The Linus view of GNOME 3.2

[Tim]

On Fri, 2011-12-02 at 19:21 -0700, Christopher A. Williams wrote:
> Smartphones are starting to displace even desktop computers.... and
> do actually handle most of the basic tasks (e-mail, basic Web, etc.)
> that were once solely the domain of PCs.

Though, only if you are doing *BASIC* email.  Just try something more
complicated, and you'll soon find using a midget gadget just isn't going
to cut the mustard.  Scads of mail, threaded properly, etc.  There just
isn't the screen real estate, to start with.  Then try writing a long
email without a keyboard.

Even with devices designed for the businessman to do things like that,
such as the Blackberry, it's inadequate for the task.  I've sat next to
them eeking out an email, and anything more than about two sentences is
a major chore.

Then you watch people spinning them around, to read something less
awkwardly in the other aspect.  Zooming in and panning about to read
something (and the effect is like trying to read a magazine through a
keyhole).

> Tablets are quickly displacing laptops in the business world. The main
> barrier is that they are more difficult to use for producing
> information than PCs at the moment. They are equally as good for those
> who are primarily consumers of information. Once tablet manufacturers
> actually decide to deal with issues around printing and getting more
> effective input methods in place, tablet acceptance will likely take
> off like a shot.

Again, I've watched businessmen playing with their pads.  And you're
right that they're reasonable for a read-only device (big enough screen,
less wieldy to carry around than a laptop and accessories), but nasty
for typing anything more than about a sentence or two.

As far as coming up with effective input method, there is little else
than a proper keyboard for doing extensive typing.  And I mean something
with physical buttons, that you can feel move.  Not just drawing a
keyboard on the screen.

Touchscreens are all very well for poking at large objects, but not very
good for fine detail.  While the mouse is hideous, it still tends to be
the most versatile.

> PCs will likely never go away, but to say that they will not be greatly
> impacted by the coming age of new devices is to stick your head in the
> sand and pretend that the change isn't coming. And Linux does very well
> in this coming wave...

That's all very well, but it's rather ludicrous to try and impose a
tablet interface onto a desktop or laptop, and vice versa.  Yet, that
see to be the way that various desktops are going (e.g. the current
Gnome debacle).  Change doesn't necessarily mean progress.

-- 
[tim at localhost ~]$ uname -r
2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686

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