KDE’s Plasma Project aims to find out who their users really are
March 27, 2008 by Clair Ching
Filed under The Free World.
As an analyst, I work with data about people and their systems. One of these aspects involves usability. And even if I don’t use KDE and KDE apps much I still feel in awe of the Plasma project’s aim. User profiles are not easy to figure out and it does take time and much analysis.
Plasma is KDE’s way of making the ‘desktop’ a better user experience by letting users decide what ’shape’ it is. I think that KDE wants to empower its users by making the panel, the desktop and other components customizable in so many ways and yet make them work together seamlessly. The concept is quite different from the usual desktop because you will have plasmoids and stuff which you can tweak so that they will behave according to what you prefer.
Some people say that FOSS apps are not usable and I think that projects like this one moves progressively. They don’t want to make apps that work, they want to let users have a better experience in interacting with the app and get their tasks done. I may not be a big KDE fan but this move is way cool, if you ask me.
