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Ask HN: Would you pay for a better Linux Desktop experience?
Professional dev. here; I am now using linux 90 % of the time. Mostly Ubuntu on a thinkpad.
While using Linux as a daily driver is WAY better than what it used to be, i think it still lacks some of the refinement of windows or OSx.
Most of the discussion of Desktop Linux get lost into a usability war between unity/mate/gnome etc..., but i am more concerned about battery life, graphic performance, stability, application packages (like skype,viber etc...), stable wifi etc... which in my view are much more important and have more impact on my day to day. And on those metrics they all suck equally.
Moreover, getting the best experience as a Desktop user still requires too much tinkering (ie .why do i have to know about powertop to optimize my battery usage pattern?)
I don't see this mentioned often, but it seems clear to me that the reason Linux is still lacking (on this front) is simply that nobody is financing it. Most of the corporate backing focuses on the server/space and i can't think of any distribution which actually makes money from regular users (canonical ?).
I don't think i am the only person who is looking for a stable/better desktop experience and who is willing to pay for it.
So that got me curious, how many of us are out there ?
PS: i don't think that randomly donating to one of the thousand projects i use daily is a particularly effective way to go at it.
- gravypod 11y agoMake it user friendly. You need to hide anything command line related from the user. Get UI/UX & HCI people to make everything simple. It shouldn't take anyone more then a few moments to see what's going on. As programmers and software engineers: we need to make everything run out of the box, maybe even to the extent that windows applications will run via wine or a VM (Like Qubes OS). Even if it inflates the size of installs, we need drivers for the most common hardware on install disks. We also need support from manufacturers to get well-made drivers to the open-source market. (Hell, some more hardware implementations sticking to standards couldn't hurt) Do not expect the user can do anything or learn anything on the fly. They aren't concerned with learning an operating system or concerned about learning about UNIX/POSIX, they care about doing their work. There really isn't anything holding linux from the desktop market other then some legacy systems that don't really work well/aren't flexible enough for a wide range of systems. If you're interested in some newer stuff, from chonical, that I feel will make a great difference and be a huge step forward in the right direction, look at Mir as well as Unity 8. The progress is astounding as well as the results. Can't wait to hear what others think of this.
- blue_dinner 11y agoI've been using Linux for more than a decade and have tried almost every desktop variant. I've settled on Ubuntu. Many, many companies and individuals have tried what you are proposing, with marginal success. What will you be doing that hasn't already been tried?
- soulbadguy 11y agoI am really propositing any, just polling the hive to see if other people feel as i do
- digi_owl 11y agoBlame the network effect. Large hardware brands are operating on razor thin margins. So the way to get a profit is bundling. And to do that you need to offer the biggest platform there is. So what they do is they strike a deal with MS for Windows and Office, quite possibly with a bunk discount. And then turn around to companies like Symantec and make them a deal, X amount of dollars pr device shipped with their 30 day preview package pre-installed. Basically the reason you have to muck about with powertop is that you are doing an aftermarket install. You would see similar problems with Windows if it was not the big dog in the market. I really wish Canonical all the best with that tablet of theirs, but as i have to order it from abroad, and deal with potential taxes etc, i am not going to buy it any time soon...
- herbst 11y agoI am actually good. Gnome 3 is a beautiful desktop which helps me to focus on productivity. And everything else is just a google search and a command away.
- soulbadguy 11y agoI am curious, what distro/laptop/kernel are you using ?
- herbst 11y ago* Ubuntu & Arch. Ubuntu only on my home Desktop. * I have a eeepc and a macbook pro. But i am mostly using my desktop. * Any recent one shipped with the distro As someone who worked with all 3 major systems over several versions i think there is nothing more easy and intuitive on the market than ubuntu with gnome 3.