Installation and set up
The installation process for Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop edition was very straightforward following the instructions from the Ubuntu website. My previous experiences meant much of the instructional material on creating CDs with ISO images was un-necessary, but they did appear clear and concise. I chose to install the OS onto the hard-drive and dual-boot alongside my other OS (Vista). Once installed from the CD and booted up the system prompted me with user name and password. I actually had problems installing 8.04 previously because it hadn’t told me to take note of the user name, but this time round I logged in with no problems.
Once in to the OS I was expecting some configuration, but was pleased to find that none was necessary. Everything appeared to be set up and ready to go, apart from several updates, which the update manager prompted me with through a user friendly manager. With “The install updates” icon clearly represented and the instructions clear, the process was done with ease, and the system downloaded and installed the updates.
I did have some problems early on installing plug ins to play media files and the help provided was fairly poor. In addition due to the linux nature of Ubuntu it suffers from alot of compatibility issues with downloaded software, which is a problem for Ubuntu at large, but no so much a usability problem that can be easily solved with an interface solution.
Finally, I also had problems setting up evolution mail (similar to live mail), and was confused by the help. I’m yet to have it setup, and I think it is an important function of a desktop OS, so will have another go next week.
First impressions on desktop layout
Whilst the aesthetic wasn’t the most appealing (something I later found could be modified to suit), the information architecture of the desktop was very intuitive. In terms of the main panel at the top of the screen, the user is presented with three drop down menus, “Applications “, “Places” and “System”. The “Applications” drop down allows access to installed software on the system, of which it is worth noting that a lot of applications such as open office, media players, games, and graphics software come pre-installed. The “Places“ drop down allows access to files, folders and storage spaces on the hard-drive, and appeared well organized. The “System” drop down allows access to preferences and administration functions, though I did think a little more categorization within preferences and administration would be better, since all functions were grouped in a long list (though perhaps the alphabetic ordering solves the problem).
Across from the three drop down menus, Mozilla firefox, email client and help icons were in place to provide shortcuts to associated function. On the right hand side (right to left) the user is presented with a partition with the user name and a power button icon, a date and time drop down, volume icon and internet setting icon. I found this organization of information and function perhaps a little cramp, but intuitively acceptable. I thought a dock below the options bar for important shortcuts could improve the layout by breaking functions up a bit. However, I believe the Ubuntu main options panel improves on the messy windows start task bar.
At the bottom of the screen lies a taskbar panel where open programs can be switched between, a small recycle bin icon and two boxes which allow the user to switch between virtual desktops (a potentially very useful feature). Again a fairly intuitive system. Its also worth noting that other than the recycle bin, this bottom panel is entirely dedicated to task management. I am un-sure at this stage how beneficial this is compared to Windows, but it makes sense to break up function.
One final note here, the icons are perhaps mixed in their ability to represent meaning, though icon aesthetics are customizable to an extent (see below), and appropriate names are also provided. Thus the problem is minor.
First impressions on system integration
The applications, such as the media player really appeared to seamlessly integrate into the desktop, inheriting the same aesthetic throughout (something I read was intended in Mark Shuttleworth’s mission statement for 9.04). However, I find that when multiple applications are running, the consistent aesthetic means that you have to take perhaps a fraction of a second more to recognize where you are than in the system compared to Vista. Also, when windows are not maximized and stacked on top one another, the interface can look confusing and cluttered.
A definite positive is the one function = one application implementation. Ubuntu keeps things simple and seamless.
The options bar at the top and the task bar at the bottom, stay in view at all times as you would expect. However I do think there is a usability issue in that unlike Vista, where you hover straight to the very top right of the screen to minimise and close down windows, the Ubuntu option bar always lies above the bar of the open window, causing the need for a more carefully placed cursor movement.
Personalisation
After a few hours playing around with the OS and exploring the applications I came across a change appearance function in preferences, which allowed a range of personal adjustments to be made on the looks and feels of the desktop, either by selecting from a list of pre-set themes, or customizing the aesthetic of the control icons, colours, window border, general icons and cursor pointer. In addition the background, fonts, interface menu and toolbars, and visual effects could be customized. The visual effects could not be adjusted on my system. After searching for drivers the system simply printed, “Desktop effects could not be enabled” with the only option of “ok”. Presumably it was a driver issue but the reason for error was entirely un-clear.
In the end I found a number of preference options that suited me, but decided to leave it un-adjusted for the sake of using the default system. However the level of personalisation is far superior to Windows XP and Vista and important for the usability of many users I believe. I can see that in-experienced computer users might naturally worry about "messing" with such options. The user studies undertaken in this project may confirm or reject this.
