Outlined below are some things I like to see in most Linux distro in the NOT too distant future, understand that some are already in place BUT would like others to foolow suit. Have sent the list to various distros that I have come into contact with & recieved amongst others some positive responses e.g. one from none other than Jason Spisak of Lycoris himself:

Shaun,

Thanks for taking the time to write such a deatiled message. I
have forwarded these comments to the appropriate people.
Thanks for joining the Lycoris community, and tell your friends
about Desktop/LX.

Specific Proposals:
1.) A fully INTERACTIVE & ACCESSIBLE Speech, Voice Recognition & Remote Control-Enabled Desktop (for easy accesibility especially for the disabled & to a certain extent, the numerous lazy dudes around )

2.) All applications to be categorized into TIGHTLY INTEGRATED Suites e.g. Web Suite subdivided into a.) Communications e.g. Evolution, Balsa, Mahogany, Pan, Knodes, BGrab, XChat, Gabber, Gaim, GnomeMeeting etc, all in one packaged solution), b.) Browsers e.g. Galeon, Beonex, BrowseX, Opera, Netscape etc, c.)Web Design/Development Suite e.g GIMP, Babel, Quanta, Scribus, JBuilder, etc, a Multimedia Suite that can be divided further into a.) Music Playing e.g. XMMS, Freeamp, GryPhon, Grip, Musicale etc b.) MPEG/MOVIE Players e.g. VideoLAN, MPlayer, Gmerlin, OMS, Zlplay c.) Graphics Viewing e.g. GThumbs, GQview, Kuickshow, Kview, Gwenview, etc) & d.) Multimedia Productions e.g. Linux Ultimate Music Editor, DBMix, AcidGimp, SoundTracker, Compo, a WorkOffice Suite e.g. StarOffice with Presentations-Impress, Word Processing-Writer, Spreadsheet-Calc but with added Personal Accounting e.g. QHacc, Gnucash, Linux-Kontor, Banal and WebAccount etc. And all of these suites should have their own seperate & individual Folders on the desktop and thus possibly doing with the need for an application launcher e.g. NO MORE Kicker, NO More Foot icon. Just want to clarify that I'm NOT asking for a movement in Windows approach to INTEGRATION e.g. integrated wordpad, media player, and windows messenger, paint, etc but rather a movement towards integrating related set of applications by their General nature i.e. more like Galeon, Balsa (mail client), gFTP, GTransferManager, gnapster, Leech (URL Leecher), Jungle Monkey (a distributed file sharing program) Gaim, XChat, Pan (newsreader), GnomeMeeting & perhaps Xine to be MORE Tightly INTEGRATED as one Internet Suite.

3.) One interesting feature that maybe both KDE & GNOME can adopt will be REAL-TIME Drag N Drop ability aka QNX (i.e. a POSIX compliant *NIX like OS) i.e. where one computer linked to a common network can Drag N Drop files/folders onto one another's desktop...? hmmm...

4.) A Tightly INTEGRATED, INTERACTIVE, INTELLIGENT Centralized Administration & Configuration Center i.e. CACC that is LOGICALLY laid out that is designed with an emphasis on the MAXIMUM USER-FRIENDLINESS & ERGONMICS possible. Making basic system administration a breeze for even the greenest of newbies. Features, Functions & Facilities of this proposed CACC are as follows:

The GUI-Based Centralized Administration & Configuration Center (CACC)

a.) Packages & Kernel Information, Administration & Management
- Sources Support of packages i.e. mediatype e.g. CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Floppy, FTP, HTTP, CVS (With HTTP, SOCKS proxies support)
- Graphical Tarball Extraction, Configuration, Building and Installation e.g. .tgz, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2
- Automatic Dependency/Conflict Resolution/Fetching & Web Search (e.g. SourceForge, Freshmeat, Icewalkers, etc), Integrity - Checking>>>md5checksum
- Auto-Removal of old packages upon upgrade unless otherwise instructed
- Uninstall packages & all dependent packages and configuration files automatically enabling easy trouble-free re-installation of corrupted packages
- Alteration/Modification of the sources (if needed)
- Centralized Packages Information, Registry & Management detailing details like Package Name, Size, Description, Location e.g. (/usr/bin/, /usr/local/bin/), Date of Install, Upgrade, Removal, Last Modified i.e. Full identification of ALL associated libraries & dependent packages & their respective attributes e.g. their relation to the installed software on system >>>information to be contained within the Centralized Packages Information, Registry & Management in tha CACC. All these will ensure the user is aware of the full consequences of uninstalling whatever package or library.
- Alien Incorporated i.e. tool for the conversion of .tgz, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .deb, .slp packages to RPM & vice versa
- Auto Search for Latest Stable kernel build either in the form of distro's own kernel rpms or from http://www.kernel.org/ & prompt user to update
- Kernel (source) Upgrading, Customizing, Rebuilding for those interested
- Auto detection of Newly patched, rebuilt or compiled kernel with auto updating of lilo.conf or grub/menu.ls, etc & with option i.e. prompt to either use the New kernel immediately or stick to old kernel without the need for a reboot.
- Installer settings configuration
- Centralized Applications configuration files editing
- Centralized Applications attributes e.g. rights, permissions, files association configuration
- GUI based Utility to change system compiler e.g. from gcc 2.96 to gcc 3.04 on the fly e.g. http://elxlinux.com/gifs/Compiler.gif
- GUI based RPM Builder utility enabling the easy creation of new RPM/Tarball packages

b.) General System Administration
- Internet/Network/Server Set-up & Administration
- Desktop Configuration e.g. Desktop Menu Configuration e.g. Icons Additions/Deletion, Application Menu Configuration/Applets Addition/Deletion, Look N Feel settings e.g. Background, Themes selection, etc
- System Configuration & Settings e.g. User Management >>> Add/User Delete & Privileges Settings, Fonts, Window Managers, - Accessibility & Localized Settings (e.g. Language, Time, Date, Currency, etc)
- Boot-Disk creation
- Partitioning while the system is active
- Runlevel editor for activating/deactivating system services
- Memory debugging e.g. leakahe in applications, hardware/OS compatability testing, hardware conflicts/problems debugging & resolution wherever applicable.
- Firewall & Security Configuration
- Hardware/Peripherals Configuration e.g. Mouse, Printer, Scanner, Keyboard, etc
- Multimedia Settings e.g. Audio, Visual
- Automated System/Applications Errors Debugging & Repair & Reporting
- Active Intrusion Detection & File Integrity Monitoring & Reporting
- A Centralized System logs registry for easy location, viewing & reporting
- Font Installer

c.) Distro Specific/Linux/Open Source Mailing Lists, Bugs Reporting Management

d.) Built-In Console/Terminal Options to all the above

e.) Manpages i.e. Full & Detailed manpages with ample examples explaining each of the above features, functions & operations

5.) Also I would like to see a more INTUITIVE, INTELLIGENT & SPECIFIC Job/Task-based layout to Application Menus e.g. Games can be divided into Multi-Player >>> Half Life, Unreal, FreeCiv, Parsec, Quake...Single-Player >>> Maelstrom, Tux Racer, Ampethamine, Clanbomber, NetHack....hmmmm

I understand that REAL-TIME Drag N Drop across raises certain security issues to which I suggest we can somewhat dealt with by adopting something like SunOS aka Solaris 8's Role-Based Access scheme to security i.e. Primary Admin, SysAdmin, User, etc where certain superuser privileges can be delegated where appropriate to the users on the system.

All of the above suggested improvements in my opinion & those of 3 other good pals of mine with different degree of exposure to Linux ranging from half a year to 5 years & using Linux for work, play & internet will I think lead to Linux Desktop that is INTEROPERABLE,INTERACTIVE,INTUITIVE,INTELLIGENT & PROFESSIONAL with an emphasis on the MAXIMUM possible USER FRIENDLINESS, ERGONOMICS & INTEGRATION. I know some of you will say that all these smells like M$'s Windows or Mac but there's one MAJOR difference i.e. both are PROPRIETARY in nature whereas both KDE & GNOME are Open Source. ) Even though Mac's OS X looks slick & we know it's built on top of a very stable BSD kernel, there's almost NO HOPE in persuading Apple to share with the Open Source community the secret to its GLOSSY design. We in the *NIX family will have to come up with something that will at least rival if not surpass both Mac & Windows. In BOTH KDE & GNOME I think we have MORE than mere competitors to the Windows & Mac desktops but BOTH KDE & GNOME possess the potential to outdesign, outperform & outshine both the Windows & Mac desktops.

As for why the stress on near idiot-proof, lazybone approach to desktop design, well let us be REALISTIC & REALLY sit down & think about what the REAL world outside e.g. your everyday corporate & home users alike are like & try to acommodate & cater to as much of their needs & wants as it is possible. I'm NOT calling for the total elimination of terminals, geeks
need not worry for terminals e.g. xterm, eterm & what have you will still be an indispenseable part of the desktop for the forseeable future. What I'm calling for is an understanding of what your Joe/Mary on the street wants in a system to encourage wider acceptability of Linux & the *BSDs.

Part 2:

On the issue of security & it's relation to attracting more cross-overs from other competing OSes, I have the following views:
The OSes i.e. Linux & *BSDs on the whole already come with a SOLID reputation for RELIABILITY, STABILITY & RELATIVE SECURITY BUT the same cannot be said of some applications. Hope u get what i mean... we need to implement stricter controls & standards i.e. Quality Control. What we MUST do is to work more closely with application developers i.e. volunteers & corporate alike to ensure HIGH Reliability Standards are maintained in the programs i.e. one persistent & somewhat disturbing observation is that I understand that distros have to keep themselves up-to-date i.e. jam pack their releases with bleeding edge applications so as to win over Quantity crazy folks but by packing their distros with thousands of packages, some of which are BETA even ALPHA releases may compromise the overall stability of a user's system. I hope a balance can somehow be struck that satisfies BOTH the want to keep oneself up-to-date & overall system stability.

Also we need to work more closely with hardware vendors to ensure the maximum hardware compatibilty with the afore-mentioned OSes. Also as much as I applaud the spirit as embodied in the Linux Standards Base & File Hierarchy Standard & the likes, I want to see more effort towards standadization & inetroperability amongst the disparate distros i.e. the packages designed should be made distro-independent!!!

I do recognize that although tight-integration of software is definately a good idea, many open source projects are usually based on one or a few programmers, who are good in creating a certain kinda software. It's not an excuse, but maybe someone should just come along and get the source code for various applications, and then integrate it together. I mean, after all, it is open source, and integration can be considered as modification...

Another area of need, is in the defining of standards for writing and creation of distros in Linux. Just a general note is that till today, no-standards have been written for any creation of software either on the Win32 platform or POSIX systems. Not that we shouldn't, we should! but the question goes back down to...who is going to write it? Who is going to enforce it. Of course with a standard, it might actually step on some toes along the way. No excuses, I think we should as well, but we still have fundamental issues to sort out first.

Other Proposed Improvements:
OS/Filesystem Level:
- An SQL approach e.g. MySQL & PostgreSQL to unify storage in a single database built into the OS which will integrate & act as storage for all system's & application files for easy & logical location & retrieval i.e. perform the role of that "glue" that ties in all the bits & pieces of the OS. >>>
will require some kind of a new set of standards to govern this integration process & the cooperation of ALL distro,
desktop environment, application developers, etc.

Kernel Level:
- A memory-mapped file system

- A log-structured file system

Understand that in Mandrake 8.2 & SuSE 8.0 some of the above have already been adopted BUT would like to see MORE RPM based distros follow suit. Comments please.

I had to bring this up....i like this guys ideas

But yet it's nearly impossible to do some of these...

Sorry to bring up a nearly ancient thread, but i'm sure it's a good read..

Garry

Did anyone acctually read this?

read it, yes, understand it, not a snowballs chance in hell.

On the other hand, I don't think that i've ever claimed to be anything more than the LQ nugget of the year!!!

regards

John

ba ha ha, you have my vote John!

I didn't read it, I scanned it, and was like, whoa!

Cool

hahahah i read the whole thing.......i was bored...it's a good read though....seems like this guy has been doing his homework.....

Garry

Hahahaha, six months later

Garry

it's good stuff. it's the sort of loose end tying that newbies claim needs to be fixed before they will try linux. No. that was wrong. the original poster is obviously not a newbie, but he is highlighting stuff that will make GUI based desktop computing easier, better and more intuitive. This is a really important thing, more important the newbier you are, and since linux is and will be a system with a high newbie quotient for a good few years, i agree that this is the direction that distributors should be taking.
Programs for linux and BSD are taking long strides, it just behooves the distributors to tie it all together coherently.

I never noticed much difference so far (3 days) between mandrake 9 and mandrake 8.2, although i appreciate the newer versions of OOo, Mozilla, GNOME, KDE et cetera. i have heard that red hat 8 is making great strides, but i think that they really need to get it together to be this newbie friendly. it has never been a priority in linux before for many people, but why should it not be in future? Linux is no longer a hobbyists' OS, and no longer need skulk around at the sidelines of computing, so why doesn't it fully get in their and play rough with the big boys?

a lot of the features that linux needs, are already in OSX, or other systems (i have not tried solaris or RiscOS, but i hear they have stuff that is unique to them too) and some things (although i cannot think of a single on eright now!) most likely feature in MSWindows that do not feature in linux.

Oh yes, one is being able to check your hotmail using an email client. You can't fdo that in linux, you can in windows. No sweat to me, but useful for my girlfriend.

Anyway i will shut up now. i think there's some good points in the first post, but don't hold your breath. Still there's no harm in making distributors aware of your future wants.

You can't? I can do so in Konqueror, but curiously, not in Galeon.

I'm still pretty new to linux, less than six months actually, and I did read the whole post. I have to agree, doing these things would make the whole experience alot easier. I also have to agree on the other point though, it would not be easy. There is simply too much disparity in the community today. But the question arises, if you create a set of standards so such things can be implemented, doesn't that go against the freedom of the OS? I love Linux, but I think it will be awhile before it can get really in your face to the bigger competetors and go after average joe-blow.

these ones caught my eye... what an Idea!

c.) Distro Specific/Linux/Open Source Mailing Lists, Bugs Reporting Management

d.) Built-In Console/Terminal Options to all the above

e.) Manpages i.e. Full & Detailed manpages with ample examples explaining each of the above features, functions & operations

It just seems to me that this guy might as well use windows, or maybe another system like OSX or PS/2 or Solaris or something. Linux is open source. Part of that means that it is not centralized. I happen to like this because it leaves room for learning, and customizing to fit your wants/needs. Maybe even going with a BSD would do some of the above too.

and Voice recognition at the TOP of the list? come on.

Voice Recognition?

http://www.wru.umt.edu/~scmason/pbox/about.shtml

Haven't tried that part of it yet as I don't have a microphone handy... and I'm really not that bothered by it either

If during the installtion of this dream linux os there was a question like :
What kind of system would you like ?
A)Novice (wizards, autodetection and friendly help GUIs)
B)Expert (debian like)

Then, i have nothing to worry about

Novice, Novice Novice!! friendly GUIs wooo!

Buuuut, the option to turn it into "expert mode" later when your proficient enough.. that'd be nice..