Jade: New Linux Desktop Built On Python, HTML5 & JavaScript

[makam]

Your computer is too old. Enterprises usually update your notebook every 3 years, max.

LOL. The only laptops I issue at my company are from ~2012. With no plans to refresh ATM.

[caligula]

Why all this hate for Python? I think this is a great idea, Python is easy to write multi-threaded and multi=processing code, since the move with desktop cpu's seems to be more and more cores it makes sense to move away from 70's era programming languages.

Personally, I would love it if the rewrote the entire Linux stack, from kernel to user space in Python or Rust or Ruby.

Like I said, it won't necessarily need Python at all. Would you use C programs that also depended on Fortran and Cobol? Just for initialization. It doesn't make any sense. JS is powerful enough. In the worst case, having two languages means two event loops, two garbage collectors, two JITs, and so forth. I think a Python OR JS desktop makes sense but not Python+JS.

[kpedersen]

To be honest, gnome2 did not had memory leaks and null pointer crashes that I would remember, ...

And if it did, they would have been fixed by now and UNIX would have an actual usable and incredibly stable desktop environment to almost rival Windows 2000's. That is, of course if twits didn't push Gnome 3 and Javascript on us back then

But no.. All we have still is utter sh*te.

[Delgarde]

Your computer is too old. Enterprises usually update your notebook every 3 years, max.

Maybe if you're in management, and need the latest toys to run Power Point. But as a developer, my primary work machine is about six years old... still decent performance (it was top hardware at the time), but getting on a bit now. I think it's due for replacement sometime this year...

[Guest]

The underlying technology stack does look interesting but the window manager itself seems weird from the youtube video I saw. What's with the always on app menu?

Devs, please stop making everything.js.
Computational cycles still matter. And they will continue to matter for the foreseeable future.

GUI toolkit devs, please make your tools not suck compared to modern web development and then we'll stop making everything.js

Why can't web developers just stick with the web and leave the desktop alone?

Because desktop developers don't seem to be doing a very good job (at least design and usability wise).

[yoshi314]

another form-over-function type of desktops, i guess.

i am starting to understand why so many people enjoy i3 nowadays.

[makam]

GUI toolkit devs, please make your tools not suck compared to modern web development and then we'll stop making everything.js

Or perhaps people should start to learn proper computer science. Part of the problem with modern Web development and UX design is that many web developers and UX designers are now 'glorified graphic designers'.
As yoshi314 says... but I will add that too many UX designers are form-over-function people. Even worse, they are now spilling over to traditionally function-over-form areas and are complaining how those areas are too much function-over-form.

Because desktop developers don't seem to be doing a very good job (at least design and usability wise).

I would argue that the average UX designer does not know much about usability but knows too much about visual design('glorified graphic designers'). One of my favourite professors was a published scientist with a PHD in Human Computer Interaction. However his background(masters and bachelors) is in computer science. And I am pretty sure he would have a fine word with most of the UX designers that came from a computer graphics background rather than a computer science background.

Also just because something looks nice and perhaps even sells well that does not mean that it is technically superior.

[DMJC]

Start with GNUstep, reimplement OSX Snow Leopard and theme it with Milk theme: https://cdn.appstorm.net/mac.appstor...lk-620x295.jpg. That would easily be the best UNIX desktop environment ever.

[Guest]

... modern Web development and UX design is that many web developers and UX designers are now 'glorified graphic designers'.

Well, yes. I wouldn't trust a programmer with UX. Computer science doesn't have much to do with user experience design. In fact many of the techniques a professional programmer uses are completely at odds with the approach that you need to have to understand how people use or want to use software. Like it or not, UX has more to do with the humanities department than with the engineering one.

As yoshi314 says... but I will add that too many UX designers are form-over-function people. Even worse, they are now spilling over to traditionally function-over-form areas and are complaining how those areas are too much function-over-form.

I don't think so. You make it sound subjective but that's something that you can actually measure with A/B tests and user experience studies. If an animation or an effect actually helps reduce cognitive overhead and help the average user complete a task, then it's not "form over function" but just good UX.

And I am pretty sure he would have a fine word with most of the UX designers that came from a computer graphics background rather than a computer science background.

Well, that's the situation you've got at the moment in Linux land, where design and UX are an after thought, and your average distro is not known for its great user experience among people who have tried Desktop Linux at one point or another (not counting recent initiatives like the stuff elementary OS brings out.)

[makam]

Well, yes. I wouldn't trust a programmer with UX. Computer science doesn't have much to do with user experience design. In fact many of the techniques a professional programmer uses are completely at odds with the approach that you need to have to understand how people use or want to use software. Like it or not, UX has more to do with the humanities department than with the engineering one.


I don't think so. You make it sound subjective but that's something that you can actually measure with A/B tests and user experience studies. If an animation or an effect actually helps reduce cognitive overhead and help the average user complete a task, then it's not "form over function" but just good UX.


Well, that's the situation you've got at the moment in Linux land, where design and UX are an after thought, and your average distro is not known for its great user experience among the general populace (not counting recent initiatives like the stuff elementary OS brings out.)

Cognitive load is certainly a consideration to be had for UX design, one of several dosens of others. All depending on your use case.

The problem I see is that many UX devs treat cognitive load as the END-ALL-BE-ALL of UX design.

The way things are going future UIs will be one big button where instead of doing everything, the button will do nothing. And it will be called PlaceboUI.