What do you want most in Linux? Developers, please check this out

[schmidtbag]

I think I will become a developer for Linux some day (most likely Ubuntu in particular) but for people who are developers now, please focus on this question:
What program do you wish was in Linux that is either not available for any other OS or is not compatible with Wine/Crossover?

There are many free and open-source alternatives in Linux but not enough to satisfy every person's needs. Not every unique Windows or Mac application will work either. And there is always the possibility of a program that hasn't been invented yet, which is why I brought up this question. So what are your ideas?


One idea I had is a program that can make a GUI for any Linux app that depends on being operated via terminal. The terminal is great and all but sometimes new users don't have the patience for it. And sometimes, theres moderately new users, such as myself, that are familiar enough with the terminal to know how to use it but, would prefer a GUI. This would work a lot like Visual Basic, where you have stuff like buttons and selections and dropboxes, etc that you can just place where you want on a forum that is resizable. Clicking on the buttons or using the checkboxes would act as something you would type in the terminal, and you just click on "OK" or "apply" and it does it all for you. If people are able to make their own GUI for terminal applications/settings, I think it'd be a great way for people to learn Linux better and find it a more user-friendly OS. Remember, this isn't a programming language, this is a tool.

[schmidtbag]

anybody? c'mon this is for everyone's own good

[smartboyathome]

Check brainstorm.ubuntu.com? That does what this tries to do.

[cardinals_fan]

One idea I had is a program that can make a GUI for any Linux app that depends on being operated via terminal. The terminal is great and all but sometimes new users don't have the patience for it. And sometimes, theres moderately new users, such as myself, that are familiar enough with the terminal to know how to use it but, would prefer a GUI. This would work a lot like Visual Basic, where you have stuff like buttons and selections and dropboxes, etc that you can just place where you want on a forum that is resizable. Clicking on the buttons or using the checkboxes would act as something you would type in the terminal, and you just click on "OK" or "apply" and it does it all for you. If people are able to make their own GUI for terminal applications/settings, I think it'd be a great way for people to learn Linux better and find it a more user-friendly OS. Remember, this isn't a programming language, this is a tool.
Kommander works pretty well for this functionality.

[Tundro Walker]

I appreciate what you're trying to do, but this isn't a game mod forum. The Dev's don't need a thread in the "town pub" part of the forums stating "Look here! Cool ideas! Get them while they're hot!"

The dev's are already bombarded with tons of bug fixes, improvements and future ideas from other channels, because everyone and their uncle has been coming up with ideas in 2 seconds since Ubuntu first came out. So, the dev's coming here to read a thread on ideas they've already heard ten times over is probably not high on their priority list.

We're at the day and age where ideas are a dime a dozen, and most aren't worthwhile. It's great to brainstorm, but ideas are not in short supply. The limiting factor is people willing to put forth the time and effort to make those ideas a reality.

[Delever]

I noticed that in this world, ideas are not the hard part ;)

[DarkOx]

If people are able to make their own GUI for terminal applications/settings, I think it'd be a great way for people to learn Linux better and find it a more user-friendly OS. Remember, this isn't a programming language, this is a tool.

I second what everyone else says about the brainstorm site (http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/), as there's probably enough ideas there to last a lifetime.

As to the CLI-to-GUI program, I don't think it would solve the problem. The whole command line feel of Linux is more cultural than anything -- so long as people are told to just "sudo apt-get install XYZ" or whatever, Linux is going to feel very command line centric even if equivalent GUI tools exist.

For the most part, I'd say a user can do everything they'd normally need to do from a graphical interface. For those problems where you need to bust into the command line, usually it really amounts to editing a config file (grub and x.org come to mind here), and the build-your-own interface solution won't help with that.

I don't mean to dampen your enthusiasm by all this, though. Have you considered helping out with an existing project? They're always looking for developers.

[schmidtbag]

Haha I feel so stupid after posting this, cause you all made very valid points. My GUI idea was mostly for command-line programs, not so much just functions like the ones darkox mentioned. I'll check out kommander, to see if thats the same idea I was thinking of, but I'm sure it is.

I would love to contribute to Ubuntu some day, I hope I can get started next year. I don't see myself as being one of the core developers, but just someone who makes tools and useful apps. I mostly got into Ubuntu this summer and its quickly becoming my favorite OS, and I really like the whole community idea. I feel bad about using something as great as this and not giving something back. I might even consider helping out the Wine project, maybe make a donation if I have extra cash.

When the time does come for me to develeop, I'll be looking at brainstorm.ubuntu.com

[p_quarles]

Moved to Recurring Discussions. This comes up on a pretty regular basis, and the answer is always the same: you don't have to have coding skills to get involved in development, but project proposals are not as easy as they might appear: a detailed proposal (along the lines of some of the best Brainstorm items) has a lot of potential to help the OS. Brief descriptions of ideas, though, are a dime-a-dozen. :)