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Linux Of the Future May Be About Which Environment, Not Which Distribution
itwbennett writes "In its 2012 roadmap, the Mozilla Foundation highlights plans to create its own soup-to-nuts mobile platform, known as Boot to Gecko. With this move, the Mozilla Foundation 'is finally shaking off its dependence on browser revenues and treading where Google, with ChromeOS; Canonical, with Unity on Ubuntu; and (most recently) the Plasma community's Spark tablet have already started: the creation of standards-based platforms that rely on robust web applications (in varying degrees) more than native-run apps to provide the user experience,' writes blogger Brian Proffitt. 'I very much think that we are heading for a time when Linux flavors will be identified by environments, not distributions.'"
With Google making up about 90% of the Mozilla revenues these days, I've been worried for a while that they were going to kill off Firefox in the face of Chrome. Nothing against Chrome, but the add-on community for Firefox is by far the best. And it's particularly robust when it comes to add-ons for script-blocking, downloading videos from Youtube, etc. (all of which Google has a vested interest in stopping or trying to suppress in Chrome). Giving up Firefox means going back to an era where only the big corps control the browsers. And I don't like the thought of Google killing off Adblock and other extensions the second there is no alternative (except Opera I guess).
So here's to hoping that this move isn't a foreshadowing of a time when Mozilla does everything BUT Firefox.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
It seems like everyone is wanting to ride a new 'tech wave' again like it was in the 90s, since what we have has become saturated and stale. But arent they exaggerating it, all of them going nutso and mobile in full force ? (does not only include linux - everyone)
Wont it probably be like pcs ? once they pass a certain hardware strength and software feature set, people will just skip on going on the 'next big thing'. like how endless legions of people has not upgraded their xp, or, how people just skip on upgrading their hardware since what they have is enough.
Read radical news here
... stop telling me how I should run my computer by trying to lock me in to their "vision."
The "vision thing" didn't work out in the dot-com bust, and it's not working out for Unity, or Chromebooks, or anything else. When it gets to the point that Apple and Microsoft are starting to look more open, "Open Source" has a problem.
It's the applications, people! Until linux can run most of them, it's going to remain mostly a server and utility OS, because most people have at least one "must have" application that won't let them switch.
Let's call it what it is, Anti-Social Media.
Is the desktop still gonna suck?
Nope, not this year. If you hadn't heard, 2012 is going to be the year of the Linux desktop.
Want a real shock? Grab a 20 year old copy if Windows XP. I's still usable! (at least as usable as a Windows OS can be)
Good luck finding one.
20 years ago the world was eagerly awaiting the release of Windows 3.1 in March, which would finally bring us colour icons, 386 Enhanced (protected mode) windows apps and the ability to run MSDOS programs in a window. Oh, and Minesweeper, no more stupid MS Reversi for us!
Man, I can just feel CANYON.MID playing through my head as I think about the coming excitement.
When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
When you say Slashdot (or other web boards) "works fairly well," it just shows you've never used a decent Usenet newsreader program. A threaded newsreader blows away by far even the most "advanced" web boards I've ever seen.
I don't know the answer to your question. But I think there is reason to suspect that Linux on tablet will rock. If you make a tablet meant to run on Linux, you have no driver issues since you don't much upgrade tablets. Also, with Boot2Gecko running Javascript, there is great reason to suspect that it will have great compatability. I think it is clear that mobile/tablet apps will largely be made with Javascript with PhoneGap. This way, they can be Boot2Gecko and Metro compatible. They can also run well on Android and iOS.
Desktop is so last century. In the 21st century mobile computers and entertainment center computers will rule. Desktops will just be for work and
Democracy Now! - your daily, uncensored, corporate-free
Want a real shock? Grab a 5-year-old version of Knoppix and boot it - it's easily just as usable. 5 years of "progress"
Why would that be a shock? The basic design for the desktop was done by the 90s: apps in windows that get dragged around and manipulated by bars attached to each window. Some kind of status bar at the top or bottom of the screen. Everything since then has just been eye candy. The truth is that the basic desktop design works and everybody is familiar with it. There is nothing that you can do with a modern desktop (Apple, Windows, or Linux) that you couldn't have done with a Windows 2000-era desktop.
Relevant video: link