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Re: [News] GNOME Board Welcomes Canonical; Mark Shuttleworth Interview

  • Subject: Re: [News] GNOME Board Welcomes Canonical; Mark Shuttleworth Interview
  • From: Mark Kent <mark.kent@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:49:22 +0100
  • Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy
  • References: <7313571.IYIMdnxczW@schestowitz.com> <imdhf4-7tk.ln1@ellandroad.demon.co.uk> <LuWdnVmdvq1WwLvbnZ2dnUVZ_qPinZ2d@comcast.com>
  • User-agent: slrn/0.9.7.4 (Linux)
  • Xref: ellandroad.demon.co.uk comp.os.linux.advocacy:515600
Linonut <linonut@xxxxxxxx> espoused:
> After takin' a swig o' grog, Mark Kent belched out this bit o' wisdom:
> 
>> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>>> Ubuntu's commercial sponsor joins GNOME advisory board
>>> 
>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>| Canonical Ltd., the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, will announce on
>>>| April 18 that it has joined the GNOME Foundation's advisory board.
>>> `----
>>> 
>>> http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7148339779.html
>>> 
>>> Mark Shuttleworth: "Time for mass consumer sales of Linux on desktop has not
>>> yet come"
>>
>> I remain unconvinced that it will come before the end of the desktop as
>> we know it arrives...
> 
> The desktop will never end.  

I think it will change beyond recognition, but in two rather distinct
ways, which I shall enumerate below:

> It will always be necessary for tasks such
> as drafting, engineering (including software development), and certain
> business uses.

Such uses are rare indeed, the vast majority of people do none of these
tasks.  Even "certain business uses" are, for most people, rare, and
often more happily replaced with mobile devices of one kind or another.
Why sit at a desk doing email if you could do it on your blackberry
whilst sitting by the lake in the park, say?

Having said this, for the truly "desktop" based uses you mention, I
think that the interface will change beyond recognition.  Art & design
work is much more easy to accomplish with almost anything other than a
mouse or tablet, and a 2D flat screen display is so, well, 1920s.
Writing of text and software are about the only things I can see sticking
to the present interface, as it is fairly well optimised for them.

> 
> The consumer desktop will probably shrink, though, to the size and
> profile of a clipboard.

That was my major drive, though, and I agree with you.  There is no
reason for most people to use a desktop computer. 

> 
> Even right now, though, many people don't really /use/ their desktop.
> They work with one window always maximized.
> 

Says a lot about people and the way computers work...

-- 
| Mark Kent   --   mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk          |
| Cola faq:  http://www.faqs.org/faqs/linux/advocacy/faq-and-primer/   |
| Cola trolls:  http://colatrolls.blogspot.com/                        |

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