We need to make a good Windows UI clone (Was: At the US border)

[paul sutton]

i was in georgetown library the other day,  and noticed they had a Linux 
desktop,  well in fact i only noticed when I saw an error message 
relating to GNOME, and thought hang on thats not windows,  closer 
inspection revealed that it was a gnome desktop running I think on 
LTSP.   I don't think people notice the desktop as it just works,  there 
is openoffice, irc, and the gnome www client (can'[t remember name off 
hand),  but it should Linux does work on the desktop, 

Is this used in any of the other libraries in the area,

i have been using Linux for years I just did not notice it,  I guess 
because the Library UI was there, and it just worked,  for most people 
they are just using the library search facilty to look for resources,  
so there is no need to worry about the back end that much,

Good to see Linux on the desktop though,  this could be the way 
forward,  get it on terminals like this first,  then slowly migrate to 
the working desktop

any comments.

Paul



Scott Elcomb wrote:

> On 9/29/06, Jason Spiro <jasonspiro4-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>
>> 2006/9/25, Rick Tomaschuk <rickl-ZACYGPecefkm4kRHVhTciCwD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>> ...
>> > Don't anyone tell me not to bash Micro$oft since these scumbags affect
>> > my life just about everywhere I go!!!!
>>
>> You're right. People sadly stick with Windows even despite all its
>> problems. I think the problem is that nobody likes change. One
>> computer lab at my school has 100 Windows PCs and 20 Macs. Nobody
>> really uses the Macs. They are all stay powered off, and simply nobody
>> uses them.
>>
>> People don't want to learn a new OS with different dialog boxes and
>> whatnot than they're used to. To them, computer is just a tool, and
>> people want the tool they're familiar with. They just want bad old
>> Windows.
>>
>> Sad, but true.
>>
>> Perhaps what we need to do is make a good, spyware-proof Linux-based
>> clone of the Windows UI which runs MS Office perfectly using Wine-like
>> emulation technology. That'd be the first step towards convincing the
>> majority of people to make the switch.
>>
>> ...
>> > --
>> > Friends don't let friends use windows....
>>
>> When you open Windows, bugs get in.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Jason
>
>
> I can't say it's spyware proof - hell, I'm not even entirely sure of
> the security implications (yet) - but Atomic OS is the way I see to
> fix this UI issue for J Random User.
>
> With Atomic, it no longer matters whether your using *nix, *bsd, *m$,
> or whatever.  If Firefox works on your system, there's an alternative
> to Microsoft.  Being entirely contained withing a single .html file
> gives it the potential to grow in a ubiquitous way.
>
> Every time J.R. User goes to a website, it's a different User
> Interface.  In the aftermath of hitting Digg, there were a bunch of
> comments made all over the place.  One of them in particular refers to
> this thread -- at least from my perspective:
>
> "reminds me of windows 98" [1]
>
> When we get Atomic OS up to where WAJAX was, it's as easy to use as that.
>
> [1]
>  http://tinyurl.com/zbupr
>  http://addict3d.org/index.php?page=viewarticle&type=news&ID=28892&title=AtomicOS%20-%20Another%20AjaxOS 
>


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