[Camillo]

I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I get the impression that Linux-on-the-desktop peaked a couple of years ago, Now, with the Unity/Gnome 3/Mint/etc. mess, the momentum Ubuntu had has fragmented into several diverging paths. It seems harder now to recommend one single Linux distribution for the average user than it was two years ago.

On top of that, the PC itself seems to have peaked. It's hard to think that Valve sees this as the right time to pour resources into PC gaming on Linux. It's much more likely to have something to do with the console we know they're working on.

[kostya-kow]

I think you are right. But this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Majority of Linux kernel is pretty good because of servers, super-computers and Android.

The only reason Linux needs Desktop users is for better graphics drivers and games. Now that Valve is making their game-console, the graphics drivers should improve tremendously, and there should be a lot of new games.

So there is no real need for wide acceptance of Linux desktop.

Of course, this is a rather selfish point of view. I believe that the world would be a better place if everyone used Free Software (and Linux). It would encourage collaboration of many groups of people, and would be really beneficial for all software.

[ekianjo]

Yeah the PC has peaked... sure... 355 millions of PCs sold in 2011, versus 346 millions in 2010 worldwide. What peak are you talking about exactly ?

Even with all the Smartphone BS out there, the PC market is still immensely bigger than all of of the smartphone/tablets combined. Why do you think people still make games and applications for PCs ?

[Camillo]

I'm talking about that peak right there in 2011. I can't find whole-year data for 2012 yet, but 3Q shipments were down over 2011 (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/11/horror_idc_pc_sales_... ), and Q4 was not expected to make up for it (http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/10/technology/pc-shipments-decl...). Also, smartphones had already surpassed PCs in unit sales in 2011.

[ekianjo]

Yeah, and guess how much time are people spending on their Smartphones vs time spent on average on a PC ? That should be fairly obvious that the number of minutes of usage per device is greatly in favor of computers vs smartphones. Smartphones are a fashion trend: people like to change them all the time when new models come out because there is a great technological advance currently on their specs. The same is not true on PC anymore, yet they are still selling by truckloads. Utility wins.

[vor_]

Dismissing smartphones as a fashion trend seems naive. There is a segment of PC users who emotionally react to the suggestion that the "PC", in reference to a box sitting on a desk, is in its twilight. I think it's due to a fear of losing mastery over the system.

PCs are horrendously complex for what most people would use them for--taking pictures, browsing Facebook, watching movies, and so on. It's no surprise that, as mobile devices have made these things easy to do, PC sales have been on the decline.

[michaelbuddy]

its a valid concern. basically you want all the economies to thrive so new things are being created by new players and everything remains affordable. and a healthy level of openness and modularity is so important too.

[drivebyacct2]

>the Unity/Gnome 3/Mint/etc mess

What mess? Unity is getting to be quite tolerable. Gnome is forging ahead with their vision and Mint provides a nice alternative to Ubuntu with several different UIs. I don't understand the argument that this is "bad". People have been saying that since the dawn of Linux and it's boring and an non-point.

If you accept that "PC" has peaked, Valve/Steam is screwed anyway. If consumers keep flocking to iOS/Windows8, let alone to Android... then Steam will die a painful death and modern computing will be reduced to mindless one-at-a-time "apps".

Ironically, the "mess" of Linux desktop is the only platform that isn't going for a signed, verified, OEM only software model eroding consumers' rights and freedoms along the way.

[ekianjo]

>the Unity/Gnome 3/Mint/etc mess

The same people were probably complaining about the mess with IE6, Firefox and Opera a few years ago. Some do not like choice and prefer to have a single standard to rely on. :)

[Camillo]

> Unity is getting to be quite tolerable.

Never have I heard such glowing praise.

[drivebyacct2]

Fine, I'll admit it -- I used Unity again last week and I liked it. And if compiz weren't so buggy, it's a really good environment all around and I'd probably have stuck with it. HUD is absolutely brilliant. I literally can't say enough good things about how much I used it in that week. It makes development so much faster, especially if you're using an IDE.

Unity allows me to utilize more screenspace, very effectively. The latest version is pleasant to look at. I'm still not a huge fan of the default lens, but that will get better with time or as someone creates a replacement for the default lens.

Beside, that's a pretty pithy lame reply to your original remarks. Disappointing.

Elementary is great, although currently only working well with 12.04. Cinnamon is great, my mother figured it out intuitively immediately based on Windows XP (much faster than with Windows 8 or OS X). Gnome-Shell is "OK", I find it's a taste thing and most people what more out of it.

[eertami]

Valve has Dota 2, which at this point is pretty much a license to print money. Steam is going to be around for a _very_ long time.

[barbs]

Speaking of Dota 2, with this enthusiasm for the linux platform, let's hope they start pushing for a Linux client, and maybe they'll finally release their OS X client along the way ><

[bluedanieru]

>It's much more likely to have something to do with the console we know they're working on.

Which, by all accounts, will be more-or-less a Linux PC.

And Linux-on-the-desktop seems healthier now than a couple years ago. The reason it's harder to recommend one single Linux distro, is that even casual users have more than one good choice. I don't see "Unity/Gnome 3/Mint/etc." as a "mess". If you want a single, monolithic platform, we already have that. It's called "Microsoft Windows".