Comment 1850 for bug 1

It's werid that we celebrate the fact that we already failed in the desktop market; consider GNOME's 10x10 goal and the reality.

I'm a FOSS advocate but I feel that the result is well deserved.

What's the point of Windows? It is a DEPENDABLE platform that developers can write software and make profits. Yes, Microsoft ended VB6, VFP9, ..., which annoyed many loyal developers. However, Microsoft continue to support the runtimes even in Windows 8. On the other hand, Linux GUI programs get obsoleted very fast, if it is not continously maintained.

Linux people are always trying to build fancy systems using FOSS while being hostile towards third-parties; third-party software is hard to package and it may work for only a limited time before things break. Default Ubuntu installation includes a productivity suite, LibreOffice. Wow! But as it is generally inferior to Microsoft Office, it is worthless. Every point Windows sucks, there is some software to deal with, most notably the virus issue.

Ubuntu seems to become the reference platform of Linux desktop over years. I find that "Linux = Ubuntu" is a life saver for a non-FOSS-enthusitic third-party developer, it's a good start but too late.

Do we have a well-defined SDK yet? No.
Moving to Qt is a sane decision but a bit too late.
( Microsoft's SDK is called Visual Studio, quite integrated, just slow )

Do we have a package system suitable for end users yet (like Android's system)? No.
I see some work in process, also too late.
( Windows before Windows Store make installation much easier than uninstallation. Though the installation system is abused by many software to include toolbars crap, it is still the way many people familiar with. )

Do we have a well-defined UX yet? Yes and No.
The Unity UX is well-defined, I presume.
But the apps from GNOME is constantly having stupid changes. Don't forget that we don't have a huge pool of third-party software; we cannot ship crappy apps, .e.g, Notepad, like MSFT do.
( Microsoft breaks UI in Windows 8, but they have resource to do that. )

Can people do almost everything with Ubuntu in GUI? Yes and No.
Many GUI program in Linux is simple-minded, when things OK it works. When things go wrong, terminal is the only rescue.
How can one know which repo has certificate error when Update Manager complains?

Do we have good support from OEMs? No.
There are Ubuntu pre-installed on some low-end computer models but OEMs don't put enough resource to back them.
They always recommend Windows.
( You must know who is the real boss of the OEMs. )

I have some personal advices for people have similar feeling.

1. When possible do FOSS in HTML5. HTML5 seems to be the only way to destruct the notion of system requirement WinX/WinY/WinZ.
2. Otherwise, do cross-platform FOSS. It can be hard, but I feel that it is worthwhile to test our software stack by buidling cross-platform application. We may also leave some useful documentation during the process. Cross-platform also ensures a wider user base.
3. Try do things in the "Windows way" and report bugs, if any, to direct upstream.