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Comment by scrrr | Hacker News Reader

This is exactly the right direction for Ubuntu. I'm installing this remotely on my dad's computer as I type this.

The shortcut keys (using the Windows-button) are very useful and the dock-like launcher is a good replacement for the old task-bar.

It might take a couple more years but somehow I have the feeling that Ubuntu might be heading for the mainstream. Rightfully so.

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It might take a couple more years but somehow I have the feeling that Ubuntu might be heading for the mainstream. Rightfully so.

I'd like to think so, and they're doing a great job, but I can't help but feel they're a few years too late. I suspect general email & browsing is going to happen more and more on tablets and phones and people will only want full-blown computers to run specialized native apps, most of which will probably never be ported to Linux.

Of course, thanks to Android, Linux will be more relevant than ever in this scenario.

For consumers that can afford it, tablets may replace a lot of what a desktop computer does for those people, but there are many people who are lower income who will still depend on very inexpensive desktop computers, either ones the own individually or (more likely) ones that they can access at their local library. I think Ubuntu is heading in a direction where it will replace Windows for users that only need an office suite and a web browser but need to use a cheaper desktop machine.

If tablet computing takes off, the economics could change (i.e. tablets become cheaper, and full computers become more expensive).

I think it's much more likely lower income people will use a smartphone as their primary computer than a desktop machine. Cell phones already have incredible penetration, and the cell companies (not to mention Google) are going to push smartphones into that population in short order.

I agree. Everybody will have a smart phone because they're so useful and for a lot of people that will be all they need, particularly if money is tight. I'm in Vietnam now and most people here make next to nothing but they still have smart phones and I even see a lot of iPhones, even though they cost a fortune by Vietnamese standards.

I see a fair number of cheap desktop computers too but they're all running bootleg copies of Windows. People aren't paying for their software anyway so the price advantage of Linux is negated.

A second thought: Linux might be able to compete on the basis of security. Every single Windows machine I've used here has been riddled with trojans and viruses. I have a feeling this is common in a lot of the developing world.

Unity looks like it was designed for touch-based interfaces in mind. wait a couple of months for Intel's x86 tablets.

I'll always wonder when keyboard manufacturers will replace the 'Windows button' with something more universal.

Pressing Windows + key in a non-Windows operating system always seems so counter-intuitive to the everyday user.

Amen! I use either an Apple aluminum keyboard (these days it's just 'command' and doesn't have an apple on it) or something completely blank.

> might be heading for the mainstream

I hope so... I could easily have a dozen family members switched over in a heartbeat - if only iTunes were readily available (and not having to use vmware or such...).

Sadly, until then they're S.O.L.

I hate to be 'that guy', but have you tried wine? Wine typically has very good compatibility with popular applications like iTunes.

Okay, I just checked appdb and it kinda works. (May be worth trying a prerelease of wine). Otherwise, ubuntu should have built in iPod support (I am assuming that's what you need iTunes for), and if not, I guarantee there's a way to get it working on the internet/wiki somewhere.

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