I never really thought it was a pirate ship, just a really cool-looking old ship.
And I find it hard to believe that someone would decide whether or not to use a program based on it's logo. Surely the way a program functions and its ease of use is much more important. (I could see - maybe - if we were talking a really poor and embarassing type logo, but that is not the case here.)
I like the app icon a lot, the splash screen less so, and the doc icons not at all (I'm still using the
MS doc icons that someone posted here ages ago, because they're instantly recognisable even when small due to the colours) - it's so subjective, isn't it?
With splash screens, I think there's this unconscious association between 'serious' apps and 'dull-as-hell' splash screens. NeoOffice's splash falls weirdly somewhere between dull-as-hell (extreme=Adobe Reader, ferinstance, with all the copyright info etc. etc.) and cool/wacky (e.g. Azureus, which is worth launching just for the pretty frog), so NeoOffice probably leaves both camps feeling uncomfortable, to the extent that we tend to like the things that we identify ourselves with (i.e. if I use this, does it say I'm cool/wacky/opensourcey or that I'm serious/professional?).
In the end, though, if someone is going to base their opinion of a sophisticated office application on the aesthetics of its splash screen, I'd feel quite comfortable with not having to take any of their opinions too seriously - sorry, but come on...
I like the app icon a lot, the splash screen less so, and the doc icons not at all (I'm still using the MS doc icons that someone posted here ages ago, because they're instantly recognisable even when small due to the colours) - it's so subjective, isn't it?
I don't mind the splash screen but I am in agreement with Padmavyuha on the icons. Using the (effectively standardised) colours of blue for text, green for spreadsheet and orange for presentation (and the other colours that OOo uses for the other apps) seems like a good idea.
I generally like the other aspects of the file icon (the ship was very nicely reduced and placed) but adding the colours as a distinguishing feature in the next version would be a good thing, IMHO.
best wishes,
Oz _________________ "What do you think of Western Civilization?"
"I think it would be a good idea!"
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Joined: Nov 21, 2005 Posts: 1285 Location: Witless Protection Program
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 5:25 am Post subject: Neo Document icons -
OK,
After reading that everyone wants different icons for documents (and no two wishes are the same... ), I remembered another message that gave Users willing to make some changes - a way to have Neo or OOo icons finder icons: Neo or OOo?.
It was really easy for me to do - so it's got to be pretty ... simple and now all my OOo and NeoOffice documents have the same icons.
<warning> Use at your own risk, YMMV, may cause hair to grow in strange places, "Danger, Danger Will Robinson" </warning>
Pick your choice, or if you're good - create something even better.
(I'd be willing to use a super nice set of OOo document Icons! )
Plus, I just learned that Document types have colors/colours!!
ovvldc wrote:
yoxi wrote:
I like the app icon a lot, the splash screen less so, and the doc icons not at all (I'm still using the MS doc icons that someone posted here ages ago, because they're instantly recognisable even when small due to the colours) - it's so subjective, isn't it?
I don't mind the splash screen but I am in agreement with Padmavyuha on the icons. Using the (effectively standardised) colours of Blue for text, Green for spreadsheet and Orange for presentation (and the other colours that OOo uses for the other apps) seems like a good idea.
Philip (Can't even spell graphic artist, but I played one once! )
\ I KEEP telling everyone that using NeoOffice makes you ... smarter
\\ and I hear that Ed says it makes people want to buy him ... beer!
Thanks Philip (& Toonetown), I think I was away when that thread got to its conclusion - I like the OOo v2 doc icons, and in fact they're a bit clearer than the MS ones when it comes to seeing what kind of doc it is (colour notwithstanding!) - plus the wiggliness is appealing. It's not that I hate the ship doc icons, it's just that they're too monochrome for my tastes, and also too much white space (remember, I'm the one who'd rather have slow Neo than non-ShapeShifter Neo so that I can darken my workspace...)
Joined: Jun 11, 2006 Posts: 481 Location: Great Britain
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:34 am Post subject:
Hi all,
NeoOffice as a Pro application:
If you don't like it, change it! Power to the people and all that jazz.
If you want to use these, save the images on your Mac, right click on the NeoOffice application and choose "Show Package Contents", open the "Contents" folder and then the "MacOS" folder. Now copy "about.png" and "intro.png" into the "MacOS" folder and select "Replace". If you want to be able to revert to the original images you'd better make a copy of them somewhere before you do this!
As this is my first post in the forums I feel obliged to say:
All hail Ed and Patrick, I bow low at the feet of the software wizards.
Nice work - though of course they're too white for me - actually, I've come to realise that the only thing I find offputting about the original splash screen is the colour of the big NeoOffice text itself. I know it mirrors the ship colour, but... it reminds me of the kind of ice cream that comes with chocolate round the outside... a strange association, but there you go.
One of the great things about apps like this, though, is that it's possible to roll your own if you don't like what comes in the package.
I work in the IT Department for a charity here in Scotland, we are in the process of trialing neooffice on some of our machines, as it would allow us to use our money for better causes than to line Bill Gates pocket!
Although we are a charity we do try to look as professional as possible, and I must say djpimley's graphics might just persuade our staff to give it a chance, as first impressions count, and those graphics look superb!
Umm... Fan F'ing tastic? I also like that it keeps the color schemes for anyone who might have used the redmond people..
The current icons have the ship without the blue circle around it, and it kind of hangs off the edge of the frame, which is kinda cool. Any way to color up those icons?
Wow! Thanks all. I'm a sucker for a bit of positive encouragement:
Credit where credit is due..
djpimley wrote:
Just something I'm tinkering with.
Also very sleek. Would be nicer without the blue, but that could be difficult colour-wise, especially on the presentation icon. Maybe have the blue/green/orange wash go diagonally. Or that might ruin the simplicity..
djpimley wrote:
I'd like to get involved in retooling the GUI but I don't think I can face a challenge like that just now.
One thing at a time . By all means keep going!
Best wishes,
Oscar _________________ "What do you think of Western Civilization?"
"I think it would be a good idea!"
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
), I remembered another message that gave Users willing to make some changes - a way to have Neo or OOo icons 
)
- actually, I've come to realise that the only thing I find offputting about the original splash screen is the colour of the big NeoOffice text itself. I know it mirrors the ship colour, but... it reminds me of the kind of ice cream that comes with chocolate round the outside... a strange association, but there you go.
