Hello, I don't think Microsoft's Ribbon is that big a deal either way. You can effectively cover Microsoft Word 2007 training in about a 70-page booklet and a 20-page project/tutorial style booklet---the same for Microsoft Excel. In fact, the only problem I have with the ribbon is that it isn't that customizable.
I agree with the argument that Libreffice needs to jazz up the interface a bit, but I like a clean---no gimmicks---toolbar and shortcut keys (some of which could be more intuitive). The main problem with any application's shortcut keys is that they don't make sense, in relation to work flow. And customizable short-cut keys are overwhelming to new comers (The default shortcuts aren't intuitive out of the box; I could screw it up even worse.); I have noticed that a lot of people are afraid they will 'break' their software. I think a great solution to the GUI debate would be to take a page from the Mozilla Foundation: resign the toolbar as an 'addon'. This would separate LibreOffice from the rest of the pack: innovate, yet stay the same---allow users to evolve at their own pace; as their skills increase, so will their need for more sophisticated toolbars. LibreOffice could also design task/profession toolbars or flavor them by geographical regions. The first two toolbars should be a Libre-polished 'classic' toolbar and a 'ribbon' clone. The eye candy should be left and right arrows on either side of the toolbar that causes the toolbar to slide in either direction. Users can organize their toolbars, in a toolbar addons window, in drag-and-drop fashion. Anyone can design and share their idea of what a toolbar should be with the community via the toolbar addon page. This will be very appealing to companies that aren't really interested in adopting Microsoft's ribbon---they're IT can even customize the toolbar for their work flow/image needs. (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9194398/IT_pros_still_spooked_by_Office_s_ribbon_interface?source=rss_news) Also, how about modularizing the suite altogether, I only use LibreOffice, but I have to download a 300Mb file and tie-up valuable hard drive space with the rest of the suite. That's on top of Microsoft Office's (a necessary evil, so I don't get rusty) hard drive demands. Well, that's my two bits. -- Unsubscribe instructions: Email to discuss+h...@documentfoundation.org Posting guidelines: http://netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html Archive: http://www.documentfoundation.org/lists/discuss/ *** All posts to this list are publicly archived ***