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I too feel that Linux is starting to really lose its way, perhaps through developing too much of a "commercial eye" towards competing directly with Windows 8 and OS X/iOS in the expanding and profitable smartphone/touchscreen/tablet space.........and yet doing badly what OS X and even Windows will always tend to better through their very much tighter control over the software development process and deeper pockets....... :thumbsdown_anim:

 

When the Linux development community remained focussed on enabling just about any PC (desktop or laptop) made obsolete through not being able to run the "latest" Windows OS or OS X OS for whatever reason, to be given a "new and lengthened productive life", with the emphasis on "productive" for free, Linux offered something worthwhile that Windows and OS X never would or could!

 

While not wanting to get into a "what is the best distro" debate, I would personally point to Ubuntu 10.04 LTS as being a high-point in the all-round productive capability and GUI usefulness of Linux from the Ubuntu perspective in terms of its ability to give an almost equally satisfying "user experience" on both older and newer hardware.....

 

I do not really understand the direction being currently taken by the Linux KDE and Gnome GUI developers.......why develop GUI "eye candy" requiring increasingly powerful GPUs and more RAM and at the expense of usability and hardware compatibility to the point where to appreciate the "eye candy" you need similar hardware to that required by Windows and OS X.....and hence more money than millions of people around the world have!..... :shock:

 

The Linux community is at risk of losing sight of the very thing that makes it unique; that is, the unmatched ability of Linux in its many flavours to enhance the educational opportunities available to poor people around the world in terms of distance learning, global communication, technological know-how, and interaction with the Windows/OS X world at little or no cost.....this, has been in my humble opinion, the very best thing about Linux and will be its enduring legacy...... :thumbsup_anim:

 

Unity2D in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS has just driven me off the edge....... :wacko:

 

I have now installed MATE 1.4.0, so that I can once again install the Hardware Sensors Monitor applet as I like a continuously visible but not 'in your face monitor', which is what I find the Psensor window to be, even though it has its uses on occasion. The performance of MATE 1.4.0 is really 'snappy'.......:)

Edited by verdant
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@ Alessandro That is good to hear because I thought you had stopped using Linux totally in favour of OS X.

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I thought one of the main attractions of Linux was that you could have it as you wish. So just because two of the big UI players are losing the plot, that doesn't mean you can't go and replace the UI with something that fits better. Something you can't do as easy or seamlessly with Windows or OS X.

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@ Riley Freeman

 

What you say is true but not every current, and more importantly, every potential user, is going to want to learn how to add a repository, install a keyring, update the package lists and then install the new GUI package.

 

Linux users are on a spectrum from "I want Linux to be 'plug & play' in the way I am used to from using Windows or OS X" at one end to "I want to set up my own Linux system, so give me LFS, Slackware, Gentoo etc." at the other end.

 

And will it stop with the GUI? I have already expressed my views on the effect of incorporating KMS in the kernel on users with older graphics hardware.....

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