stressfree - desktop

Clueless Linux pundit of the week

David — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 11:43:45 +0000

There was a posting on the Linux forums that caught my attention mainly because its title and subsequent logic was so twisted that it was hard to ignore. Why Ubuntu Got It All Wrong is a fairly lengthy posting about how Ubuntu Linux, arguably the most successful Linux of the last few years, is completely wrong and should be viewed as a dismal failure. It is an interesting concept, Ubuntu is certainly showing signs of being too popular too fast, but the logic behind the argument is wrong. The weirdest statement made is that a 'revolutionary' Linux desktop should not resemble the current desktop (i.e. Windows/OSX) at all. In fact in the eyes of the author Ubuntu seems to fail because it is too conventional and the money invested by Mark Shuttleworth would have been better spent on experimental, never to be seriously adopted concepts like Project Looking Glass.

A screenshot from Project Looking Glass

Ubuntu and most Linux desktops are not about 'revolutionising' the desktop experience if there is such a thing. The key ideology behind Ubuntu and to a lesser extent Red Hat/Suse is to bring an open-source desktop alternative to the Microsoft dominated table. With this objective in mind Ubuntu is doing an excellent job, the operating system installs on just about anything, it is relatively stable and what's more the end result can be used by normal people as long as they are semi-computer literate. This ease of use is the key behind Ubuntu and if the desktop experience was as 'revolutionary' as this poster is suggesting then my guess is the end result would be interesting from an academic perspective but hardly practical.

What's more the poster contradicts himself by first stating the desktop experience is not revolutionary enough and then goes on to say "human beings don't like change and cannot be expected to change every piece of software they all use at once". I am afraid you can't have one without the other and once you start running applications like Photoshop through Wine any hope of a revolutionary desktop is lost in the flat-tone grey that is Windows GUI emulation in Linux.

It is a shame the post is so riddled with these contradictions, the underlying premise seems to hold merit and there is the odd valid point made. Like for example why haven't large companies invested serious effort (in developer and support time) on Wine? It would appear Wine is a very promising technology from the perspective that it can get essential business applications running native in Linux. Google has provided some patches in order to ensure Picasa compatibility but that is at the low-key end of support. Unfortunately whilst Wine is kept out in the relative cold by Ubuntu, Red Hat, Novell and others it will never reach its full potential, and whilst this remains the case I am affraid neither will desktop Linux.

Novell Linux Desktop 10 & more 'Cool' apps

David — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 00:39:23 +0000

Novell has announced a public preview release of Novell Linux Desktop 10. It is looking really good, that new 'Computer' menu (aka Start) they have introduced looks really slick and extremely functional. There is a tonne of good looking things in the upcoming NLD10 release, many of which are demonstrated in the some very good promotional videos from Novell.

OpenSUSE 10.1 running Google Earth and Skype natively (Click to enlarge)

What is even better is that larger software makers like Google and Skype are releasing their flagship software for Linux. On my OpenSUSE 10.1 test system I have easily installed Picasa, Google Earth and Skype and had them work first time without any issues. It is really good to see that the application offerings are beginning to be fleshed out from the basic OS/browser/productivity offerings.

In the process of installing Google Earth and Skype I updated SUSE 10.1's new but problematic package manager. The upgrade was smoothly and the performance seems to have significantly improved which is a very good sign.

The most logical argument for a Google OS so far

David — Fri, 26 May 2006 23:37:23 +0000

I was listening to the Gillmor Gang yesterday and the guest was Jason Calacanis, CEO of Weblogs Inc (now part of AOL). He put forward the most logical argument for Google bringing out an operating system I have heard that actually sounded like it could be a success. He believed Google would release a free Linux-based operating system that would be distributed pre-installed on Dell and HP computers. Not only would the operating system be free but it would make extensive use of AdSense in order to deliver targeted advertisements in some integrated manner to users. A good portion of this income would be shared with the PC manufacturers (up to 80%), which would provide significant incentive to ship and support Google OS instead of Windows. Also this post-sale income stream would allow Dell and HP to significantly lower their retail prices on the basis that a good portion of their income would occur post-sale.

From the Google perspective this move would extend the use of AdSense and other Google technologies. Similarly from Dell and HP's perspective it would allow them to significantly undercut competitors (like Lenovo and Apple) whilst still maintaining the same operating margins. The combination would not suit gamers but it would definitely find a niche in the entry level market and perhaps in offices if a slightly more expensive, ad-free version was made available. This hypothetical move would also explain why Microsoft is funnelling lots of money into an AdSense competitor so that if and when this Google OS event occurs it is not left out in the cold without a similar strategy.

Picasa image manager running in OpenSUSE 10.1 (click to enlarge)

The logic behind this mirrors what Sun CEO Jonathan Schartz has been talking about for a number of years. Essentially the PC/mobile device becomes like a disposible razor whilst the bulk of the money is generated in the razor blades and shaving cream sales. Not all users will want to be saturated with adverts so Google will have to offer a commercial-free option similar to pay-TV. Even users who choose this option will still be exposed to Google AdSense online as all the defaults will be set to Google services (GMail, Calendar, GTalk, search) so its not a complete loss for the hardware manufacturers/Google over the long term.

Some of the image manipulation tools in Picasa (click to enlarge)

Soon after hearing this opinion two interesting things happened that hinted that there maybe more to this theory than wild imaginations. Firstly Google announced a deal with Dell to ship their software pre-installed on Dell PCs and then soon after that Google released Picasa for Linux (running through Wine emulation). The first deal seems like an early proof of concept test by Google and Dell whilst the Picasa release gives Linux users access to what is arguably the best general purpose photo manipulation and management tool on the market today. I downloaded it and gave it a spin on OpenSUSE 10.1 and it was fast, all but feature-complete and best of all just as good looking in Linux as in Windows. Unfortunately being closed-source it will never make it into a general Linux release but hopefully Google open-source their Google Pack installer package so that automatically installing and upgrading closed-source Linux packages like Picasa does not remain an isolated process.

Desktop Backgrounds and Icons

David — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 19:09:37 +0000

Some of my favourite places to get desktop backgrounds and icons for Mac/Windows/Linux:

http://www.joejoe.biz/joejoe/walls/
http://interfacelift.com/icons-mac/
http://desktop.dvdesign.com/

Barriers to Desktop Linux Transition

David — Sat, 04 Dec 2004 11:49:50 +0000

The first time I installed Linux was on an old 486 with a floppy drive and keyboard that made a typewriter sound silent. Whilst this initial system was not the most functional, it sure was a learning experience. It gave you the feeling of flying a Sopwith Camel in stormy weather without your pants on; exhilarating and you could sure could feel the wind passing between your legs.

Today you can put a Knoppix CD into just about any machine and within minutes have a secure, functioning desktop complete with Web browser, office suite and many other useful desktop applications. The desktop is fast, elegant and most of your hardware just works. Whilst many people agree that a Linux desktop is more secure, stable and increasingly just as functional as its Windows equivalent there is still no discernable move towards a Linux desktop in the office environment. Unfortunately I believe there are still five significant interface, functional and most importantly ideological barriers blocking mainstream adoption:

Office users are lazy and crave consistency.
Office users only want to log in once.
Office users always choose simplicity over functionality.
Office users can imagine physical drives.

Unlike a geek an office user does not choose to use a computer just like they dont choose to go to work. Geeks crave choice, flexibility and can persevere with unwieldy processes as long as the functionality and integrity of the solution is maintained. Office users just want to get the job done and view terms like mount and root as just slightly rude words.

Office Users are Lazy and crave Consistency

As a Linux user I can choose from numerous operating environments, dozens of themes, a handful of office suites and thousands of other small helper applications that can make my life easier in one way or another. From my perspective this is great because I can use exactly the right tool for the job. However from a general users perspective this process is unwieldy as too much choice and customization just leads to confusion.

Mozilla and OpenOffice are beginning to provide standard set of productivity tools for the Linux desktop. However at a more fundamental level the Gnome/KDE debate is still dividing and diluting the desktop experience. This division, like equal poles on a magnet is forcing the desktop direction further away from a standard experience as both sides attempt to differentiate and outdo the other. Users cannot be expected to relearn their operating environment for the sake of a better underlying system. In this respect a Linux desktop must feel and act like its Windows alternative and should not require any change of practice from the user. This concept is not new and Linux distributions such as Linspire or Suns Java Desktop have spent a great deal of effort trying to emulate the Windows environment look and feel. Unfortunately where these products fall short is in their inability to seamlessly tie a number of applications/utilities into a seamless experience similar to Microsofts Windows/Office/Exchange solution.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Gnome/KDE battle for the desktop environment. Novell in their latest Desktop Linux release went to a great deal of effort to provide near identical environments for KDE and Gnome users. Whilst intriguing from a geeky point of view a lot of effort was wasted on a feature their target market (non-Linux users on office desktops) really could not care about. Resources could have been much better spent focusing on making a single operating environment the most user-friendly and familiar to these users. A very good example of this inconsistency is the Gnome/KDE File Save dialog box. Both Gnome/KDE alternatives are very different to their Windows counterpart yet in both cases they are significantly lacking user-friendly features. With the Windows dialog it is fairly straightforward to perform file management tasks and navigate local/network drives in a logical manner.

The differing dialog boxes also cause massive confusion when working between Gnome and KDE applications. I use Gnome as it is the most Mac-like of the two major environments. However Gnome does not have a decent CD/DVD burner application, the default Gnome utility is too basic whilst other Gnome alternatives are just way to complicated. K3B is an excellent burner application for KDE so I use this instead. Unfortunately when using K3B it feels tacked on to my system as the controls and dialog boxes do not match their Gnome equivalents. It takes me a little time to readjust my mouse movements before I feel fully at home in K3B and from a functional/aesthetic position the whole experience is just confusing.

Office Users only want to Log In Once

Within a networked environment there is an increasing number of network usernames and passwords the user must remember (not to mention change on a regular basis). Natively Windows eases this burden by attempting to reuse your username and password when connecting to a network service or printer. Alternatively in an Active Directory/Novell Network environment intelligent clients are available for automatically authenticating the user with servers, firewalls and various other network services. As a consequence a general user only has to log in once at the beginning of the working day and everything he or she may need is automatically at their disposal.

In a Linux environment this is not the case. A user first my login to X Windows and then manually connect to any network devices or services they may require. It is possible to automatically mount a network share on logon but this process rests on the script knowing the username/password beforehand and cannot reuse or store in memory the users credentials for later use. All of these tasks create barriers and frustrations for a normal user. Novell with their last desktop release had the perfect opportunity to remedy this problem with a Linux port of their very useful Windows Novell Client. Unfortunately for them they failed to take this opportunity and instead placed emphasis on Samba and their interesting but not completely useful iFolder product backed up by the standard range of POSIX based authentication mechanisms. The strange irony of this move was the existence of the open-source Linux Novel Client that all but mirrored the file sharing functionality of its Windows equivalent.

Required is an X Windows login plug-in for KDE/GDM that not only authenticates with a central directory but also mounts network drives and printers defined by information from the same network directory. Red Hats recent acquisition of Netscapes Directory System may signal the first serious move by a Linux distributor to provide user management services similar to those in the Windows environment (as Novell has obviously dropped the ball). Once a user can seamlessly move between Windows and Linux and back again without any obvious change to the services available to them can serious adoption of the Linux desktop can begin.

There are a number of issues beyond the simple development of an X Windows client that must be resolved. Of greater importance I believe is a rationalization of a Linux users Home directory. Presently this location stores ones personal files, program settings and often becomes a place for scratch files as well. Although poorly implemented Windows does attempt to separate user files from configuration information. This segregation is important in a networked environment where connection speeds are low and reliability below optimum (as is the case in many office environments). The system must be able to identify what information is crucial to pass down the wire to a client (such as program settings), what is preferred but not essential (cached mail and Internet) and what can be stored centrally for infrequent access (personal files). Asking application vendors to change their programming habits is asking too much, instead the network client should ensure the user organised their data in a way that suits the system. For example a roving home directory may look like the following:

/home/david -> Application settings downloaded during login and uploaded on logout.
/home/david/mail -> Mail cache on server (if using Unix mail system)
/home/david/files -> GUI wise this is the folder users will see as their home directory
/home/david/files/Documents -> Default document directory
/home/david/files/Desktop -> Desktop directory
/home/david/files/Network -> Links to network shares created during logon
/home/david/files/ -> Anything else (music, movies, photographs)

The clear distinction between settings and data would allow the network client to minimize bandwidth through the selective downloading of essential files. Alternatively selected aspects of a user profile could be downloaded/synchronized by the client based on a users preferences. This feature would be useful for laptop users who may only log onto a network occasionally for synchronization purposes rather than for any services need.