Linux is a reflection of people in general - diverse. Reading/. should be a good enough indication of this. Getting two/. posters to agree on something is bad enough, but trying to rally an entire Linux community around a single user interface is clearly ludicrous.
However, I agree with your sentiment. I use MS in my professional life, and the commonality of the user interface is great for short ramp up and novice users.
I just started messing with Linux about 5 months ago, and the UI blows pretty much across the board. Sure, there are some nice desktop and window managers out there, but not all apps share the same UI philosophy, and it seems that very few have good keyboard access (and I hate mice). From a user's standpoint, Linux has some catching up to do.
Though it's true that Gnome and KDE aren't going to lure away your mom, both of these systems are maturing rapidly, and my impression is that these two have captured the majority of Linux users, so I think the popular front you're wishing for is largely already there.
Back on the topic of OSX, why not start your own effort to make an OSX-like window/desktop manager? Or is one already under way? Or is everyone too afraid of Apple? I seem to remember someone (themes.org?) getting slapped because one of their desktop themes (which is just a bunch of bitmaps and color settings, for crying out loud) looked too much like the iMac "aqua" interface.
Slashdot Mirror
...if it flops, they'll start showing up at the discount mail order sites and eBay, and might turn out to be a nice little platform for hacking.
However, I agree with your sentiment. I use MS in my professional life, and the commonality of the user interface is great for short ramp up and novice users.
I just started messing with Linux about 5 months ago, and the UI blows pretty much across the board. Sure, there are some nice desktop and window managers out there, but not all apps share the same UI philosophy, and it seems that very few have good keyboard access (and I hate mice). From a user's standpoint, Linux has some catching up to do.
Though it's true that Gnome and KDE aren't going to lure away your mom, both of these systems are maturing rapidly, and my impression is that these two have captured the majority of Linux users, so I think the popular front you're wishing for is largely already there.
Back on the topic of OSX, why not start your own effort to make an OSX-like window/desktop manager? Or is one already under way? Or is everyone too afraid of Apple? I seem to remember someone (themes.org?) getting slapped because one of their desktop themes (which is just a bunch of bitmaps and color settings, for crying out loud) looked too much like the iMac "aqua" interface.