"Design and themes have been a key part of the Linux buy-in for as long as I can remember.
"In fact, once upon a time, the look and feel of application was actually used as its primary selling point to me. Back in 2000, at the LinuxWorld at Javitts, I made a comment about some app being very buggy (I don't recall which), to which the enthusiastic developer actually replied, "yes, but look at how cool it looks!"
"Yes, well, DeLorians looked cool, too.
"While I never thought looks should be the main reason you should try something--and thank $Deity my wife subscribes to that view, too--there's no denying that the design of Linux distributions and their component apps play a role in attracting users. We're human beings, with brains wired for visual stimulus-routines. Pretty->acquire is a very base reaction."
