[khedoros]

> I was recently thinking that operating systems should ditch their custom desktops in favor of a browser based UI.

Why?

> it still seems to me that a browser based OS UI would be far more effective than things like Gnome and KDE and all that stuff.

How so? My needs haven't changed. I still need a UI that provides a searchable launch menu, some quick-launch buttons, window management, etc. Rendering a bunch of things through a browser doesn't do that for me any better than rendering those things through some C libraries.

[stevenhuang]

because we're on the topic of cross-platform UI frameworks.

[khedoros]

Fine, fine. But why specifically a browser-based UI? I'd think you'd make a jump like that to solve a particular problem. From hoodoof's reply, they think that current Linux desktop design is "shit", and that the solution could be to replace the desktop with a different piece of technology. Not a sentiment that I agree with, but it's a reasonable answer to my question.

Still, taken as a given: Linux desktop design could use some work. Or at least the themes and icon sets.

[hoodoof]

>>Why?

Because somehow websites end up (can end up) looking great, but all those Linux desktops look shit. Things don't line up, the margins and spacing are wrong. It looks like it's made from a set of ill fitting phony knockoff lego bits that don't fit together.

If web browsers make it possible to design slick interfaces then the Linux desktop folks should get onto that quick smart.

Having said that, I guess that's what ChromeOS is eh?

[khedoros]

There isn't anything inherent to web design that makes it better-suited to creating "slick" interfaces. There's a lot of the culture of web design that I want to stay the hell away from my desktop, though.

To me, the web is for goofing off. It's where I'll read an article, post some comments somewhere, and leave. The desktop's where I get things done. I like Mate's interface (ditched Gnome at 3.x because I didn't like the new direction). KDE isn't terrible, but I feel like it gets in my way a little bit more.

> It looks like it's made from a set of ill fitting phony knockoff lego bits that don't fit together.

I remember when I would've described Linux desktops like that (about 15 years ago). You can still replicate that if you get too creative with your choice of themes and such, but I haven't found it distracting to what I use my computers for in....well, close to the last decade. Then again, I'm not a designer, so I tend not to notice or be bothered by some things that'd throw others into fits.

> Having said that, I guess that's what ChromeOS is eh?

It's neutered Linux. It's pretty enough, I suppose.

[cosarara97]

The linux folks are the least likely to switch. We love our comman line, text editors, launchers and window managers, thank you very much [1].

[1] http://reddit.com/r/unixporn