The way a computer is used today is very different from the way they had been used in the pre GUI based systems. Before we had the luxury of using a pointing device, usually a mouse or keyboard, we had to type all the instructions into the computer manually. This was very much a time consuming process. Another option in this pre-GUI time was to use batch commands, which were multiple commands pre-programmed into a single script which was executed when the system administrator defined. For the time this was a simple and perfect way to execute necessary commands, but required expertise. In 1968 an American engineer by the name of Douglas-Engelbart demonstrated his system which he used a device unknown at the time, called a mouse. The mouse was used to click graphical objects on the screen which in turn ran predefined code. This is the inception of the graphical user interface.
2 : Components of A graphical User Interface
Before we take a look at a specific operating system and how the GUI is implemented within that operating system we must ask ourselves, what exactly makes up a Graphical user interface. What is need is four items:
Pointing Device /Pointer.
The pointing device used can be a keyboard, mouse or even a joypad.
A pointer on screen is a logical representation of where you have to place the mouse.
A Window
The window is the area containing specific predefined items which the user is able to interact with.
The Menu
The menu has a list of options which the user is able to enable or disable at will.
3 : Desktop Environments
Desktop environments come in many shapes and forms which we will specifically look at, but let’s try to understand what exactly a desktop environment is. A desktop environment is a complete graphical interface packaged together for a specific system. These packages contain Widget toolkits, Window Managers & file managers but to name a few. There are multiple kinds of desktop environments such as GNOME, KDE & XFCE. There are many other environments but these are the main ones which we will be focusing on. The KDE desktop environment is fairly similar to the Microsoft windows interface which makes it easier for people migrating from a Windows based system. XFCE is designed to be a lightweight yet visually appealing desktop environment. For our experiment in the latter part of this text, we will be using both the Mageia KDE and also the Mageia GNOME desktop environment.
3.1 Widget Toolkits:
The widget toolkit is a library or collection of widgets used to develop the look and feel of applications within a given operating system.
3.2 File Manager:
The file managers allow users to manipulate the file system and allow controls such as copy files, create directories & remove files.
3.3 Window Managers:
Linux uses the X window system to essentially draw the window on your screen. Then the chosen window manager is what is used to manage the windows which are drawn for example, move them, scroll through them and also drag and drop files.
The window manager used by GNOME desktop environments by default is called Metacity. This is bundled in the GNOME 2 version of Linux. In the Kool Desktop Environment version the default window manager is called KWin.
4 : The Experiment
4.1 KDE:
At first glance, after the installation of Mageia the login interface is nicely designed using translucent backgrounds along with icons allowing the user to log off or restart or perhaps, leave a note for the user of the terminal. Once we log on we find that the desktop itself has a very similar feel to it as Microsofts operating system Windows. This can make the transition from using Windows to Mageia alot easier and there is not such a steep learning curve.
If we look at the desktop the first thing to note is the layout, the start menu button, quick launch and notification centre are all placed on the bottom of the task bar. With a default installation the choice of programs to use for services such as downloading files and graphics manipulation seems pretty extensive. The default file manager in use is Dolphin file manager which allows you to explore your directories and compress files to zip archives or decompress if necessary. If we look further into the dolphin file manager we will find that we can enforce specific settings for users or groups to authorise and prevent access to specific folders and files.
The system settings which can be found in the start menu under system tools again is very similar to the windows control panel in appearence and allow you to change network settings, user informations and accessability but to name a few. It is broken down into five sections, Common and Appearence workspace & behaviour, Connectivity, hardware and system administration. For any users out there wishing to change from Windows to Linux, in my personal opinion, they should start exploring the different KDE developments available due to the vast amount of similarities in the interfaces.
4.2 GNOME at a Glance:
When we boot up the GNOME version of Mageia we are presented with a login interface which is simple and basic. This is solid grey in color and allows you to login to your account. On the login interface we can also choose between the different layouts, once installed such as drak3d, GNOMEClassic, IceWM and of course our default GNOME.
When we log into GNOME, which seems to load alot faster than the KDE version, we should note at the lack of a taskbar. Instead, we are presented with a bar on the top of the screen, notably name top bar. On the top bar we have the application tab, which allow us to run any applications currently installed, we have the places tab, which allow us to explore the structured directory or also network directories. The right click menu doesn’t have as many options as the KDE version to do such tasks as create html files. Instead you create an empty document and simply apply the extension.
The system settings menu is alot more condensed than KDE but alot of the same options are available for users to view or tweak at will. The icons used in the GNOME desktop environment seem to be alot more basic, and therefore would be alot less intense on the hardware. The black panel at the bottom of the screen is our open items panel which allow us to move items between different instances of your desktop which you can access via the panels on the bottom right hand corner.
Though I have not explored each variation to its fullist potential, I believe for systems which are low on resources and layout and an appealing visual display are not essential I would suggest that the better of the two environments would be the Gnome Desktop Environment. As previously stated, if you are an avid Microsoft Windows user and wish to familiarise yourself with Mageia without changing to a completely different look and feel, then the K Desktop Environment would be the one for you.
5 : Other Graphical User Interfaces
When we think of a graphical user interface, we mostly associate it with a computer sytem. Fortunately, thanks to the brilliance of Douglas-Engelbart this is not the case. Today we have beautifully designed Graphical interfaces on such devices as mobile phones, GPS navigation systems, televisions portable music players and many more. The devices could function without a graphical interface, but not many people would have the expertise to be able to use them.
6 : Conclusions
The graphical user interface has made our computing lives better in many ways, such as lessening the need for specific expertise to use the computer and also reducing the workload from system administrators. The only drawback to using a graphical user interface is the effect on systems resources e.g. the hardware. Generally the nicer the desktop environment and windowing system, the more ram and storage is required. That being said, there are huge advancements in computing and electrical engineering and the cost of computing is going down year by year, thus minimalizing the only drawback of the GUI.
