The original plan was that the upcoming release of Ubuntu, Hardy Heron, would have a completely new theme. As many people know, in the end it was decided that the new theme would be delayed until the next release. At first, this decision disappointed me, as I am sure it disappointed many others. More recently, however, I downloaded the latest development version and got a chance to explore the theme changes that have been made. Based on what I saw and what I am seeing on my current desktop, I am no longer disappointed about the delay of the new theme for two reasons.

First, the theme for Hardy Heron, if not radically different from Gutsy Gibbon, is very nice. The desktop background in particular is just amazing. The Coding Studio has some screen shots, but they really don’t do justice to this amazing background. (I also like that the same background without the heron is available for anyone who thinks the heron is too distracting.) Additionally, the orange highlights on the menus seem to bring the theme from brown to orange, which should make a lot of people happy. (I liked brown, but I like orange even better.)

The second reason for my disappointment going away has to do with what I hope the new theme could be when it finally comes. With an extended period of time to create the new theme, I am hoping that it will be more than just a new look on the same user interface. I think Ubuntu’s new theme, even if it means missing Intrepid Ibex, should go beyond what people expect. At a minimum use a dock or something that has not yet been done by major distributions. Even better, hold a competition for the best GIMP/Photoshop mockup and invite unrealistic ideas. Then take one of those “unrealistic” ideas and make it real.

Ubuntu does not need to be tied to the standard look of GNOME, KDE, Windows, or OS X. When the new theme finally becomes a reality, it should be something not seen before. It should make people want Ubuntu on their desktops.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 9:02 pm and is filed under Distros, Future of Linux, Ubuntu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.