Ubuntu moving away from X

[Mark Woodward]

On 11/06/2010 08:07 AM, discuss-request-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org wrote:
> From: Matthew Gillen <me-5yx05kfkO/aqeI1yJSURBw at public.gmane.org> Subject: Re: Ubuntu moving 
> away from X To: discuss-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org Message-ID: 
> <4CD435A2.7040907-5yx05kfkO/aqeI1yJSURBw at public.gmane.org> Content-Type: text/plain; 
> charset=ISO-8859-1 On 11/05/2010 12:29 PM, Mark Woodward wrote:
>> >  Is anyone disappointed by Shuttleworth's decision to move Ubuntu off of X?
>> >  
>> >  X is one of those things that I think is make unix "UNIX." The idea that
>> >  I can run any application on any machine and display its output on any
>> >  other machine is more than cool, it is a functionality that I use and
>> >  has "saved the day" on a number of occasions.
>> >  
>> >  If there are things that X can't do, then improve it. Don't get rid of it.
>>      
> I hadn't heard that, but it jives with some of the noises coming from the
> pundits; from
> http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3911026/Fedora-14-vs-Ubuntu-Maverick-Distinct-Differences.htm
>
>    
>> >  The message in the release notes is that Fedora is for all sorts of
>> >  users, whereas Ubuntu seems focused on as straightforward an experience
>> >  for new users as possible. Nothing could more indicative of the
>> >  differences in the two distro's current concerns.
>> >  
>> >  Which of these two approaches to distribution-building is preferable
>> >  remains a matter of choice. Ubuntu's popularity and the speed of its
>> >  changes suggest that there is something to be said for its commercial,
>> >  centralized approach. Yet, at the same time, Fedora's more generalist
>> >  approach seems more tolerant of the differences in how users work.
>> >  
>> >  In the end, neither Ubuntu 10.10 or Fedora 14 are major releases.
>> >  However, if you look closely, you can see the seeds of differences that
>> >  might grow larger over the next few years."
>>      
> If that's accurate, then it certainly makes sense for Ubuntu to dump X,
> given its sometimes arcane quirks that are difficult to explain to people
> who don't have enough background to understand all the functionality and
> history X brings to the table.
>    
And here is my fear about ubuntu realized. I have no problem with "joe 
sixpack" usability features as long as they take great care to leave the 
underlying features in tack.

Just because some of X's features seem arcane doesn't mean you get rid 
of them. It means you take the effort to understand them. Improve them 
if necessary. Make them easier to develop with an abstraction class or 
API, but you don't remove them.

Mac and Windows can't do what Linux does ever so easily.  Taking this 
away is a huge mistake.

ssh -XC myhomemachine.myoffceip.com
....
....
exyes


This is a basic example. Now, if you deal with virtual machines, and I 
am currently using libvirt, you can ssh into a remote machine and manage 
your VMs on your own local desktop.

It a truly powerful feature and virtualy every X application gets it for 
free.

> Matt
>