Linked by David Adams on Thu 29th Sep 2011 23:47 UTC, submitted by lucas_maximus
Linux is struggling on the desktop because it only has a small number of "great" apps, according to the Gnome co-creator. Miguel de Icaza, co-creator of the Gnome desktop, told tech journalist Tim Anderson at the recent Windows 8 Build conference "When you count how many great desktop apps there are on Linux, you can probably name 10," de Icaza said, according to a post on Anderson's IT Writing blog. "You work really hard, you can probably name 20. We've managed to p*** off developers every step of the way, breaking APIs all the time."
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Member since:2007-02-17
What's this stuff about "We don't need stable APIs. we don't need binary compatibility"? How many people actually want to waste hours and hours compiling a huge desktop application so it works on their computer
Linux users don't need a stable API in order to avoid having to spend hours and hours compiling a huge desktop application so it works on their computer.
http://packages.ubuntu.com/oneiric/blender
Just install it with the package manager.
Member since:2005-07-20
Member since:2007-02-17
Yes, high-quality desktop apps are definitely lacking in my Linux experience. And it's not just because they're FOSS - open source apps for Windows tend to be higher quality than those for Linux.
Here is a nice integrated Office suite that achieves power through smaller apps which can all use one another's data. Being smaller, each app loads much faster than any part of MS Office.
http://www.calligra-suite.org/
Version 2.4 is still in Beta, it isn't due for release until next month. This release will include new applications in Brain-dump and Plan, and it also features the return of Flow.
Being lighter-weight, it can run handily even on netbooks and tablets (Calligra Mobile and Calligra Active.).
Exceptional value-for-money. Doesn't need a monster system to run really well.
Nice. Neat. Linux only.
Edited 2011-09-30 13:50 UTC
Member since:2005-09-27
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Member since:
2006-05-23
Yes, high-quality desktop apps are definitely lacking in my Linux experience. And it's not just because they're FOSS - open source apps for Windows tend to be higher quality than those for Linux. Heck, the same FOSS application is often better on Windows than on Linux - look at Firefox.
Taken overall though, I feel that Linux is a higher quality OS than Windows for my purposes - mostly because it succeeds in annoying me less. Also, it's free, so there's less reason to complain. But I do think this stuff needs to be said.
BTW. What's this stuff about "We don't need stable APIs. we don't need binary compatibility"? How many people actually want to waste hours and hours compiling a huge desktop application so it works on their computer (other than teenagers running Gentoo)? How many companies want to write software that uses a moving target API? Proprietary software is not going away, and if Linux is to gain market share on the desktop, developers need to accept that, and make it possible for proprietary as well as FOSS software to easily run on Linux.
But it does look like I'm kidding myself, doesn't it? Microsoft is still King, and we're still pouring endless money (and endless lives, don't forget the tantalum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coltan ) into constant hardware upgrades we don't even need. The vicious cycle continues apace, and we can't stop it, oh no, because it's CAPITALISM and capitalism is ALWAYS GOOD.
SMN.
Edited 2011-09-30 10:58 UTC