Mark Shuttleworth's Column in Linux User #100

In the latest issue of the British magazine Linux User, the editors hand over their regular column on Ubuntu to Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of the Ubuntu project. Shuttleworth uses the column to explain the thinking behind the new Unity interface in Ubuntu 11.04. This little section caught my eye:

Touch and games are our inspiration. When we set about designing Unity, we drew inspiration from the world of consumer electronics. We wanted to produce something that felt more lightweight and easy to use than a traditional PC interface. We also wanted to take advantage of the incredible graphics technology that is found in every modern PC.

We studied game system interfaces, like the PlayStation and Xbox. We studied mobile products like the iPhone and looked for ways we could embrace ideas from those environments in the desktop. In particular, we took the view that touch-centric interfaces would come to the PC, and we made sure that key pieces of Unity are touch-friendly.

I had two reactions to these statements:

1. Does anybody think Unity is lightweight? In my experience, Unity, being based on GNOME, has been about as unwieldy as GNOME. 
2. Can an OS designed for tablets and mobile phones still be a good fit for traditional computers? If Unity trims its bloat and becomes a great OS for netbooks, tablets, and smartphones, will users of desktops and traditional laptops still be able to tolerate it? Can one OS really work on the variety of electronic devices available to the public? Or does Shuttleworth expect traditional computers to disappear entirely?

Linux User's Ubuntu Column #100, by Mark Shuttleworth

DistroWatch Weekly: Lubuntu Closer to Becoming "Official"

The new issue of DistroWatch Weekly is out. It looks like the only lightweight-distro news that I haven't commented on already is that Lubuntu appears to be closer to becoming an official Ubuntu derivative.

DW Weekly quotes this Lubuntu developer blog post, which quotes the following comment by Mark Shuttleworth:

Thanks for the great work and progress of Lubuntu in the past 2 years. The fact that you are now 100% in the archive, and using PPA's and other tools effectively, makes it possible for us to consider recognising Lubuntu as an official part of the project. ... From my perspective, I see no problem in providing Lubuntu with the means to book sessions at UDS, and for us to call attention to Lubuntu in the project release notes. ... Our goal with Ubuntu is to ensure that the archive contains the full richness of free software. LXDE is definitely part of that, and with the other desktop environments making greater demands on PC resources, LXDE has a continued role to play.

DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 403, 2 May 2011