or anything
previous. Yet the user interface- what the user perceives - is what needs to
be consistent and organized....above all else. Not just a consistent color
scheme or widget style, but a consistent quality and consistent look and
feel. L&F embodies everything -widget placement, design theory, icons,
colors, widget usage, functionality, etc. How the system Looks and Feels to
the user is paramount in creating a consistent user interface and a quality
user experience. I know we can't make _every_ app compliant - but the core
apps -what comes up right after flash - needs to be presented as highest
Opie quality, for this is what the world first sees as Opie.

I'm not just blowing hot air from my mouth,..err...fingers...to sound
intelligent. I am low on the intellectual ladder (proof: I'm a college
student - who else thinks they know so much yet knows so little? ;-)) I'm
saying these observations from careful thought and close examination of pdas
in general. Please don't just tune all this out.

Opie needs to be consistent. We need to closely look at Opie - and decide
what to focus on. Take the components of Opie one at a time. Perhaps we
should start by discussing and brainstorming the launcher -the central
component of the entire PDA. Let's look closely at the philosophy behind the
launcher UI, offer features, compile a task list, and create a high quality
launcher. Actually, first of all - I believe we should sit down and create a
User Interface Guideline for Opie - similar in nature to the Palm UIG, ref'd
above. Once we have an outline of what the interface should be, then
selectively revamp and rework the UI for each app. Perhaps we should
consider reducing the size of Opie - what apps do we include in the base
enviro - those that should represent the high-quality, consistent,
thoughtful UI that Opie needs to present to its users?

I believe that all this boils down to: Create User Interface Guidelines,
Reduce Size of Opie, and Build Up Quality of Core Apps.

Please take this all as just my opinion. I mean no insult to any of the Opie
developers or the developers of any other PDA UI. These are just my
observations. If someone is needed to take charge of the UIG creation and
reorganization - I will gladly volunteer. If someone more qualified would
like to lead - I gladly will defer.

Whatever the leadership, we need to be focused on producing a core
environment of high quality, consistent, and supremely usable components to
be presented as Opie to the watching world.

-------------
Josiah Bryan
jbryan@productiveconcepts.com
(765) 964-6009, Ext. 224
Received on Tue Jun 8 12:29:58 2004