If anything will replace X (not likely any time soon, IMO) it will be Fresco (www.fresco.org)

quote:Original post by Arild Fines
Therein lies the problem: desktop users think the world ends with them.
And they''re usually right.

Only when referring to desktop operating systems, something Linux simply isn''t.

quote:Original post by GBGames
My roommate starts flame wars about whether CTRL+C should be used for copy and paste rather than the X method of highlighting and pasting. He says it is easier. Other people complain that he is trying to enforce a MS Windows way of working onto an already established *nix way of working.

It should be flexible. The underlying functionality should be provided in such a way that the user can invoke it in few standard ways. Computers should adapt to the way people work, and not vice-versa.

quote:In some ways I agree with him and in others I don''t.
He thinks that GNU/Linux should be a better Windows. He is very anti-Microsoft.
I think that GNU/Linux should be a good OS, regardless if it handles like Windows or not.

Windows is far from ideal. Why emulate that? Why not innovate and improve on what can be done using a modern OS? (Tell that to GNOME and KDE.)

quote:My roommate is a usability critic. If he finds something he considers to be wrong with how a program runs, he refuses to use it.

Good for him! If there were more people like him, maybe we wouldn''t have so much bad software.

quote:Example: man pages. He refuses to use them because he feels he shouldn''t have to.

Man pages are sound in concept but now behind the curve in implementation. We have (ubiquitous) hypertext documentation today (HTML); why stick to obscure niche formats that can not be easily shared and manipulated (man, info)?

quote:He will go on and on about how Linux programs are horrible in general because they don''t interoperate "properly" or have inconsistent interfaces.

He''s right.

quote:He will complain that he wants a feature that is found in most other OSes.

This is a complicated one. Some features found in other OSes make no sense (applications that steal focus, courtest Microsoft, are spawns of satan).

quote:...I tend to argue, "But (1) the masses don''t have to play with my toy and (2) why doesn''t the world adapt instead?"

See above. Computers (and software) should adapt to the way people work. They may require a different paradigm for the user to benefit maximally from them, but they should strive to reflect the way people think and organize and interact with their data.

Example: the hierarchical filesystem is a good idea, but it has limitations. In fact, the model is outdated and a relational database model is more useful because it allows users to create conceptual associations that can act as filters for searching and manipulating data. Requiring users to add relationships between several pieces of data frequently is silly, so we can use the hierarchical filesystem as an abstract interface to creating data relationships. Have all data stored in one flat repository, but have the user view the data as existing in directories. Dragging a file to a new directory "copies" it there, which creates an association with that directory as well. By giving directories useful names ("roleplaying", "images") the user can then operate on data in powerful ways using directory identifiers as filter terms.

quote:I think that *nix is a different way of life. It means knowing what you''re doing.

I think that Unix needs to evolve beyond its original goals of being a great software development environment and portable OS; it needs to morph ot being a solid, open and standard technical foundation for next-generation computing, and that requires the addition of candy shells to the rock-solid core.

quote:I''m sorry, but I learn how to drive a car before assuming that I can use one.

Did you learn how a car works - in-depth? Even if you did, did you have to? The analogy is poor; today''s computers require users have too much understanding of their internals to really benefit from them (otherwise you cower in fear before these temperamental machines that gobble your data).

quote:Linux gives me the choice.
Windows gives me less of a choice.
Mac OS is practically no choice.

Choice is overrated. I want productivity and interoperability. I want to focus on getting things done rather than making things work (the way I want them to). And so do most people. Sorry, but the defensive "My Linux!" types simply have to accept that Linux'' mainstream future is as a commodity OS - and that is a necessity if we want reasonable guarantees of privacy and autonomy in the digital age.

quote:Original post by BradDaBug
Why can''t we have both?

We can. And eventually, we will. The question is whether that will happen soon enough.

There are many efforts to commoditize Linux and make it palatable to and usable by the general public. The only problem is the absolute lack of inspiration in such efforts.

quote:What if folks said "No! KDE is WRONG!" or "No! Gnome is WRONG!" but instead we have both.

Actually, they''re both wrong.