Posted on 05/07/2015 9:02:45 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
As sales of tablets and phones continue to outstrip demand for PCs, the technology industry is preparing for a shift in how people use computers.
In this transition, phones and tablets are expected to begin to be used as desktop PCs, a change that will force a fundamental redesign of software.
Instead of operating systems and applications having a single interface, apps will alter their look and controls to reflect how they are being used. For example, a UI that favours large, easily-tappable buttons on a touchscreen tablet might switch to tightly-packed icons when the tablet is used with a monitor and a mouse.
The idea was dubbed convergence by Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu operating system, when it launched the idea for a phone that would double as a PC in 2013.
The crowdfunding campaign for the Ubuntu Edge phone failed, but Canonical remains committed to transforming Ubuntu into an OS that adapts its interface according to its use.
Microsoft is promising a similar approach with Windows 10, taking time at its recent Build conference to detail how its forthcoming OS will offer a equally flexible UI.
Windows 10 will feature Continuum mode, which will detect when mobile devices are docked with a mouse and keyboard and reorient the UI to suit. The other major feature will be support for what Microsoft calls universal apps, applications that share their core code but that can switch their interface to be equally usable on desktops, phones, tablets and even augmented reality headsets.
With both Windows and Ubuntu being remodelled around convergence, how are both likely to fare as Microsoft and Canonical bid to be at the vanguard of the next wave of computing?
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Including the ones that proactively call you up to tell inform you that you have a virus, and they can remove it for you if you get on your pc...
Ubuntu works fine for most ordinary daily tasks. I have it on my desktop and laptop. The main problem with it, however, is that it’s not “mainstream” so the big programs aren’t written for it.
In the *nix world, I cut my teeth on the GNOME and KDE desktop, as used in RedHat 6.1.
Unity on the current GNOME desktop is not particularly intuitive...it’s more tablet-oriented, IMO, than even Windows 8 Metro!
At least you can return to Windows Explorer simply by pressing ALT-TAB.
I put the Xen hypervisor on it so I can run a Win7 VM for Windows tasks.
At one point I brought up a VM with Ubuntu Unity desktop, did the install, booted, and there was no Terminal app on the desktop. No little terminal icon, nothing. And no clear way to put one there from what they did give you.
I was floored, totally flummoxed -- A Linux machine without a shell window. No xterm, no Terminal app. I freaked. I had to google to find out the keyboard shortcut.
CTRL-ALT-T ??? To get a damn shell on a *nix box?
That was the end of my experience with Unity. I couldn't even bring myself to mouse around to find the damn System->Shutdown dropdown menu item.
I typed "shutdown -h now" into that godforsaken terminal window, and 10 seconds later deleted the VM from my system. I have work to do.
can Grandma turn it on and go to the interwebs to view pictures of her grandchildren and cats?
Until Linux comes able to do that AND run Windows apps right out of the box, it will stay exactly where it is.
And don’t even tell me I font know anything about it -I write software for both Windows and Linux computers for a living. I know Linux is a superior operating system, but I also know most of the things I need to do for work on a daily basis are on Windows.
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