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Linux: The Source of All Desktop Innovation

lunduke.com

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Re: Linux: The Source of All Desktop Innovation

#4

Post by Xuzz »

I think it's really awesome that Linux is finally taking the lead with innovation on the desktop — Gnome-Shell and Unity are just the beginning. And, they are not "catch-up": they are released both before and with more interesting changes than Lion or (what we've seen of) Windows 8.

However, what Cupertino and Redmond are up to isn't "nothing", it's just not the desktop. The Windows Phone "Metro" UI is downright amazing when you use it, and iOS isn't bad either. Sadly, and I was hoping this would be better this time around, the open source world is still years behind on mobile.

(I'm not counting Android here, and that's a shame. Honestly, I've used it, and the innovation there, especially in user experience, isn't anywhere near the levels in iOS, Windows Phone, or webOS. I would include Android 3.0, but that's not open source and won't be for a while.)

Re: Linux: The Source of All Desktop Innovation

#6

Post by dorian-graph »

Xuzz wrote: post #4

I think it's really awesome that Linux is finally taking the lead with innovation on the desktop — Gnome-Shell and Unity are just the beginning. And, they are not "catch-up": they are released both before and with more interesting changes than Lion or (what we've seen of) Windows 8. However, what Cupertino and Redmond are up to isn't "nothing", it's just not the desktop. The Windows Phone "Metro" UI is downright amaz…

I feel as if this article has a strong tinge of exaggeration (See: ".. ALL desktop ...") and you make some good points too.

I haven't tried Gnome3 extensively and daily I use Snow Leopard (On my MbP while I'm out) and Win7 (Main desktop machine) and Gnome3 and more specifically, Ubuntu 11.04 with Unity, hasn't really caught my attention in any huge way.

The new sidebar on Unity reminds me of the Dock and the new Win7 taskbar with some differences, they've now adopted a similar MacOS top bar, 'Spaces' aren't new, quickly launching applications isn't new or unique (Startbar since Vista and Spotlight on Mac) and so on.

Even with things like Compiz which whenever I use is basically to emulate features available on Win or Mac. For example, the window snapping functionality of Win7 by using the Grid plugin and the Spacebar preview of Mac by another plugin. Actually, most of the default plugins of Compiz I never use, I always seem to be needing to install the extras or rather, the copied/heavily inspired ones.

I absolutely agree in regards to Android too. I do love it (I've had a Samsung Galaxy S since last year) and do suggest it to others but it seems most likely my next phone will by WP7 or an iPhone and not Android.

Linux isn't MacOS or Windows and never will be. I like using both of those OS for different reasons and I like Linux too when I boot into Arch with a nice tiling window manager going and do some work/play.

And I just read the linked Reddit comment by the other guy. Spot on.

Re: Linux: The Source of All Desktop Innovation

#7

Post by foob »

You can't really blame Apple/Microsoft for not experimenting to the same extent that a GNU/Linux desktop environment or window manager can. In GNU/Linux you have countless options ranging from small fast tiling window managers to more complex things like Unity and GNOME Shell which are discussed in the article. For any window manager you then additionally have a huge number of panels that you can choose from. All of this freedom and choice is awesome and it lets people find the solution that fits their needs and style of computing if they're willing to do so.

I can navigate around windows and launch applications on my computer using a customized wmii/dmenu combo much faster than is possible on a mac or in windows and I love that. If Apple switched to a similar setup in Lion, however, they would make some extremely small percentage of their users happy while turning away the vast majority of their customers. Apple and Microsoft can't be what they are without catering to the lowest common denominator and part of that is playing it safe. Every radical decision that they make is a huge risk with the potential for a negative impact on their business. If somebody wants to make some experimental window manager for GNU/Linux that attempts to change the paradigm then the worst possible scenario is that they wasted their time writing code that people don't end up using. If Windows tried the same thing then they could lose real business.

The beauty of the Linux ecosystem is that users have unparalleled freedom in deciding how they want their computers to work. This freedom allows people to create new programs without much risk to the community and it allows multiple projects with different goals and principals to simultaneously coexist and thrive. This is a major strength of GNU/Linux and I think it's part of the reason why we see so much innovation within that community.

Re: Linux: The Source of All Desktop Innovation

#9

Post by foob »

dorian-graph wrote: post #6
Xuzz wrote: post #4

I think it's really awesome that Linux is finally taking the lead with innovation on the desktop — Gnome-Shell and Unity are just the beginning. And, they are not "catch-up": they are released both before and with more interesting changes than Lion or (what we've seen of) Windows 8. However, what Cupertino and Redmond are up to isn't "nothing", it's just not the desktop. The Windows Phone "Metro" UI is downright amaz…

I feel as if this article has a strong tinge of exaggeration (See: ".. ALL desktop ...") and you make some good points too. I haven't tried Gnome3 extensively and daily I use Snow Leopard (On my MbP while I'm out) and Win7 (Main desktop machine) and Gnome3 and more specifically, Ubuntu 11.04 with Unity, hasn't really caught my attention in any huge way. The new sidebar on Unity reminds me of the Dock and the new Win7…

'Spaces' aren't new

They aren't new but they've been fairly common in Linux desktop environments since the 90's while OS X didn't introduce them until 2007. I'm not sure where they first appeared but at the very least they've certainly become a common idea because of Linux.

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