Microsoft is now copying GNOME3

Operating Systems & Open Source Linux
1

Okay so if you saw that reveal thing that MS thought was good, and paid attention you would have noticed this, there are a few features that GNOME has had for ages which are just cropping into Windows.

Multi-desktops
This has been in Linux and most DEs for ages now, MS is starting to roll these out, I believe OSX has even had them, although I am unsure.
The fact Windows is getting to the point with their crapware that they need mutli desktops is stupid, although Linux has them, we can better manage these desktop with one for terminals, one for web etc etc, now this will also similarly apply to Windows, it seems to me more of a way to have a spotlight for Metro apps, which are awful.

The GNOME window viewer.
Okay so in GNOME when you go to the top left of your screen, you can get the multi view section, which shows all active programs on that desktop instance, MS has begun to implement this, and more than likely market it as new in the future, this is a replacement of aero, while I hope alt-tab is still there for the standard user, this is again targeted at touch screen, same as multi-desktops will be, while sometimes easier people who know how to control alt-tab or aero propperly will surely not appreciate this feature.

Start menu is back...
While I like a start menu, I have been spoilt by the likes of XFCE and GNOME, for me its better in terms of getting things done, I love OSX layout, which gnome/xfce provide, I find it faster and smoother.
Now for my girlfriend this would be a major adjustment, she has gotten used to Metro, although she can use Start bar, she does not miss it, as for her dad, he would love the start bar, so its good its back, but for me, no thanks!  
It seems to be more Windows Phone 8.1 than Windows Desktop.

Web search from start.
Ubuntu's Unity has had this for ages, via amazon, which I can see MS going down, more money in their pockets.

Snap
All they did was add more snapping windows, nothing major, and Linux has had this for ages.

 

So while I will be VMing the tech preview, I don't think I will be leaving Linux for it, may have it on a spare HDD sometime, but the fact that I can do everything on Linux I want, and its faster and more stable, and I am not bombarded by updates everytime I start up, Linux will be my home for a good long while :)

Also seriously MS, what is with your teams fashion choices, I would think modern would be more minimal styles, not long hair styles... IMO. 

 

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We can draw lots of comparisons with most compositing desktop enviroments and desktop paradigms. I wouldn't say the ten/preview is anything like Gnome3, it's more like KDE/KWin - but I see what you mean.

I think it's insulting to Windows users to showcase such simple features that have been around for over two decades in linux and OSX.

For example; maximize/minimize/close full screen (metro) apps - windows snapping at screen border. A search box in an accordian menu.

It's ridiculous that Windows can sell this shit to people. Current gen is so fucking autist.

 

1 Like
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I love this. People complain about windows because it isn't like linux. People say that "Linux has this, windows should have something like this!" then when they do that, and give people what they want, they are "copying" them.

I do agree that these features are very small things, and shouldnt be the center of the new version. Hell, the freaking start menu is the most important thing about the new release. Which is stupid. Because they're just giving you back what they took in the first place.

But you should be happy that windows is trying to catch up. Not bashing it for having features.

I personally will be removing all of the smart tiles from my start menu. Because fuck those tiles.

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I have a MSDN subscription through work, and have had for many years. I used to enjoy breaking various iterations of NT based OS' but since Windows 8 I just cant be bothered anymore. I will be skipping Windows ten also.

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I'm installing it in about five minutes. It should be at least an improvement over 7. An improvement over 8 even if it's horribly broken.

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imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

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tell that to apple's rounded corners.

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Fair enough they are finally catching up, but both OSX and Windows bullshit, like apples memory compression technology, its been in Linux for years, and MS is now following, I just have to laugh how they slandered Chrome OS, but yet they copy the systems its based upon lol

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Microsoft needs to learn they can't do everything.

Use 7zip for file compression.

Skin XBMC for media player, and just use a WebKit or Gecko for your browser.

A Dropbox clone and Search engine is not going to save you.

Hyper-V, why duplicate effort just build a good Xen frontend and offer support. It works well for Citrix.

Your Not invented here syndrome is killing you.  

 

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Copying is perfectly fine. Copy the good features and it makes your product better without hurting anybody. The same goes for games. If there wasn't such a stigma against copying, I think we'd have better games. It's them making a big deal out of it that would make this a joke.

Though I would prefer that copying goes from proprietary software to free software, rather than the other way around.

11

Interesting observation...

Coinciding with the dismissal of the major part of the Windows developers, who the hell developed this then at Microsoft? In these circumstances, it's easy to jump to suspicions of Microsoft having "borrowed" open source code, and having obfuscated it into it's own closed source code. It wouldn't be the first time something like this happens... I guess the proper authorities will bring this up for examination... guess we already know what the next hearing of Microsoft by the European Commission will be about...

I haven't seen WindX (yes, this is the new nickname already for the newest quick wipedown of the old Windows NT by Redmond...) yet, but I have bought two new laptops this week that have W8.1 preinstalled, and I'm going to need WindX because they're glass touch screen devices... one way or the other lol. Even though my first focus is on flashing the crap out of the devices to get open source BIOS and linux on them (because KDE5 and even Gnome 3.14 are simply better and not half as chaotic), I'll definitely check "W8 for IT" and "WindX" out first, just out of curiosity, and to see what I can discover after logical and network analysis, because I'm curious about the extent of human rights damage and gratuitous impertinent stupefaction Redmond has permitted itself to cause this time around, so I'm definitely going to look for convergences with Gnome Shell and KDE.

It's good they didn't clone Canonical's Unity though, that would be disastrous, imagine Unity by Microsoft... the horror...

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So is this just windows 8 with a remade ui environment or did they actually change the guts? It's about time windows got these features. But I do wonder if they changed more than the ui.

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basically an 8.2. But it's much nicer than 8.

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You can play Borderlands 2 on linux you know :P

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Ino I was well happy with this! just waiting for Pre-Sequel :)

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I got into a very interesting debate about this with someone I know, he wants to get into the NHS I.T department as a admin, now while I know that half of the NHS is still running XP, he doesn't understand that for networking, a dabble in Linux and understanding can be vital, and I expect the NHS will go Linux after Windows 7 EOL.
The fact is this, he sits there and starts it by saying, well Linux is an awful system to run, and that Windows is much easier, stable and works for the general computer user, which is correct to a point.

While MS is less stable than a recently destructed building, it is what the user uses at home, due to slandering marketing towards Linux, I.E their MS Netbook ads.

What he does not understand is that half of the features he has PAID for Linux offers for free and in a far more advanced and stable state, and the fact the NHS could run their backend with Linux, and their fronts with Windows, at least the local network would be a bit more secure, but no needs new people for that, they have two options for this, use Red Hat and get support for their new systems, or get someone who actually knows what he is doing and do it that way.

Anyways, what this person does not understand is this, his beloved OS is just copying designs previously laid out as working and usable to the point my mother could use them, and while copying is perfectly fine and works well in this industry, its just stupid how they can market the new features as NEW, and not copied, which is what really pisses me off.

A friend of mine at work also had a similar issue, he loves W7, and states that because Linux is free and open with its code by nature, it allows for people to copy their work, which is perfectly fine in the Linux community, but his idea of a successful I.T business is all based on closed source code and keeping your ideas to your self, I think he wonders how IBM is so big lol.

it all works out this way though, Windows is finally giving into the ideas of a community project, and copying them yet rebranding it as new, and adding their crapness to the system, Linux 1 - MS 0.

I just hope to god they don't copy KDE5, its a lovely looking thing, would be a shame for MS to destroy it. 

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They say they are improving performance etc, but its like apple, Slimmer faster lighter, and more than likely it will bend like iPhone 6 lol.

I do think it is just a reskin OS they will charge £100+ for.

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That's one of my favorites, and I'm glad it's coming along. Soon I may be able to ditch windows for good.

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+1

i was gona say, similar to the way apple does things in the mobile space.

 

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Tons of rumors that it will be free and/or cheap depending on what OS you are on. Nothing official, though. We shall see.