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Ironically, it might be the walled-garden ecosystem of tablets that ultimately leads to mass end-user adoption of Linux. The desktop introduces too many complic

Ironically, it might be the walled-garden ecosystem of tablets that ultimately leads to mass end-user adoption of Linux. The desktop introduces too many complications -- there is a much larger set of use cases, and thus a larger set of situations where a Windows-convert can get confused, discouraged, or frustrated. Tablets, on the other hand, with their relatively fewer ubiquitous uses, can be fine-tuned in way that requires little-to-no end-user servicing. If Canonical can employ the Apple/Android software store model with enough flexibility that power users can still make meaningful modifications, then this could be the biggest thing to happen for end-user Linux in a long time.

imissmyjuno 14y ago
What about iOS and Android? One is a Unix, the other a Linux. If you mean in the "truly open-source" fashion, then it's entirely up to the UI when it comes to the masses. I've personally never liked Unity due to very inconsistent buggy UI, and enjoyed Gnome 3 much more. The more competition the merrier, though.
- lukifer 14y ago
  > One is a Unix, the other a Linux. That's a little like saying an omelette is an egg. :) Both make heavy use of *nix and OSS components, but they also add their own proprietary ingredients. I don't see anything wrong with that, but I'd prefer that full-stack open-source wasn't limited just to technorati. You're right that the masses define their experience by the UI: both what's delivered directly to users, and indirectly via the UI tools/ecosystem/culture available to developers.