Plasma Vision v 2.0

[Jens Reuterberg]

I will add all these as notes on Phabricator task as well - keep the ideas 
coming everyone its golden so far! 

On Friday, 16 June 2017 01.27.42 CEST Aleix Pol wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 15, 2017 at 9:16 PM, Martin Flöser <mgraesslin at kde.org> wrote:
> > Am 2017-06-12 01:19, schrieb Aleix Pol:
> >> On Sun, Jun 11, 2017 at 11:13 PM, Jonathan Riddell <jr at jriddell.org>
> >> 
> >> wrote:
> >>> Yay, I like it.
> >>> 
> >>> Across different operating systems? We don't do anything on Windows or
> >>> Mac.
> >>> 
> >>> Jonathan
> >>> 
> >>> On Fri, Jun 09, 2017 at 09:40:28AM +0200, Jens Reuterberg wrote:
> >>>> Time to get back to the vision.
> >>>> 
> >>>> ---- Plasma Vision 2 ----
> >>>> 
> >>>> Plasma Desktop is a cross device work environment where total trust is
> >>>> put on
> >>>> the user's capacity to best define her own workflow and preferences.
> >>>> 
> >>>> Plasma is simple by default, a clean work area for real world usage
> >>>> which
> >>>> intends to stay out of your way.
> >>>> Plasma is powerful when needed, enabling the user to create the
> >>>> workflows that
> >>>> make her more effective to complete her tasks.
> >>>> 
> >>>> Plasma never dictates the user's needs, it only strives to solve them.
> >>>> Plasma
> >>>> never defines what the user should be allowed to do, it only ensures
> >>>> that she
> >>>> can.
> >>>> 
> >>>> Our motivation is that we enable actual work to happen, across devices,
> >>>> across
> >>>> different operating systems, using any application needed.
> >>>> 
> >>>> We build to be durable, we create to be usable, we design to be
> >>>> interesting.
> >>>> 
> >>>> ------------------------
> >>>> 
> >>>> Reasoning behind the vision:
> >>>> The key aspects of it is that Plasma is "Cross Device" - we state that
> >>>> as
> >>>> clearly as possible. "Simple by default, powerful when needed" has to
> >>>> be
> >>>> repeated within it to hammer that in as that is, in many ways a
> >>>> communicative
> >>>> tool we really want associated with Plasma.
> >>>> 
> >>>> Removed Desktop Environment after last one as that was seen as too much
> >>>> "computer" and too little "Mobile" etc.
> >>>> 
> >>>> The focus is "work" and "tasks", IRL stuff focusing on a user that
> >>>> needs
> >>>> to
> >>>> solve an actual problem instead of an attempt to create further ones
> >>>> through
> >>>> complexity. At the same time we want to ensure that we never strip the
> >>>> user of
> >>>> options (this is one of the weak points in the vision - more on that
> >>>> below)
> >>>> 
> >>>> Finally its the poetic vitruvian line at the end: Firmitas, Utilitas,
> >>>> Venustatis. That something is "well built" or "durable", that something
> >>>> is
> >>>> "usable" (from a users perspective easy to use) and finally "beautiful"
> >>>> or
> >>>> interesting to use - inspiring usage. Build/Create/Design is intended
> >>>> not as
> >>>> work roles ("designer" etc) but something we all do ("designing the
> >>>> system"
> >>>> for example).
> >>>> 
> >>>> ------------------------
> >>>> 
> >>>> Feedback, spellchecking, grammar checking and just "yay" or "neigh"
> >>>> wanted.
> >>>> 
> >>>> /Jens
> >> 
> >> Plasma Desktop doesn't work on Windows/OS X, but we know our users
> >> will be using different systems on different machines: maybe Android
> >> or iOS on the phone, maybe OS X or Windows at work or at home.
> >> When developing Plasma we need to keep that in mind and leverage it.
> > 
> > Nevertheless we shouldn't give users hope of having Plasma available on
> > Windows, OSX or iOS. Even for Android it does not look like any part of
> > Plasma could be available anytime soon.
> > 
> > Given that I'm also very uneasy with the formulation of operating systems.
> > Personally I would like to not see operating systems mentioned in the
> > vision. Personally - as most know - I wouldn't mind if we would only
> > support Linux (and maybe, maybe the BSDs). Given that at least for me
> > this part of the vision is not fitting and nothing I strive for with my
> > work.
> 
> As I said above:
> > Plasma Desktop doesn't work on Windows/OS X, but we know our users
> > will be using different systems on different machines: maybe Android
> > or iOS on the phone, maybe OS X or Windows at work or at home.
> > When developing Plasma we need to keep that in mind and leverage it.
> 
> This doesn't mean that the vision text is okay, it means that we need
> to tune it so that it communicates properly.
> 
> Aleix