Desktop metaphor and gnome 3

[homeblend]

So I've been having a lot of heart ache about this. Led by Gnome 3, it seems that the big proprietary players are heading in the same direction (i.e. Apple and Microsoft). I've been using Gnome 3 on Arch for a while, and have finally thrown in the towel. I don't hate it, its a great piece of software. It doesn't even lower my work flow. It just ... to me ... doesn't feel right.

I have (unfortunately) an iPad to which I love (the tablet as opposed to the make - I have high hopes for a webOS replacement in the future). I remember using WinXP on a tablet a few years ago. The os was designed for a desktop, so doesn't work great on tablet form factor. Not many would disagree. Equally, is a touch inspired design (such as Gnome 3, Win8 or OSX Lion), best optimized for the desktop?

My real question is, is this the future of desktop computing and is the desktop metaphor as we've known it in terminal decline?

Note: please no trolling, am really interested in your thoughts

[oz]

is this the future of desktop computing and is the desktop metaphor as we've known it in terminal decline?

Hello and welcome aboard!

It probably depends on your perspective. Clearly the developers of these desktop environments think of their newest releases as improvements. On the other hand, some end users may not see them that way. When the majority of end users see them as on the decline, I suppose they are, regardless of what the devs think. It might be that more time is needed to make a final decision on the matter one way or the other.

Personally, I've not been all that happy with lots of things coming out recently, but hopefully an adjustment period is all that is needed.

[elija]

Given that Gnome Shell (I think) and Unity (definitely) support multi-touch my guess is that they are aimed squarely at the tablet market which is obviously where their bosses see the future. Neither really works on a desktop but Unity is slightly better in that regard than Gnome Shell as it currently retains some of the traditional metaphors. Luckily desktop users are still well catered for with XFCE, which is what I have switched to, KDE, LDXE et al.

I think that the rumours of the desktops demise are very much exaggerated and quite frankly put about by the tablet manufacturers ^_^

[hazel]

I think the extreme variability of Linux will prevent that ever happening. Look what happened when gnome and KDE first came out. A lot of people regarded it as at best a transitional system for newbies, at worst as a contradiction in terms - like a model car made from lego blocks glued together. Linux, like lego, was about self-assembly. If you just wanted a model car, you should buy one. If you just wanted a preassembled desktop, you could use Windows.

Now people no longer fight about this. Some people use gnome or KDE or xfce, some people use a traditional WM-based desktop. The same will happen with Gnome 3 and Unity; those who like them will use them, those who don't will use something else.

[MASONTX]

I think Ozar has it right. Developers may push things in a certain direction, and many sheep will follow, but the users will ultimately decide. If, for example, a significant number of Ubuntu users don't like Gnome 3 and switch to xubuntu, lubuntu or something else, then Ubuntu will likely abandon the new direction or fork. Fortunately for us, the linux community is adept at providing a large number of options.

[mcharlton1]

The desktop market is still alive and well. Apple's desktop OS market share has increased every quarter despite the fact that you have to spend $1,500 to get the OS. Microsoft is a cash cow that has been dragging down the industry for years.

The problem is that Linux has not been able to come up with a consistent alternative that people want. All the good distributions are poorly marketed. Except for Gnome, all the other interfaces just look like cheap spin-offs of Windows.

Gnome 3 is a prime example of why Linux is not going mainstream any time soon. If any commercial software company developed an OS like that, their stock price would plummet the day it is released. It is by far the worst piece of software I ever installed on my computer. I had to completely relearn to do basic simple things. Even when I got the hang of it, everything that was once simple and accessible now requires an extra step, sometimes two. I actually have to go into the terminal and log into root just to restart. To get to the terminal, I have to bring up the app menu and type in "terminal."

If linux goes mainstream, it won't be a traditional linux distributer. It definately won't be Gnome 3. It'll probably be Google or HP.