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Where does the Ubuntu Linux desktop go from here?

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Re: Where does the Ubuntu Linux desktop go from here?

#31

Post by rbanffy »

Asooka wrote: post #6
secfirstmd wrote: post #2

Just give a Linux desktop which is a smooth as macOS.

Oh god please no. I would really prefer that we stop the experimentation and just go back to implementing the standard desktop. Linux got its success by being a Unix clone, down to copying the syscall numbers. We should mimic that on desktop by just copying Windows, rather than chasing unproven weird ideas. OSX succeeds not because it's quirky, but because it is backed by a company with massive resources. And even OS…

> by just copying Windows

Hell no!

Re: Where does the Ubuntu Linux desktop go from here?

#32

Post by whatusername »

massysett wrote: post #20
kbart wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's portability vs usability. Linux runs on pretty much anything: from the smallest chips to the super computers. You can't make something that suits every use case perfectly, so in order to support such variety, compromises must be made. iOS/macOS runs only on a handful devices that were designed and build by a single company, it's not fair to compare the two.

You are talking about the Linux kernel. Desktops (e.g. KDE, GNOME, Unity, etc) run practically exclusively on AMD64 systems that take the laptop or desktop form factor. What we've seen are ill-fated attempts to make those desktops work well on touch devices. That's what Unity was all about. On the other hand Apple has refused to make macOS run on touch screens.

Refused to release. I'm sure they have prototypes that "run" on touch screens.

Re: Where does the Ubuntu Linux desktop go from here?

#34

Post by mwambua »

AndyMcConachie wrote: post #23

We bought a ZaReason Linux laptop for my wife last year and it has really reset my expectations for what I can expect of a Linux desktop. It works mostly. But things break somewhat regularly and it needs a happy reboot at least once every two days. In short, by 2017 standards it's a buggy piece of shit. For the average computer user who does not want a Mac, I would recommend Windows over Ubuntu at this point. It's mo…

I'm running a Thinkpad+Fedora combo and things couldn't be better. The sad reality is that software support will only be great if someone using the same hardware as you is actively participating in the distro's development.

Most manufacturers simply don't have the financial incentive to put in time and labour towards supporting Linux.

Re: Where does the Ubuntu Linux desktop go from here?

#35

Post by dorfsmay »

AndyMcConachie wrote: post #23

We bought a ZaReason Linux laptop for my wife last year and it has really reset my expectations for what I can expect of a Linux desktop. It works mostly. But things break somewhat regularly and it needs a happy reboot at least once every two days. In short, by 2017 standards it's a buggy piece of shit. For the average computer user who does not want a Mac, I would recommend Windows over Ubuntu at this point. It's mo…

I'm surprised by the need of so many reboot, I use https://ubuntugnome.org/ LTS as my main desktop, and so does my wife and kids and have not experience such issue.

I cannot use the UI in OS X (my brain cannot adapt to it somehow), but have to use MS Windows 8 machines for work, and am always surprised by how inefficient their UI is, considering how much money has been poured into it.

Re: Where does the Ubuntu Linux desktop go from here?

#36

Post by dorfsmay »

criddell wrote: post #8
wowtip wrote: post #5

While I like Ubuntu going back to Gnome for desktop, it is unfortunate this lessens the chance of running Linux on mobile phones anytime soon.

Linux already is running on the majority of mobile phones. :) That said, the UI has never been what's holding back Ubuntu on the phone.

What was the issue?

Lack of apps? Marketing?

Re: Where does the Ubuntu Linux desktop go from here?

#37

Post by tapoxi »

kbart wrote: post #12
secfirstmd wrote: post #2

Just give a Linux desktop which is a smooth as macOS.

It's portability vs usability. Linux runs on pretty much anything: from the smallest chips to the super computers. You can't make something that suits every use case perfectly, so in order to support such variety, compromises must be made. iOS/macOS runs only on a handful devices that were designed and build by a single company, it's not fair to compare the two.

All I really want are graphics drivers that don't need to be recompiled every time I update my kernel. Why is this such a hard problem?

Re: Where does the Ubuntu Linux desktop go from here?

#38

Post by josefx »

vidarh wrote: post #22
Asooka wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh god please no. I would really prefer that we stop the experimentation and just go back to implementing the standard desktop. Linux got its success by being a Unix clone, down to copying the syscall numbers. We should mimic that on desktop by just copying Windows, rather than chasing unproven weird ideas. OSX succeeds not because it's quirky, but because it is backed by a company with massive resources. And even OS…

You may want it copying Windows, but I for one would switch away from whatever distro tries copying Windows, because I detest it. And that's why Linux will never stop the experimentation: Lots of the people actually writing the code wants to experiment and don't want to copy Windows. You will never get unity (pardon the pun) out of a group whose only unifying characteristic is that we don't want to use Windows or OS…

> You may want it copying Windows, but I for one would switch away from whatever distro tries copying Windows, because I detest it.

On the other hand I switch away from every distro or at least desktop that does "change" for the sake of "change". I prefer a stable system with optional changes to a mess that breaks functionality with every other update. Sadly some of the programs I use were written for GNOME or at least with GTK, so I am still affected every time GNOME is "improved".

Re: Where does the Ubuntu Linux desktop go from here?

#39

Post by ramy_d »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #27
AndyMcConachie wrote: post #23

We bought a ZaReason Linux laptop for my wife last year and it has really reset my expectations for what I can expect of a Linux desktop. It works mostly. But things break somewhat regularly and it needs a happy reboot at least once every two days. In short, by 2017 standards it's a buggy piece of shit. For the average computer user who does not want a Mac, I would recommend Windows over Ubuntu at this point. It's mo…

Sorry to hear about your wife's bad experience. Never heard of the company, but based on the specs of laptops being offered from the website, I'd hazard a guess that the discrete GPU is probably the source of many of your woes. Linux has always been a second-class citizen for video cards, particularly since NVIDIA's binary blobs fly in the face of the FOSS spirit. If she doesn't do intense graphical editing or gaming…

It baffles me that your recommendation is to get off Nvidia hardware + restricted drivers and use an Intel integrated GPU. Have you had such bad time with Nvidia hardware and their drivers?

Re: Where does the Ubuntu Linux desktop go from here?

#40

Post by CalRobert »

AndyMcConachie wrote: post #23

We bought a ZaReason Linux laptop for my wife last year and it has really reset my expectations for what I can expect of a Linux desktop. It works mostly. But things break somewhat regularly and it needs a happy reboot at least once every two days. In short, by 2017 standards it's a buggy piece of shit. For the average computer user who does not want a Mac, I would recommend Windows over Ubuntu at this point. It's mo…

I had a similar experience with a Galago Ultra Pro from System76, except I couldn't even type. It was an utter pile.

However, I've really like using Ubuntu on an XPS 13 from Dell.

To what extent could this be related to using hardware from piss-ant vendors who are trying to cobble something together from whatever Clevo has for sale?

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