Ubuntu's Shuttleworth wants Linux to "out-pretty" Apple desktop

I've been writing about the year of the Linux desktop for at least five years at this point. So far, the majority of the progress seems to be coming from Ubuntu.

What's amazing to me is that more hardware companies don't spend time on the Linux desktop. No matter how good a PC or laptop may be, you are pretty much stuck on Windows. Unless you get a Mac. Then you have limited hardware choices. Seems like a huge opportunity considering the rise of browser-based applications.

Besides the lack of a few important applications, namely MS office and the Adobe suite there isn't much that you can't do on Linux. And considering there are viable replacements for both of those products, what's holding things back? User experience seems to be one answer.

Good looks go a long way according to Mark Shuttleworth.

"I think the great task in front of us in the next two years is to lift the experience of the Linux desktop from something stable and usable and not pretty, to something that's art," Shuttleworth said.

Via The Register

[Username: boomerz37]

Mark Shuttleworth's vision is completely reasonable and attainable!

Ubuntu Linux has all the GUI "user interface" capabilities needed to be an attractive GUI desktop and provide an excellent "user experience" - and Ubuntu Linux already has a very powerful and functional Linux desktop.

But, if people are to use Ubuntu Linux, they also need Linux training to learn how to use the GUI interface of the Ubuntu Linux desktop!

To see how to use the Ubuntu Linux desktop, you can watch free sample Ubuntu Linux Desktop training videos at:

http://www.iLearnLinux.com/Ubuntu-Linux

Thanks for the post!

Clyde Boom, http://www.iLearnLinux.com
The Easy Linux Training Guy ;) - Easy, self-paced Linux training - in Plain English!

[Username: boomerz37]

Mark Shuttleworth's vision is completely reasonable and attainable!

Ubuntu Linux has all the GUI "user interface" capabilities needed to be an attractive GUI desktop and provide an excellent "user experience" - and Ubuntu Linux already has a very powerful and functional Linux desktop.

But, if people are to use Ubuntu Linux, they also need Linux training to learn how to use the GUI interface of the Ubuntu Linux desktop!

To see how to use the Ubuntu Linux desktop, you can watch free sample Ubuntu Linux Desktop training videos at:

http://www.iLearnLinux.com/Ubuntu-Linux

Thanks for the post!

Clyde Boom, http://www.iLearnLinux.com
The Easy Linux Training Guy ;) - Easy, self-paced Linux training - in Plain English!

[jezzali]

Don't get me wrong, I really like Mark Shuttleworth, and this is the first time that I can think of that I've ever had anything critical to say regarding something he has said.

"I think the great task in front of us in the next two years is to lift the experience of the Linux desktop from something stable and usable and not pretty, to something that's art," - Mark Shuttleworth

I find this kind of talk increasingly annoying as I survey the current status of the highly ambitious, already impressive, and rapidly improving KDE 4.1 (currently using RC1 here).

Is it pretty ? Absolutely. Is it art ? I think the artists involved will agree that it is definitely a work in progress. Its already very pretty, and its only going to get better.

What do you think the KDE community have been working on for the past three years Mark ?

:(

[drjoewebb]

I've been using Xandros and the latest versions of Ubuntu (on my Asus Eee 900) and Kubuntu on my desktop (I prefer KDE desktop to GNOME). I am also running CodeWeavers CrossOver Linux and using MS Office 2000 and 2007 flawlessly, so far at least. The KDE desktop is very flexible and adaptable. The only reason it's not on my Eee is that I couldn't find enough users online who had written about it on their systems, so I went with the Ubuntu-eee version.

I have used Xandros (also KDE) and Kubuntu as my primary operating systems and I have been extremely pleased and delighted with how customizable my workspace is and how rock solid the underlying operating system is. Linux is ready all but for dealing with drivers for some legacy devices. The communities supporting it are strong and vibrant. The absence of notes like "Microsoft engineers are aware of the problem" messages is striking because they are replaced by constructive insights and workarounds from hard core users. There are still some tradeoffs with Linux, but the ones on the downside are far less than even a few months ago, and are now virtually inconsequential.

[RF engineer]

I could not agree with Dave's comments more. I am now using Linux in an older computer and it works great. Actually, it is Google's Linux Rocket E version (other versions based Ubuntu available). I am a little upset that Google has not pushed this more. Linux certainly fits well into the Google model. I wish that Google would get behind this and create a third mass market alternative to Microsoft and Apple.