Taking User-Friendliness Lessons From Microsoft

When I first heard about the new graphic interface for Windows 8, I thought Microsoft was making the same mistake  the Ubuntu and GNOME developers have recently made: putting a touchscreen interface on an OS that will also run on non-touchscreen devices. However, according to Jeff Hoogland, it looks like Microsoft is at least making it easy to go back to a standard desktop interface.

Thoughts on Technology: Something Gnome3 and Unity Could Stand to Learn From Windows 8

I never thought I'd see the day when Linux desktops are being schooled on usability by Microsoft.

MSNBC.com Videos Don't Work on Unity

Doug Roberts of Linux Journal wrote a blog post about the inconveniences of the Ubuntu bug reporting system. What struck me, however, was the problem that drove him to Ubuntu's Launchpad site:

So I noticed a few days ago that videos on msnbc.com had stopped working. I’m running Ubuntu 11.04 and Unity.

This reminds me of the reason I first decided to stick with Xfce over GNOME. In my case, it was that YouTube videos played more smoothly, but Flash seems to have a lot of problems with GNOME-based desktops.

Ubuntu Bug Reporting (Again) | Linux Journal

Ubuntu 11.04, Unity Released to Mixed Reactions | Linux Journal

Linux Journal has a collection of reactions to Ubuntu's Unity interface. According to online polls, so far the most common reaction has been indifference.

The main relevance of this debate to lightweight desktop fans is that a widespread rejection of Unity, Gnome 3 and KDE 4 might make Xfce a more popular desktop even for non-lightweight distros.

Ubuntu 11.04, Unity Released to Mixed Reactions | Linux Journal