Adam Batkin wrote:
Personally I think it's useful to consider what OS X and Windows do, and whether Fedora can do better, but if there's any competition it's between Linux distros. If we want more users we should go after Ubuntu and Linux Mint users first.
The problem isn't as simplistic as "let's build a vertically integrated desktop solution" and then hope that there's some magical migration from Mac and Ubuntu Unity or Linux Mint users over to Fedora, it's a more complex problem than it might appear.
Fedora Workstation is about becoming the de-facto reference platform for developers doing commercial and/or important projects, a standard.
But the problem is that currently Fedora isn't that go-to platform, it's Ubuntu:
Example #1:
Let's take the Nvidia Jetson TK1 ARM developer board, this by default runs Ubuntu pre-loaded on the board.
Example #2:
Steam for Linux, Valve used Debian for SteamOS and recommends Ubuntu for the desktop.
"Ubuntu is our favorite version of Linux. Interested in giving it a whirl? "
--- Valve
That's the real problem at hand. Fedora is losing out to Ubuntu as the standard reference platform and not engaging with developers from outside it's own community. This then translates into things like server deployments and lost opportunities on the OEM side. But oddly enough Fedora and it's community are major contributors to the most important and fundamental Linux projects like the kernel, systemd, graphics, OpenStack and more...
That's why I think bothering with the desktop environment layer and making a default experience isn't feasible and doesn't make any sense given the "upstream" nature of Fedora.
Desktop environments make the distribution a replaceable commodity. If you're a GNOME user then you can move from Fedora to Ubuntu to Arch or anything else and still keep using GNOME with minimal disruption. The same applies to any desktop environment including KDE. People moving away from Fedora can do so easily because of this. To get the latest upstream development versions they can just add a PPA in Ubuntu or just install Arch or a derivative like Antergos, they don't need Fedora for that.
That's why I suggest that Fedora developers and contributors interested in the desktop environment layers should form their own independent SIG's (special interest groups) and have that be a layer above what is defined as "Fedora Workstation". That is "Fedora Workstation" should not be a mere "showcase" for a particular desktop project but an expansive platform. There would be no "default" desktop environment at all or even the concept of a default.
If these SIG's want to go ahead and create their own hand-crafted experiences let them do it. Containers could really be an innovative way to allow many different and potentially incompatible desktop experiences to exist on the same system. These things are only possible if you further separate the layers here. It's also wise from a political perspective because you could engage many diverse communities around Fedora Workstation this way. They would feel like equal stakeholders and not feel like second-class citizens.
Embracing the diversity with SIG's is the way to rally the wider developer community around Fedora Workstation.