I don't think there is a substantial difference in #UX between #MacOS and #Win11. There are lots of visual 'skinning' tweaks but the basic structural model of files/folders/2d windowing/invisible clipboard feels pretty baked at this point.
Are there any #Linux distros that break the mold? Shake things up a bit?
My point is that I feel all desktop #UXs have pretty much stagnated and no one is really trying anything different. I'd LOVE to hear of any crazy experiments.
Because Xerox Alto and the Dynamicland have been built in a research context, I don’t believe there is any new paradigm out there without you noticing it.
@scottjenson Every shipping example you’re getting is a “window manager” because it requires zero work from app developers. Anything more interesting would be dismissed by cross-platform app authors, and anything distro-specific would be dismissed even by Linux-specific app authors, and therefore users couldn’t rely on it being present.
A simple example is that no Linux system will likely ever have a history mechanism as uniform as Time Machine and Versions.
@scottjenson I had ideas, back in the day, of a GNOME prototype for organizing the desktop by a task-centric, GTD-style metaphor rather than file-centric. But (besides that I never got anyone interested in implementing it!) I realize now that task-centric metaphors really force the user to conform to the developer's idea of their workflow in a way that file-centric metaphors don't.
@luis_in_brief but it is still interesting you were trying! Files really have proven to be super flexible. I'm actually interested in exploring how filters could be an interface for llms
@isaac Completely agree there is so much room to innovate on files. As we've seen on mobile, for 90% of your use cases, you don't need to worry about a files location but for that 10% use case, you REALLY need it. Some type of hybrid-default but routing options could be interesting to explore. Also using LLMs to sort your files is worth exploring.
I'm not trying to suggest absolute ideas, only the fact that there is so much MORE we could be exploring.
@scottjenson I was following the Étoilé project many years ago as it in its own words had the goal ”to create a user environment designed from the ground up around the things people do with computers: create, collaborate, and learn. Without implementation details like files and operating-system processes polluting the computer's UI”: http://etoileos.com/ / https://github.com/etoile
But I guess that was mostly just doubling down on GNUStep and making a modern version of that.
@scottjenson I’m prepared to believe that the Apple headset, over maybe the next 3 years, will cause 1) some ideas to take hold that will make our mouse/keyboard/touch screen concepts feel positively pedestrian, and 2) they will be “backported” to PCs and handhelds.
The key phrase, for me, is the term “spatial” they are using in their positioning. Imagine all electronic interactions to be “spatial”! I have, and the mind boggles. Well, at least my mind does :-)
@ahoneybun@system76 Exciting to see them trying something different. However, their latest blog post leads with a new terminal and screenshot utility. If those are the "Big Changes" that doesn't inspire confidence
@isaac@scottjenson@system76 thanks Isaac! One of the coolest changes from GNOME COSMIC to COSMIC itself I believe is being able to redo how tiling works (including shortcuts that make more sense) since we're building it from the ground up rather then an extension. Another one is tiling per workspace which means you can tiling in one workspace but not in another or even floating tiling!
Add comment