OSDL Announces Desktop Initiative

rhetoric writes "Earlier today at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in New York, nonprofit Open Source Development Labs announced the creation of a "Desktop Linux Working Group initiative focused on greater use of Linux on desktops throughout the enterprise." A press release is available on OSDL's website, in addition to this Register article." It's all part of their non-secret plan.

Comments

Perspective of a Linux neophyte

[Sarojin]

I've been using Wintel for over 15 years and have just recently installed Mandrake 9 on an older P2 450. Here are a couple of points I think are worth mentioning (ubergeeks can exclude themselves from the classifications below):

1. Linux is ready for *some* desktops only, namely ones where users won't be constantly tweaking and installing new software and hardware. You want a computer for grandma to browse the web, send email and view a few grandkid photos? Linux is great! You want to roll out corporate desktops where employees don't really need to be able to download and install the latest version of KaZaA? Linux is a godsend (provided the business software you need is supported).

2. Linux is *not* ready for the average user desktop. The average user wants to do everything grandma wants to do, but they also want to be able to install or upgrade software and hardware *easily*. In addition, they want a fully functional GUI, with no *necessity* of dropping to a CLI for everyday tasks. They want to be able to go to a third party software/driver website, follow the 'click here for Linux version' hyperlink, download the file, then double-click to install it.

Needless to say, as long as Linux distributions and desktop managers continue to proliferate, the average user's requirements will never be met. I say this as a *fact* not a *prescription*, so spare me the Linux-strength-in-diversity comments. I just think you can't have your cake (freedom/diversity) and eat it too (Linux on average desktop).

Re:Perspective of a Linux neophyte

[Apreche]

You got it all right, except for one.

They want to be able to go to a third party software/driver website, follow the 'click here for Linux version' hyperlink, download the file, then double-click to install it.

This is what they want to do, but it's also what they shouldn't be doing. The fact that people can do this is the reason there is so much malware out there. Linux done right will force the non geek to have a great system, somethign windows can never do.
Linux at this point isn't any harder than windows, if you get a geek to set it up for you. What we need is a distro called grandma linux. The WM will be just a bunch of huge icons on a single desktop. One will say E-mail one will say Web Browser, one will say Word Processor, Instant Messenger, etc. Which applications these things actually launch will be decided at install time, which grandma wont do. Stability, compatibility and ease of use will be priority one. There will be also one more big button, Add more Big Buttons. It will run a custom app that will be super grpahical and pretty providing a list of installable apps.
This is also great for the corporate desktop, because you can give the secretary just the few apps she's allowed and nothing more.

There is no reason someone can't make this. In fact, this is the kind of thing that just isn't possible on windows, but is exactly what the world needs. You know what, I'm putting this on my CS projects queue. When I'm done with everything else I'm going to make that wm and that distro. All will be laid to burnination.

Re:Perspective of a Linux neophyte

[DrXym]

The thing is Mac OS X is an OS grandma can use but you can also open a shell and completely ignore Aqua if you want.

So the problem with Linux is not technical. If OS X (a BSD derivative) can have a user friendly frontend then so could Linux. That means proper attention to detail in the UI, user friendliness, hiding advanced options, extensive context sensitive help, wizards and config dialogs, plug and play on the desktop, 3D graphics support (out of the box), and consumer device support. Etc.

Some dists get a lot of this right already (e.g. Fedora has a very nice UI without detracting from the underlying OS) so we're not far from that situation. Hopefully initiatives such as this one from OSDL will help put focus on the work that still needs to be done. It doesn't mean dumbing down Lindows style - a well designed and tolerant UI benefits everyone.

Another major millstone for Linux is the RTFM crowd. At the moment they're acting like so much dead weight to adoption of Linux. Hopefully they'll get a clue and realise the more users the better. And that is not going to happen while a vocal minority are openly hostile to letting mere mortals use their beloved OS.

Server sales counting as desktop sales?

[gmania]

From the article:

According to market research firm IDC, paid shipments of Linux rose to 2.8 percent of desktop operating systems in 2002, up from 1.7 percent two years earlier. In 2004, it is expected to surpass the total new product shipments for the Mac OS.

For some reason this doesn't quite match my own subjective perceptions. I know a lot of Mac buyers, a lot of linux users, but not that many linux desktop OS buyers. Isn't the majority of Linux sales directed to the server market? Or they mixing the figures as they go along? Pity there is no link provided for the research.

Progress

[sokk]

Linux is getting closer to the easy desktop. I think it's ready as a base-system; but what gives the guys in Redmond the upperhand is the application portfolio that have been added to the Windows OS over the years. The day we get native versions of Photoshop, Dreamweaver and the other major apps on Linux - it'll be very hard to resist it. We also need Outlook/Exchange-killers. Evolution is great; but we still have a way to go.

I still haven't recommended Linux on the desktop for any friends of mine, because I know who'll get the call when they can't install their new webcam etc. (You guessed right, me). It won't be long before they ask me I hope; when they see my slick desktop -- and how well everything works. Then I'll help them.

We have KDE 3.2, Gnome 2.6 and kernel 2.6 lurking. We see more and more user friendly distros; and a rise in live-cds.

Still, when I hear people get viruses and such I can't help myself but comment it with a little: "Nope, no viruses. I use Linux."

In the end: It's hard to beat free :)

Even More Frustrating

[occamboy]

Your analogy is dead on, Mr. Silver.

But it's worse:

The vast bulk of the Linux world doesn't even recognize the truth of what you're saying. Whenever someone complains about Linux useability, they are told that "all you need to do is [poorly-documented two hours of time-suck here], and anyway you're just a M$ troll you swine".

The genius of M$ is that they recognize when things are hard to use, and they make 'em easier. Ten years ago they could see that their screen font rendering sucked - so they made them unsuck. I certainly have issues with M$ - sometimes they dumb things down too much, and they often are untruthful. But, let's face facts, even Windows 95 was a far more useable system for 95+% of computer users than is any current Linux distribution that I've tried.

The sad thing is that there's a lot of room for improvement on Windows. Linux can, in theory, win the battle for the desktop. But if folks don't recognize how terribly deficient it is in day-to-day usability, there's not a prayer for it.

Re:Working group representing a consortium of vend

[16K Ram Pack]

I know where you are coming from, that multiple models create a "survival of the fittest" situation rather than monocultures and lockins.

The only thing that this could do is focus everyone on creating 1 really great desktop rather than a number of (often) quite poor desktops.

To someone like me, the whole 'which windowing system to choose' debate is probably doing more harm than good to the adoption of Linux. It sometimes seems it's no longer that people choose one or the other on merit, but that battle lines have been drawn.

There's also no reason why you can't take this desktop code and use what you want and don't want from it.

Getting Linux on the desktop is to me an important objective. From a personal perspective, I don't use it because there's things I'd like to have that aren't there yet. From a more global perspective, Microsoft will attempt to crush Linux in any way possible. Convincing people to get on Linux not only increases the Linux user base, but starves Microsoft of oxygen to take on Linux. I don't believe that enough is being taken yet. It's still mostly hobbyists and a few specialists using it on the desktop. We have to get more home users and more small businesses on, and that means improving the desktop, getting the applications they need built and 'marketing' it to people.

A boost to Freedesktop.org

[InodoroPereyra]

If anything, this is about OSDL sponsoring Freedesktop.org

This working group is also supported by OSDL's Linux User Advisory Council, which is comprised of senior IT executives from global 500 companies. The overall working group objectives have been developed by an exploratory committee with representatives from freedesktop.org, HP, IBM, Intel, Novell, OSDL, Red Hat and Sun Microsystems.

Note that the only non-profit member of the committee is precisely freedsktop.org - For those who don't know, freedsktop.org is (in a nutshell) a common effort by the GNOME and KDE developers to develop standards to let Linux Desktop Enviroments coo- and interoperate. Things like a universal protocol for the system tray, etc.

It just makes sense to see OSDL and their corporate partners sponsor Freedesktop.org, it is a win-win investement for everyone involved ... and I would much rather see the big corps interested on GNU/Linux support Interoperability and Standards than adopt one particular technology as a "de facto standard". Way to go !

Re:IBM - already doing it

[GomezAdams]

Lotus under WINE IIRC.