“Despite its successes as a server operating system, Linux has
had a rough time on the desktop, and quite rightly so. For all
the potential benefits of open source code, and Linux’s reliability
in comparison with some of Microsoft’s operating systems, none of
Linux’s various distributions offers anywhere near the ease of use
required from a general-purpose operating system….“
“Interface design is difficult. It’s not a case of sticking a
few icons and toolbars together and hoping for the best, it’s about
understanding who is going to use your product and what they want
to do with it.”
“The intriguingly named Gnome (pronounced Guh’nome) Foundation,
announced at LinuxWorld in August, could offer a solution to the
problem. The Foundation is a consortium of hardware and software
manufacturers that have teamed up to promote Gnome as a desktop
standard for Linux, and for Sun’s Solaris operating systems. The
Gnome Foundation includes such heavyweights as Compaq, IBM, Sun and
Red Hat, all committed to throwing development effort at Gnome and
moulding it into a desktop environment for the masses.”