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> There hasn't been much going on in the Linux desktop software world for the past twenty years. As a daily user of Linux on the desktop I am totally biased --

> There hasn't been much going on in the Linux desktop software world for the past twenty years. As a daily user of Linux on the desktop I am totally biased -- but can you provide some examples of this? From my (subjective) perspective, Linux desktop software is pretty active. However, I totally agree with your point about Linux being an afterthought for a lot of desktop apps and made possible only by tooling comparable to Electron. Some points I could see: 1. I still can't ditch X-11 for work (because of Zoom[1]) 2. My point above about desktop Linux support being an afterthought for most desktop apps However, I feel like on the other side there is a huge desktop application library that is pretty active. [1] https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/6634039380877-Sharing-your-screen-on-Wayland https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/6634039380877-Shar...

criddell 4y ago
The best platform examples for me are GoodNotes and Procreate. I bought an iPad and Pencil four years ago just to run GoodNotes and when I needed a better drawing app I found Procreate. They are both amazing and should be 10x as expensive as they are. What's an example of a desktop Linux application that is so good that somebody will setup or buy a Linux machine to run? I don't deny they exist, but it's been almost 15 years since I worked in Linux full time and when I did I mostly used cross-platform software. Off the top of my head, I just can't think of anything. The killer app back then for me was Linux itself mostly because I enjoyed tinkering and configuring and I couldn't afford the machines I really wanted (something from SGI or Sun or Next). Despite all that, Linux may be the most successful OS out there. It's the foundation for Android and ChromeOS, it powers a bazillion appliances and gadgets. It's basic infrastructure for a lot of what powers everything we do online. But I don't consider any of that to be desktop Linux success stories.
- heywoodlh 4y ago
  > The best platform examples for me are GoodNotes and Procreate. These are great examples. > What's an example of a desktop Linux application that is so good that somebody will setup or buy a Linux machine to run? This is a tough question as most of the software I use on Linux can be used on MacOS with its ancient FreeBSD userland or Windows with WSL or natively. I feel that often developers who don't treat Linux as an afterthought also make things available for other platforms. I know for me, I use a Linux machine for the software ecosystem I use to keep things keyboard driven. skhd[1] on MacOS and Autohotkey[2] on Windows can help but when I have tried both it is not quite as flushed out in my opinion. I also use Linux for increased privacy and a more minimal environment compared to MacOS or Windows. I would say those are compelling reasons to use Linux and are directly impacted by software available for Linux. One could also argue the lack of undesirable software (bloatware, adware, etc.) is also a compelling reason to use Linux. This all being said, I am not one to argue this is the year of the Linux Desktop. I'm a security engineer and the lack of standardization on the desktop side of Linux is a HUGE weakness and until that is addressed I don't think it will ever be the year of the Linux Desktop. [1] https://github.com/koekeishiya/skhd https://github.com/koekeishiya/skhd [2] https://www.autohotkey.com/ https://www.autohotkey.com/

criddell 4y ago

The best platform examples for me are GoodNotes and Procreate. I bought an iPad and Pencil four years ago just to run GoodNotes and when I needed a better drawing app I found Procreate. They are both amazing and should be 10x as expensive as they are. What's an example of a desktop Linux application that is so good that somebody will setup or buy a Linux machine to run? I don't deny they exist, but it's been almost 15 years since I worked in Linux full time and when I did I mostly used cross-platform software. Off the top of my head, I just can't think of anything. The killer app back then for me was Linux itself mostly because I enjoyed tinkering and configuring and I couldn't afford the machines I really wanted (something from SGI or Sun or Next). Despite all that, Linux may be the most successful OS out there. It's the foundation for Android and ChromeOS, it powers a bazillion appliances and gadgets. It's basic infrastructure for a lot of what powers everything we do online. But I don't consider any of that to be desktop Linux success stories.

heywoodlh 4y ago
> The best platform examples for me are GoodNotes and Procreate. These are great examples. > What's an example of a desktop Linux application that is so good that somebody will setup or buy a Linux machine to run? This is a tough question as most of the software I use on Linux can be used on MacOS with its ancient FreeBSD userland or Windows with WSL or natively. I feel that often developers who don't treat Linux as an afterthought also make things available for other platforms. I know for me, I use a Linux machine for the software ecosystem I use to keep things keyboard driven. skhd[1] on MacOS and Autohotkey[2] on Windows can help but when I have tried both it is not quite as flushed out in my opinion. I also use Linux for increased privacy and a more minimal environment compared to MacOS or Windows. I would say those are compelling reasons to use Linux and are directly impacted by software available for Linux. One could also argue the lack of undesirable software (bloatware, adware, etc.) is also a compelling reason to use Linux. This all being said, I am not one to argue this is the year of the Linux Desktop. I'm a security engineer and the lack of standardization on the desktop side of Linux is a HUGE weakness and until that is addressed I don't think it will ever be the year of the Linux Desktop. [1] https://github.com/koekeishiya/skhd https://github.com/koekeishiya/skhd [2] https://www.autohotkey.com/ https://www.autohotkey.com/