[Kolab-devel] btw, an intro to why i'm suddenly here =P

[Aaron J. Seigo]

On Saturday 25 June 2005 01:38, Martin Konold wrote:
> > b) there's no mention of kolab.
>
> This is not common. Why would it hurt in mention Kolab?

it's prominently displayed (front and center) on the first page people see, 
the log in screen. i don't see the need to add yet another tab to the web 
interface, which already has a few too many tabs. i'll eventually get around 
to collapsing the administrators and maintainers tabs into one tab/page as 
well. but yeah, the tabs should be there for functionality.

once i figure out how to create a standard footer for use with smarty (haven't 
really looked into it yet) then i'll add a kolab link at the bottom of the 
regualr admin pages as well.

> > i'll be submitting a patch for (a) sometime in the next few days as i
> > think it really makes a significant difference to things.
>
> So this means that we can reuse everything except the upper left logo? To
> me it looks like the other artwork is from KDE.

yes, it is. we've standardized on installing KDE as the desktop GUI 
(unsurprisingly ;) so this allows it to blend in nicely.

> Did you use css?

yep.

> I don't see the obvious reason why it is a good idea to remove the name
> Kolab from the admin interface entirely?

well it isn't. it's just not at the top of every page or taking up room in the 
tabs. you get to the credits page by clicking the prominent kolab logo or the 
link on the login page.

> I am fine with replacement of the logo but in case you remove credits I
> have definetly a problem with it.

credits are still there, just not prominently linked at the top of every page. 
it's nice to get recognition and have your company name trotted out, but the 
way it's done in the default admin is a bit over the top and interferes with 
the user experience.

> > in fact, i feel that this sort of branding is a plus for kolab since it
> > encourages regional IT consultancies with an SMB focus to take advantage
> > of thesse tools. and i personally believe very strongly that the SMB
> > market is critical for our (free / open source) initiatives right now and
> > that the only rational way to reach them is by harnessing the regional IT
> > consultancies en mass. that was a big part of the idea behind the
> > Microsoft's, Cisco's, Novell's, etc... certification programs, no?
>
> This paragrapgh makes no sense to me. Are you trying to tell me that anyone
> was ever allowed to remove MS branding or credits from any MS product??!!

ignoring the implication that you wish to brand and manage kolab as MS would 
brand and manage exchange server: no. what i'm saying is that if you want to 
see kolab's install base grow large and quickly, then it may be wise to throw 
companies that focus on the SMB market a bone to encourage them to use it and 
move it out. in this particular case kolab loses absolutely nothing, 
including name recognition due to how the login page is structured, and gains 
additional user base AND marketing base (in the form of a company actively 
promoting kolab to businesses in their region).

btw, where do kolab marketting discussions take place?

-- 
Aaron J. Seigo
GPG Fingerprint: 8B8B 2209 0C6F 7C47 B1EA  EE75 D6B7 2EB1 A7F1 DB43
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 189 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.kolab.org/pipermail/devel/attachments/20050626/47afe3de/attachment.sig>