Lists are all the rage
Posted on 2004-05-31 at 08:01
And so I, too, will join in the fray with my List of Things Linux Needs Now (patent pending):
- Money Management Engine: Gnome needs to standardize on a back end financial management engine that other apps can call upon it for data. Ideally, that back end would also feed iCal files to the Evolution back end so we could show a financial calendar in Evolution as needed. Why shouldn't my calendar also show me stuff like "Pay The Light Bill" or "Rent is Due"?
- Music Engine: Gnome needs to standardize on a server back end for multimedia. I know that gStreamer is fixing to fill the spot with solid back end playback, but I mean multimedia management. There should be a standard call to show music files, stored video, etc, that other apps can use without reinventing the wheel. I recommend following Rhythmbox's lead. Let them move to a SQLLite back end for storing the data, let other frint ends attach (like Muine or XMMS) and then expand it to include multimedia beyand just music. Very cool. Frankly, why doesn't every Gnome desktop have a back end shoutcast-like service (perhaps something based on the great jReceiver app)?
- Supplyline integration with the entertainment industry: I said it recently, but it's true. The world is moving to e-delivery of all your multimedia content. No one is really looking to set standards, and Gnome could really give it a go. Make it and advertise it as an open standard for multimedia e-commerce. Who needs 15 different proprietary interfaces for buying music and video online?
- Better SDL/OpenGL APIs: Games designers ain't gonna write for Linux unless we make it as easy as they do in Windows. SDL is a good start. OpenGL needs to update itself and the SDL API needs to make it easy to access.
- Better Hardware Integration: I know it's in the works, but it bears saying anyway. We need to know that when we plug a device into the system, that the Kernel will react by telling Gnome what's happened, and Gnome needs to react by telling the user what's going on. Ideally, it'll be nothing more than a notice that a new device is now attached and ready for use. Little or no user intervention is key to this!
- First-Timer Wizards: Gnome needs to ask the user the first time they log in if they want a Gnome-like, Mac-like, or Windows-like experience and adjust the default preferences accordingly. Maybe even do it on a sliding scale from Windows to Gnome and where on the scale the user sets the defaults, determines the level of Gnomeness that is present in the defaults. That'd be kinda cool.
- Hot chicks: Linux needs more hot chicks. There is a distinct paucity of hot chicks in linux. ;-)