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Thom,
Re: "I'm wondering why Novell is doing all this. They must be aiming for the home desktop with this-- as this is useless fluff on corporate desktops."
It all depends on what your job function is. I can see being able to quickly switch between desktop applications useful. Though with the additional eye candy effects it does seem that Novell is not just targeting NLD for the enterprise anymore but as a global platform solution. If so then we may see SUSE Linux only available from OpenSUSE.org with retail stores selling NLD instead of SUSE Linux. This would then allow Novell to focus more on one desktop solution as well provide a better understanding for those that may be confused with both products from Novell.
Edited 2006-02-03 23:32
Yeah, I'm wondering how well/whether this will work with KDE. One would think that Novell is aiming to update Suse's KDE desktop with this technology too, but who knows?
David Reveman actually designed things in a way that will ensure that this stuff integrates well with any desktop/windowing system.
Details will be unveiled next week.
Btw, I find the videos really impressive. While the effects aren't exactly original, the smoothness is however very, VERY impressive.
Unless the state of hardware acceleration improves on Linux generally you can simply forget most of this, including the smoothness - and the spinning cube of desktops. Sun made pretty much the same presentation for Looking Glass. Microsoft has had to look very long and hard into providing levels of backwards compatibility for older hardware into Vista, and Apple doesn't need to worry about that because they know what hardware you'll be running it on because they control it.
I'm wondering why Novell is doing all this.
They're doing it because some people have a bee in their bonnet about Vista, and because they're probably trying to convince even their own employees about their own Linux desktop by wooing them with effects and soundbites. However, there are ten dozen more mundane, but more important, things to be done to get an adequate desktop before you get to this stuff. There is limited time and developer resources as it is. If somebody can do it then fine, but for that to be the focus of just about everything you're providing and selling......
They must be aiming for the home desktop with this
Nope.




Member since:
2005-06-29
Btw, I find the videos really impressive. While the effects aren't exactly original, the smoothness is however very, VERY impressive. And the new 'start' menu does hold some resemblance (as far as it's judgable) to those mockups a few weeks ago.
I'm wondering why Novell is doing all this. They must be aiming for the home desktop with this-- as this is useless fluff on corporate desktops.
Edited 2006-02-03 23:11