[Cialug] Desktop Linux

[Todd Walton]

At http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10260478-16.html Matt Asay says:

"This is the state of "desktop" Linux today: it really has nothing
left to prove. It took years to become user friendly, but it has
arrived, helped along by the world's move to browser-based computing.
At this point, the only thing that Fedora and the other Linux
distributions can do is embrace and extend the Windows or Mac
computing experience, because they've largely matched them (especially
Windows)."

I disagree with this on several points.

First, browser-based computing has not helped Linux to become
user-friendly.  If it's helped anything, it's been to make the
user-friendliness of the operating system a moot point.

Second, even in the context of the rest of the article, this is almost
a slap in the face to all the *hard* work that Red Hat and Ubuntu and
others have put into making a user-friendly open source desktop.  We'd
be nowhere without them, no matter how shiny Mozilla or Opera made
their browsers.  Perhaps Mr Asay could use a screenshot of days past
as a reminder.

Third, if "embrace and extend" means to make a better Windows, then I
don't agree.  It's unrealistic to expect Linux to completely dream up
a brand new user interface; people know the Windows paradigm and they
have work to do.  But open source has the flexibility and speed to
*own* the desktop user experience.  *We* should be setting the
standard that Mac and Windows will follow.  Rather than embracing the
model they present, the Linux community would do well to feel
ownership of the desktop experience and to treat it as their own slate
to draw on.

--
Todd