Linux Daydreaming

Xfce4me

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Sometimes I daydream about when we might see the fabled "Year of the Linux Desktop". It may happen one day but I think fragmentation (as beautiful as it is) has stymied the critical mass necessary to reach it. So, I have this fantasy where a group of computer manufacturers decide to bring about the apocalypse by investing heavily in one Linux distribution. However, instead of building their own Linux distribution, they choose to set up a "winner-takes-all" Linux distro tournament for teams of developers. The rules are as follows:

Round 1 - Each manufacturer will test every distro on their own unique hardware. The distros that install flawlessly and quickly move on.

Round 2 - A group of inexperienced users will test the user-friendliness of each distro. Distros with the highest scores move on.

Round 3 - A group of advanced users will test for functionality and overall performance. Distros with the highest scores move on.

Round 4 - The remaining distros will be critiqued by a panel of digital artists who will select the one that is the most visually appealing for mass markets.

*In the event of a tie, manufacturers will consider the size and quality of each distro's existing user base, forums, and online documentation.

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The winning team receives $1,000,000!

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Now that is just the first part of my fantasy. I recognize that Ubuntu, Fedora and a few of the other "big" distros would have a huge advantage in a competition like this. So in the second part of my fantasy I imagine Linux distributions with much smaller budgets would need to pair up with other (somewhat) similar distros to pool resources and give themselves a fighting chance. Here are some of my pairings for the Ultimate Distro Team-Ups:

TEAM ABSOLUTE SLACK (Slackware + Absolute Linux)

TEAM BLACK EAGLE MOUNTAIN (Manjaro + Garuda Linux + Black Arch)

TEAM DEEP END (Deepin + Endless OS)

TEAM EL VOYAGE (elementary OS + Voyager Live)

TEAM GECKOPEN (OpenSUSE + GeckoLinux)

TEAM LITE FX (Linuxfx + Linux Lite)

TEAM MAGIC QUBES (Mageia + Qubes)

TEAM MINT (Linux Mint + Peppermint OS)

TEAM MX-TRUX (MX-Linux + Nitrux)

TEAM NEO KALI (KDE Neon + Kali Linux)

TEAM PARROT POP! (Pop!_OS + Parrot)

TEAM POLKA (PCLinuxOS + KaOS)

TEAM SOLID (Solus + Void)

TEAM SPARQ (SparkyLinux + Q4OS)

TEAM TOOTOO (Gentoo + Funtoo)

TEAM ZORT (Zorin OS + Tails)

From there my fantasy fades and I'm left wondering what would happen. I suspect the team with deepest pockets probably wins...but boy, I sure would like to see the end products that these teams might come up with. Wouldn't you??
 
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Moving this to General Linux.

Interesting thoughts, though. :)

Wizard
 
Sometimes I daydream about the "Year of the Linux Desktop". It may happen one day but I think fragmentation has prevented it.
When the above happens Linux will be nothing more than another full of malware, full of viruses and bloated OS just like Microsoft Windows OS.

The day Linux user base reaches the user base of Windows than Linux will become nothing more than another Microsoft Windows OS.

The reason Linux rocks is because it has a small user base.

Leave Linux be.

Linux is fine where it is.


Linux don't need to change.
 
When the above happens Linux will be nothing more than another full of malware, full of viruses and bloated OS just like Microsoft Windows OS.

You are not completely wrong, but I disagree.
#1 - If my fantasy came true, Windows, Mac OS, and Chrome OS wouldn't disappear. Linux would merely gain a lot more marketshare...let's say 25% just for fun.
#2 - If a Linux distro were mass marketed it would have issues but not the same as Windows. Linux is inherently more secure and therefore would be more similar to Chrome OS or even Mac OS.
#3 - Linux would still be free. So the developers and the FOSS community would continue to develop independent distros customized to their desires...free of bloat.
 
Hi there, GeckoLinux creator here. Interesting topic indeed. And I agree with the basic premise of @Xfce4me that there is too much needless competition and duplication of efforts among distros. I fully support the creation of niche spins, but generally I don't see much added value in replacing or reinventing fundamental aspects of the parent distro.

Which is why I would argue that "TEAM GECKOPEN" already exists. The openSUSE folks tolerate the existence of GeckoLinux, while I for my part unapologetically admit that GeckoLinux essentially is openSUSE, and I make no attempt to conceal that fact. GeckoLinux is much more than openSUSE with a different theme and package selection, it makes a number of important changes to lower-level aspects of how the system functions. Yet, I made the deliberate decision of embracing the openSUSE base wherever possible, as it would be totally insane for a single individual like me to try to replace openSUSE's massive ecosystem of developers and packagers, as well as their huge infrastructure with QA testing and their mirror network. All of those aspects are fantastic, I just find that openSUSE's defaults don't meet my needs or those of the users I personally support. So I make the configuration changes and package selection that I need, while keeping GeckoLinux completely dependent on openSUSE, so that installed GeckoLinux systems don't depend on me for maintenance and security.

But with that being said, I'll happily accept half of the $1M you suggest, and you can give the other half to the good folks over at openSUSE. ;-)
 
Scary thought however this could become a reality.




Interesting reads.

 
I'm not a zealot. I don't even care if the software I use is opensource. I use proprietary software all the time - because it suits my needs better.

That's the same reason I use Linux. I use Linux because it works for me. It suits my needs. It gets out of my way and lets me get my work done.

I do not care if other people use a Windows or Mac OS. Good for them. I do wish they made an informed decision and picked the OS based on what actually suits their needs best rather than just accepting the default, but that's a personal choice. These days, everyone that wants to knows that Linux exists and yet they keep using their OS of choice.

I release stuff that's open and available. I do not insist that others follow suit. They have the right to control their intellectual property in any manner they choose. Granted, the IP laws could certainly use a revamping and many protections are far longer than reasonable, but that's a different subject entirely.

So, I don't care about a Year of the Linux Desktop.

Which leads me to: Why the hell did I write all this?

I wrote it because I think that most Linux users are much the same as I am. There's a small group of zealots who want everything opensource, but most of us just don't care. Given the nature of the beast, the hardware manufacturers are well aware of this and aren't going to invest the time and effort on a project like this.

The hardware OEMs do a whole lot of research about what people want. They do a lot of research to learn their priorities. They then aim at a profitable niche or a broad spectrum. Day dreaming is nice, but I don't see this getting even an iota of traction among the major manufacturers.
 
Also, the idea that Linux is inherently more secure really isn't all that true anymore. Windows is now a true multi-user OS with isolation between the user and the system files. It's the user that configures it to always be an administrator that makes the OS less secure. The OS, by itself, is pretty darned secure these days.

Windows users used to be like shooting fish in a barrel, but that's no longer true - except for the users that think they need admin rights to author a document with a word processor.
 
It's the user that configures it to always be an administrator that makes the OS less secure.
I just installed a fresh copy of Windows 10 not long ago. The first user (me) was still set as an administrator without asking me, as has always been the case. Most people are not even aware of this when they turn on their brand new computers, but "it works" when they ask it to install new software, etc. Most people will also not downgrade their administrator privilege or create a limited new user, nor are they aware that there is an actual "Administrator" user account available. Microsoft has chosen to keep Administrator pretty well hidden (more info).

The UAC (User Account Control) has been toned way down from Windows Vista days so that it doesn't nag people into just blindly clicking it to make it go away, but it still does not need a password when you tell it to do risky things. People probably still just blindly click on it, not even realizing the risks they're accepting.

I would agree that Windows can be made to be fairly secure, but I don't think that it is out of the box, and I don't think typical home users will go to the trouble. People are lazy, for one thing, but they are also just plain unaware. Windows Enterprise managed by an IT department is another story, yet I continue to hear of hospitals and others attacked by ransomware. And, of course, SolarWinds is the latest breach in the news, reaching high into levels of US government.

About daydreaming... I have fantasies too, but they don't involve Linux. I won't go into the details. Unfortunately, I look a lot like my avatar, and I doubt that either my fantasies, or the OP's, have even a remote chance of being fulfilled. ;)
 
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Hi there, GeckoLinux creator here.

@GeckoLinux

Hey Sam, don't be a stranger here - I have a question or two on my Gecko Linux Static.

I can either post them under Suse/OpenSuse or Other Distributions, as long as you keep your eyes peeled for them. :)


Interesting topic indeed.

I agree with Sam, on this.

And thanks @Xfce4me for posting the thread.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 
Also, the idea that Linux is inherently more secure really isn't all that true anymore.

Fair point. You might say that Windows has learned some lessons from Linux (and other OS) and now the current iteration is more secure than it has been historically.
 
Hi there, GeckoLinux creator here.

First of all, it is VERY cool to be speaking with the creator of GeckoLinux! Thank you for what you do.
Second, I struggled a bit to find a great dance partner for GL in my fantasy. I wanted to pair it with another well known distro that also uses RPM package mgmt. OpenSUSE obviously fits that bill. And I thought OpenSUSE would be a good collaboration partner because it has the resources but it could use a bit of GL's style and user-friendliness. So now I am extremely curious to know...if you will indulge me...in a team-up fantasy, which distro(s) would you pick as an fun dance partner for GeckoLinux??
 
@wizardfromoz Thanks for the warm welcome! Sure, feel free to post your questions/comments. I try to regularly keep an eye on the questions and the comments that appear online. Just make sure to write it as "GeckoLinux" so it's more uniquely findable, as it's almost impossible when they just write "Gecko". I guess in retrospect I should have anticipated that would happen and call it something unique like Lsdsyunbdqsagf Linux. ;-)


@Xfce4me Hi there! Really appreciate you saying thanks, it means a lot. Regarding the dance partner questions, you totally nailed it, it's definitely openSUSE. GeckoLinux wouldn't exist if it weren't for openSUSE, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. I normally don't use small botique distros because I'm not really a developer myself and I heavily use my computers for all sorts of "real" work. Sometimes I need support myself as a user for issues that crop up on my personal systems, even with low-level things like the kernel and audio and WiFI drivers. So if the distro I'm running is too small, they're not likely to have a knowledgeable developer that can fix complicated issues and interface with the upstream projects. Or even it's a slightly bigger distro, they're still usually dependent on a large parent distro, but if they change things too much and create their own modified packages then I can't ask the large parent distro for support because of the delta factor in the child distro. Plus, with a smaller distro there's always the nagging worry that it might disappear. So for my needs and preferences, GeckoLinux is the sweet spot, since it uses 100% upstream packages from openSUSE and Packman and it uses their repos directly, so I don't have to deal with creating my own infrastructure or creating packages, which I'm not good at and don't enjoy doing. And since an installed GeckoLinux system is nothing more than an openSUSE installation tweaked by the user (me), I can still file bugs on the openSUSE Bugzilla and/or ask for help on their forums. They have a large number of developers that work with the upstream projects, including an extremely knowledgeable Linux kernel developer that is one of the most responsive and pleasant people that I've had the privilege of dealing with on the internet. So I can make openSUSE work the way I need it to with GeckoLinux, and hopefully others also find my configurations and delivery methods useful, but at the same time I'm proud to recognize that I'm standing on the shoulders of giants.
 
@Xfce4me
It's good to have fantasies I even have some about life, but I personally wouldn't like it if there was only one GNU/Linux distribution. Many people have many different likes, dislikes and wants when it comes to a distribution and that's what makes GNU/Linux awesome being able to have the variety. There is also that a lot of distributions have different views when it comes to what software they provide by default. As for myself, anyone who has enough love for GNU/Linux will make their choice of distribution work as a Desktop so it is already year of the GNU/Linux desktop for me personally and has been for a while. As for software support: gaming under GNU/Linux has already had huge improvements over the last few years with Steam/Proton and I expect it to get better, it would be really nice if Microsoft ported Office 365/Office to GNU/Linux, and if Adobe would port their Photoshop Suite to GNU/Linux. As for what distribution they would port it to it wouldn't really matter as long as it is one of the main ones so rpm or deb based, then others could then make it work on any other distribution of choice. For example for Teams there is I think officially only a deb and rpm package for but the same package is used to make Teams work on GNU/ArchLinux, I don't know much about packaging but if it can work for Teams it can be done with other software too.

And almost forgot @GeckoLinux and @Xfce4me , welcome to the forums! Be sure to post an introduction in the "Members Introduction" section :) Looking forward to reading your posts!
 
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I have a Gecko VM! Do please create an intro thread.
 
@Xfce4me
It's good to have fantasies I even have some about life, but I personally wouldn't like it if there was only one GNU/Linux distribution.
Don't get me wrong. My fantasy has 1 distro being touted by a group of manufacturers. But by NO MEANS do I want all other distros to go away (not that that would even be possible). However, if 1 single GNU/Linux distribution was marked and embraced by 5% of the market, I believe all other distro-boats would rise with the tide. Thus ushering in the "year of the Linux desktop". :cool:
 
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Sometimes I daydream about when we might see the fabled "Year of the Linux Desktop". It may happen one day but I think fragmentation (as beautiful as it is) has stymied the critical mass necessary to reach it. So, I have this fantasy where a group of computer manufacturers decide to bring about the apocalypse by investing heavily in one Linux distribution. However, instead of building their own Linux distribution, they choose to set up a "winner-takes-all" Linux distro tournament for teams of developers. The rules are as follows:

Round 1 - Each manufacturer will test every distro on their own unique hardware. The distros that install flawlessly and quickly move on.

Round 2 - A group of inexperienced users will test the user-friendliness of each distro. Distros with the highest scores move on.

Round 3 - A group of advanced users will test for functionality and overall performance. Distros with the highest scores move on.

Round 4 - The remaining distros will be critiqued by a panel of digital artists who will select the one that is the most visually appealing for mass markets.
However, if 1 single GNU/Linux distribution was marked and embraced by 5% of the market, I believe all other distro-boats would rise with the tide. Thus ushering in the "year of the Linux desktop". :cool:
Are you talking hardware or software manufacturers? Because usually when I hear the word manufacturer it makes me think about hardware manufacturers. And can you go into more detail as what you mean or what your definition is of a GNU/Linux distribution that would make that fantasy year of the Desktop?

About your rounds.
1. In the last 10 years I have never not gotten something working and I can't remember anything from the last 5 years where my hardware didn't work out of the box after installation. If you want don't have mucht technical knowledge and wouldn't be able to get something to work if you ran into something and you want guarantee that your hardware works you can buy your hardware from System76, they also maintain their own distribution called PopOS or from Lennovo since they officially support GNU/Linux now and there maybe another one or so.

2. Currently the two most friendly GNU/Linux distributions around are GNU/Linux Ubuntu, GNU/Linux Mint, and GNU/Linux PopOS. If hardware support is the problem you are talking about than why not work with the current most user friendly distributions?

3. Performance? I've never really noticed a performance difference between distributions,the only time I actually noticed a little of a difference was when I switched from GNU/Linux Ubuntu to GNU/ArchLinux so I don't see why comparing/scoring performances would make a difference. Normal/new users don't usually perform tasks that take a lot of computing except for maybe gaming so the defaults will be fine for those users since they only perform normal desktop type tasks because normal users won't notice those differences for the tasks they perform.

4. There are plenty of DE's to pick from, why not contribute to one or several of the already existing DE projects to improve those. I've never had a problem with any of the graphical UI's of the different DE's and the goal shouldn't be to make a DE that looks more like Windows because for those switching over from Windows to GNU/Linux should switch over to a DE that looks almost like Windows because then you might as well stick to Windows if you want something that looks like it. Also that whole idea of GNU/Linux is being able to install and make your system look and feel the way you want. With just having one GNU/Linux distribution support by most manufacturers for the masses would give new users the wrong idea about GNU/Linux as in that they have the freedom to change and configure their systems the way they like and want. I've already seen it enough times were new users distrohop because they want a different DE, instead of installing it along side their current DE or something else like that. Not because of the lack of the distribution but because of the lack of understanding of how the system works.

I don't quite understand the point of each, if you mean more support from software manufacturers I do understand that part, but then points 2, 3 and 4 I don't quite get. Why did you mentioned those and what's the goal of those points and if you could expand your views why you chose those points?
 
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Hi everyone, I posted a quick introduction here:
Nothing earth shattering, just wanted to do as requested here in this thread. Thanks a lot and best wishes to everyone!
 

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