“Storybook matters aside, I really don’t understand how the
leaderships of three fiercely independent, highly competitive
operating systems abruptly and simultaneously began to pursue a
single goal, the total iconification of the desktop so that its
screen would resemble an over-sized phone. It is especially
puzzling since the change apparently requires a reduction, rather
than an expansion, of the capabilities of the desktop.I am particularly amazed that so many Linux distros have been
swept up in this tsunami of icon-only desktops. Whether it is Unity
or Gnome 3 is utterly irrelevant, because both have embraced the
new idea and rejected all possibility of alternatives or even some
form of compromise. But this is Linux we’re talking about. This is
a system that was built on freedom and has never accepted arbitrary
control. That’s what makes the recent developments so shocking.