I hope some volunteers take on the task of providing Vista/W7 support in perpetuity because if they really go ahead with all this cloud business I think it really will be the last version of Windows. Either that or we can try to make various Linux distros look exactly like Windows or even OS/2. Heh heh.
-MilesAhead
I actually think this is what someone should do - *really* mirror Windows basic look and feel on a Linux Distro. On the software side, is how Kingsoft Office and some of the others are finally really starting to mirror the MS versions. Compare this to my log-standing gripe about LibreOffice - "stuff is just somewhere else."
My rough instincts on why they don't are:
- "Linux should be different and 'our distro' is the best of the different ones". - Not sure how to un-convince anyone of that.
- Microsoft might have a whole ton of very old look-feel patents/trademarks/other on the core components, so that no Linux distro can possibly truly duplicate the look and feel. But in some ways I "only want 30 things", about ten of which are in the Right-Click menu.
- The radical nature of Linux architecture may create near-impossible logic-circles that prevent truly mimicking Windows. But way up there in the list is, I'd like much more powerful support for just "grabbing an application and/or an update" on the fly, without being *forced* to funnel it through some big package.
- Heh: "Other look and feel issues that are too specific for this post". (Nod to Fermat!)