The Linus view of GNOME 3.2

[Craig White]

On Sun, 2011-12-04 at 12:35 +1030, Tim wrote:
> 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.
----
Don't assume that input options remain static or aren't being improved
upon continually. For example, Ice Cream Sandwich implements continuous
speech processing including punctuation which represents a real option
for many. Likewise, there are 'swipe' type input keyboards which with
some practice, are usable and reasonable for character entry. Don't
forget that usage of a QWERTY keyboard actual required learning and
practice and there are still a large amount of users who simply use 1 or
2 finger input having never learned to touch type anyway.

Then there are extremely portable bluetooth keyboards that can fold up
into your pockets... all sorts of options.
---

> 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.
----
most of the people using Blackberry's are not necessarily tech savvy -
they're somewhat inferior devices. Besides, they have become irrelevant
in the marketplace, hemorrhaging money to the point where I wonder if
they won't be out of business in 3 years.
----
> > 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.
----
Now that you're talking about tablets, there's things like Asus
Transformer which has a keyboard or the various keyboard 'cases' for
iPad so obviously there are other methods - apparently none of which you
use. On screen keyboards are reasonable for the younger generation and
reasonable for short messaging for most and a plethora of options exist
for extended usage.

By the way, I watched my daughter (33 y/o) typing on her HTC Incredible
today and she was lightning quick - it can be done... just takes
practice. Myself, I'm not so quick and I tend to go to voice entry for
lengthy stuff.
----
> 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.
----
True - I don't do 'fine' detail on my telephone but 'pinch to zoom'
allows you to access magnifications where even a fat finger can be like
a needle in many instances.
----
> > 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.
----
It seems obvious to me that there are 2 schools of thought here and
yours is shared by a few. The other school seems to think that the
desktop computer is just one of the various forms of computing and that
other forms will include small form factors (perhaps like Apple's 3.5"
diagonal iPhone) to relatively small 4-5" to 7-8" and larger.

Perhaps these small form factors will drop into a laptop type shell
(like the Motorola Atrix), wirelessly connect to keyboard, mouse and
display when in an home or office environment, etc.

Now I don't know how things are progressing in your neck of the woods in
Australia but in America, the various tablets are jumping off the
shelves like hotcakes. Coming on the heels of the successes of the
netbooks indicates that the public wants extremely portable, relatively
inexpensive computing devices even if it only does e-mail/web browsing
and it's not just Gnome who have picked up on the fact that the future
of computing devices is up for grabs. One only need look at the Windows
8 preview and see their Windows Phone 'tiles' interface as the primary
UI/launcher to see that they are not alone with a redesign of their UI
with an eye to all possible form factors.

Craig


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