Former Compiz Developer: Free Software Desktop Might Enter A Dark Age

[microcode]

It will be bright age without companies dictating open source code. As Debian user, I see redhat being my enemy when forcing crap software to Debian, pulseaudio, networkmanager, systemd, gnome3 etc. Xfce is true open source desktop and that is why it is stable, ready, fast and freely configurable.

Poor you, having easy preconfigured access to the only functioning desktop Linux audio system, the most flexible and functional network management daemon ever created, the most practical and user-friendly system management daemon available on any platform, and the most widely loved open source desktop environment. How dare they divert resources to things which actually work and serve the needs of users of their system. They should focus on delivering something which most people can't stand.

[Michael_S]

Never understood Unity, since it's basically the same as Gnome, but with a permanent dock by default? Was there any other real differences from a users point of view?

I never could get used to operating without a dock, so the difference was big to me. I gave GNOME Shell a try for weeks at a time more than once, and just couldn't get used to it. No offense or disrespect to the people that are fine with it.

The Linux desktop has been in a dark age for awhile now. It's practically an unusable pile of crap.

Really? It's been my main desktop for years without problems. What's wrong with it?

[johnc]

The Linux desktop has been in a dark age for awhile now. It's practically an unusable pile of crap.

[leech]

Well, I remember still when Ubuntu started, with the promise that they were going to be a standard Gnome desktop based on Debian Sid, and snapshot it for release every 6 months. That very 6 month release cycle was based upon the gnome release cycle. It still is to this day. Once Ubuntu decided to ditch Gnome and go their own way was when I started to ditch them as well. Seemed right around that time that it started to become less stable overall (not just the desktop, but things like kernel upgrades would break the whole system). I indeed switched full time to Debian, and not only that, I started re-installing other people's systems that I had set up with Ubuntu (because they were becoming corrupted even though they were hardly used..).

So for them to go back to Gnome is good in reality. Same with them ditching upstart for systemd, and mir for wayland. It makes them so they're 'just another distro' but that's actually a good thing, so people aren't attempting to write for Ubuntu and.. others.

I do have to wonder if they'll go the RHEL/CentOS way and setup Gnome Classic by default, or will set up Gnome-shell, or Gnome-shell with extensions enabled by default. I currently use Debian Stretch, and the only extensions I use are the monitoring stuff, and the weather. Otherwise Gnome stays out of my way and works great! Never understood Unity, since it's basically the same as Gnome, but with a permanent dock by default? Was there any other real differences from a users point of view?

[oiaohm]

With the end to Unity and Mir what will happen to snappy. Like will we see unity around flatpak now? So starting to close off a historic problem of cross distribution of applications?

I don't see how Linux Desktop is entering a dark age. It more in the progress of leaving it. LSB has basically failed because it attempted to-do the impossible. Like it or not you need multi version of Libraries when you are running programs across distributions. We have had no common standard for providing multi versions of libraries.

Systemd is a clear sign that things started changing. Like pulseaudio before it. People forget before pulseaudio having 6+ different sound server competing for the desktop was not particularly fun. Before systemd we had like 9+ init systems all broken in different ways with one of the most broken as default. Without systemd starting use and get the defects in cgroups and namespaces fixed something like flatpak or snappy would not be possible. It funny even that docker came first docker did not work on fixing up the kernel side defects instead worked around them.

There is a common on going problem of userspace living with kernel defects instead of getting them fixed.

https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/SandboxedApps

Yes gnome has it flag for cross platform package solution at this stage clearly behind flatpak not snappy. We might at long last have true unity around a working cross distribution package system.

[theriddick]

What will we ever do without Unity and Mir, the world has ended... /sarcasm

Meanwhile I'm very happy on my manjaro kde system, and this is coming from someone who has tried almost all the ubuntu releases several times over...

[torsionbar28]

I'll channel Griffin for a moment and boldly state: GNOME is the Enterprise Linux Desktop!!! All bow to its awesomeness and to its mythical QA team.

Because GNOME is already a standard for businness-oriented distros and has been for a long while already. RHEL and SUSE and even Debian are using GNOME by default. Ubuntu didn't decide to switch to GNOME (against most of its userbase, again) by chance.

So no, while your argument is valid, (companies don't like UI changes), this isn't an issue for Linux distros used by companies anyway as they have already adopted a standard.

Who the fuck cares about DEs used in distros not used by companies, let them live free.

You're too far in the weeds, I'm talking simply about creating a standard, much like LSB. Nobody is forced to adopt LSB, but it exists for those who wish to conform to it. Likewise, a GUI standard could be devised for those (RHEL, SuSE, other business-focused desktop/workstation distros) who wish to conform to it. Until a standard exists, any documentation, training, and other corporate-centric materials will be forced to be distro-specific. I don't understand the beef over developing a standard?

[eidolon]

Do you think the Linux desktop could enter a "dark age"?

Granted, Sam Spilsbury ended his post on a positive note, but the talk of the possibility of a "dark age" for the free software desktop reminds me a little bit of the hyperbolic headline, "What Killed the Linux Desktop", or, on a different topic, the hyperbolic headline, "systemd: Harbinger of the Linux apocalypse". Free software continues to thrive.

Free software hasn't been trounced, so reassurance that "free software will rise again" is unneeded. Canonical is concentrating its focus in areas where it has a chance of continuing financial success. That is all. The free software desktop is on the same trajectory, more or less, it's been on for years. It's not conquering the world in a decisive martial push nor is it falling to Earth in a fiery blaze. It's not always smooth sailing, but the ship isn't in danger of sinking anytime soon.

I'm not always on-board with Canonical's initiatives, but I've never been so put off by Canonical that I wished it would cease to exist as a company, which is more than I can say for Oracle.

[Mario Junior]

It will be bright age without companies dictating open source code. As Debian user, I see redhat being my enemy when forcing crap software to Debian, pulseaudio, networkmanager, systemd, gnome3 etc. Xfce is true open source desktop and that is why it is stable, ready, fast and freely configurable.

[Michael_S]

What are we, a bunch of drunken (American) football fans! "Cowboys suck!!!!!1111111" "No, Giants suck!!!!!!1111" Really?

I use Unity on my work laptop and like it, but I have Xfce on an old laptop I use when traveling, MATE on my server/workstation, and Elementary OS on my gaming desktop. So the death of Unity neither thrills nor upsets me.

I think the thing that will bring the dark age to the free software desktop is Android. The version of Android 99.9% of the public uses is so locked-down and loaded with proprietary apps and firmware that it's effectively as closed as iOS or Windows 10. And my wife, my kids, and my extended family and friends are using their Android devices more and more and their desktop computers less and less. We the power users will continue to run traditional desktop operating systems, but most people won't, and getting someone to switch from Windows 10 to Xubuntu or Elementary OS is a million times easier than getting someone to switch from Android to Replicant.