[Mailinglist] Why Desktop Linux Will Not Take off, and Why You Don't Want It to

[David Desrosiers]

> They *still* think *nix (esp. Linux) GUIs are designed for geeks.

> I personally have had a diffucult time explaining how easy it is to 
switch to
> GNOME (or KDE) or how far easier it is to use (than Windoze).

What I've found in the past decade-or-so of Windows users being curious 
about "This Linux Thing(tm)", is that once a Windows user switches to 
Linux, they try to make Linux look, breathe and behave exactly like their 
Windows environment. They don't take the time to explore all of the 
various options, environments and applications that can extend and enhance 
how they interact with the their machine. 

I've been using sawfish for at least 9 years that I can recall on my Linux 
machine (fvwm95 before that), because I can script it with Lisp and it 
does everything I want, without wharfs, docks, toolbars, window frames or 
titlebars. This might not work for everyone, but it works best for me.

This is precisely the opposite of what Mac OSX provides. You simply CAN'T 
change a lot of the things in OSX. Want to make those fonts smaller on the 
menus and main toolbar? Sorry, can't be done within OSX (but you can 
apparently do it with an obscure third-party application). Want to remove 
that titlebar altogether or dock it to application windows? Sorry, can't 
be done. There are facets of the UI that are fixed and immovable. Windows 
allows minimal configuration of the GUI, with some third-party add-ons to 
extend and enhance that, and Linux is a wide-open field of configuration, 
choice and options. 

THAT is the beauty of the Linux GUI; you can make it do whatever you want, 
and if you can't, there are only about 75 other GUI environments for Linux 
available to choose from. Certainly ONE of them suits most of your needs, 
with minor tweaking here or there. It's all about choice. 

For me, the "Linux desktop" has already taken off, years ago... I don't 
need the validation of Windows users to convince me of that. 


David A. Desrosiers
Linux on Power Developer Program Manager
daviddes at us.ibm.com
Office: 860-271-1642