“ALD: There’s been talk here and there of
environments like GNOME or KDE turning up on a handheld. How likely
is that? Are their architectures really appropriate to a palmtop or
handheld, or are we more likely to just see the most superficial
elements of the GUI’s, while the underlying system driving the
device evolves in its own direction?”
“JG: Gnome and/or KDE are more than just a
particular application set: they are really application frameworks.
These frameworks are applicable to handhelds, even if some of the
particular applications need significant change for handheld use.
For example, I believe we need a hand-held specific window manager,
but some parts of the panels these systems provide may be useful,
as well as the toolkits. Many/most applications will need some or
extensive rework for the 1/4 VGA screens we’re seeing on the new
crop of handhelds.”
“I think the toolkits need signficant work to use less screen
real-estate: for example, various dialog boxes are much larger than
needed.”
“I believe our view of the future for handhelds is a bit
different/more advanced than the current occasionally connected
peripheral to your desktop: our view is that your handheld is just
another network device, much or most of the time. You may drop your
handheld into its cradle (or it be on your wireless network), and
then use it with the keyboard and mouse on your Linux or UNIX
system.”