Comment 333 for bug 668415

I still think that there is a market for a user friendly linux desktop AS
WELL AS a market for a user friendly OS on portable/consumer devices, I
don't blame Canonical for trying to make a profit to stay in business and
trying to position for what it thinks will be the "next big thing". In a
lot of ways Ubuntu desktop is very easy to use, in a lot of ways they were
sort of screwed over when the Gnome team decided to change their whole
paradigm of what a "desktop" should be. Rather than design another "as is"
window manager Ubuntu team apparently decided to take their own stab at a
"friendly" UI.

Personally I believe that the UI for phones and tablets should look very
different from the UI for desktop PC's. I can understand apple and other
vendors wanting to have a one size (and one codebase) fits all solution but
the use for phones, tablets, TV and desktop really are for different
purposes.

There are plenty of other Linux distros out there that are extremely
customizable, I still do point a few of my friends who are looking for a
basic system that "works" and doesn't have to be customizable to Ubuntu
12.04 - as long as I think their hardware can support it. I have been
using Linux since I downloaded boot and root floppies off of a BBS in
1994. Ok well, really using it since slackware was new. I gave up in the
late 90's and early 2000's because every distro release seemed to break new
and different fundamental driver functionality. Then I finally found
Ubuntu - and way back on version 5 I was just amazed at this distro that
not only worked on EVERY machine I threw at it (Including a Pentium II
450Mhz) but also was extremely intuitive to understand back before 3D
compositing started to take ahold of everything. I really was pulling
machines out of recycling or trash piles and giving them new life with
Ubuntu.

Both Canonical and the Ubuntu team have worked very hard and I wish them a
lot of success, but the REASON I evangelized Ubuntu to start with was
because it really WAS the "dream linux" that everyone was hoping for. Easy
to use, wide compatibility. Everyone keeps saying that the PC is dead.
More likely that vendors just can't make a profit off of it any more and
they are looking for next big thing. Mark is right, its just hard for me
to wrap my head around Unity on the desktop. I love Unity on my 7"
netbook, but not so much on the desktop. Actually I really liked netbook
remix on the 7" netbook - I guess Unity is combination of both desktop +
netbook remix..

Anyway, thanks for listening.
John

On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 8:09 PM, Tal Liron <email address hidden>wrote:

> @Adam
>
> You make some strange arguments here.
>
> FOSS philosophy has nothing to do with customization. It's about
> providing access to the source code. The Unity project is 100% FOSS
> (GPL/LGPLv3).
>
> Ubuntu's goals might be different from yours. You might want to have a
> desktop perfectly configured for your needs. The Ubuntu project is
> trying to make a free operating system for the masses. Mark is clear
> that in trying to achieve these goals he will 1) be taking bold risks,
> and 2) he will not meet everybody's needs. Time will tell if he's on the
> right path.
>
> I personally have many doubts, because when I've introduced Ubuntu and
> Unity to new people -- and I've done this a lot, in professional and
> personal contexts -- I've heard a lot of frustrations about its
> usability, configurability and stability. And so I've stopped
> recommending the regular Ubuntu, and instead recommend Xubuntu, which is
> *awesome*. But, maybe we got it all wrong and Mark got it right and
> Unity will make people flock to Ubuntu. Adam, you make a comparison to
> Apple: well, the Apple UI has proven itself very popular with the
> masses. So, maybe Mark (and GNOME) is on to something in trying to
> emulate their approach.
>
> To the Ubuntu project's *great* credit, it offers support (in terms of
> computing, bandwidth and other resources, if not personnel) to *several*
> different flavors. While GNOME 3 seems to have the same general goals as
> Unity, the others absolutely do not, and will likely better suit your
> personal needs. Xubuntu is still Ubuntu, with the excellent
> repositories, PPA, and the entire ecosystem. It is an excellent and free
> operating system.
>
> My problem, and it is central to this particular bug about making the
> Launcher movable, is not Unity's philosophy but the fact that it's
> essentially *broken* for certain setups, such as multimonitor and right-
> to-left setups. Unity should not be the default desktop, or at least it
> should have a big disclaimer up front that it is an experimental desktop
> interface, with an easy path (one click!) to let users install and use
> something that is proven to work.
>
> Actually, there is a second problem: Mark has made me not want to help
> the Unity project. He has alienated many long-time Ubuntu supporters by
> his abrupt closure of bugs like this, with little or misleading
> communication about the reasons. So, yeah, no way I will contribute my
> programming skills to it. But I do love Xfce and will do my best to open
> bugs, submit patches, and spread the love. :)
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/668415
>
> Title:
> Movement of Unity launcher
>
> Status in Ayatana Design:
> Won't Fix
> Status in Unity:
> Won't Fix
> Status in Ubuntu:
> Won't Fix
>
> Bug description:
> Please consider this a possible feature request or wishlist.
>
> Now when Unity will be default desktop for 11.04 could you please
> consider to add option to configure Unity launcher placement. Add
> simple option to lock/unlock through right-click menu and drag
> launcher to desired location like left/right and bottom.
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ayatana-design/+bug/668415/+subscriptions
>