Your review feels a bit like an affiliate sales letter. In case this is an affiliate product, you should disclose that.
On a substantive level, I think all file managers should have tagging, smartly filtered collections (a la itunes "smart folders", but more powerful), and built-in full-text search. On top of that, a rules engine for copying/moving around files (e.g. move all downloaded pdf's older than 15 days to the trash). Ideally, this stuff would be higher level than the file-system, thus allowing cross-platform use of this system.
That's actually my writing style, its no affiliate letter.
Some of the features you're looking for are rather dynamic - so might be beyond the scope of a file browser. That kind of thing might take it into the realm more of a passive service. Though, in another 20+ years I can certainly see DOpus accommodating that.
Ubuntu / Linux has far bigger problems than Unity. (Jump to point 5 for conclusion).
1. There are huge regressions.
With the upgrade to 11.10 my laptop's battery life has been cut from 5-6 hours to 2-2.5 hours. This is on an Asus UL machine that on Windows gets 10 hours.
This may be a kernel issue, but Canonical could add a lot of value by at least warning, or better, fixing/minimizing the problem. There are all kinds of boot parameter hacks, etc. to try to fix this, but it requires a lot of reboots and fiddling with internals. How about including a script to optimize these settings that is run after the upgrade?
"Linux on the desktop" is a dangerous misnomer, because on desktop computers power is not a concern. But nowadays power consumption is almost everything. Canonical already has its sights set on mobile devices, but hasn't even addressed power consumption for notebooks properly.
2. Poor communication of core functionality changes
New additions are presented and lauded in glossy detail, but removed features are not as clearly presented.
Nautilus (file manager) used to allow drag and drop copying/moving of files onto the left pane "bookmarks" folders. This was simply removed without warning, crippling quick drag and drop filing. Once again, this is "upstream", because of the Gnome/Nautilus teams' decisions, but it affects users in a noticeable way.
The initial update to Unity (11.04) removed all gnome applets, and made the time tracking software I used to use inaccessible. The upgrade to 11.10 made me lose my skype app/status indicator.
I don't care if my dock is on the left or bottom, or my open-close buttons are on the left or the right. Most of Unity's "coolness" is Compiz anyway - zoom, desktop switching, etc., so all that was available before Unity. For launching applications, gnome-do is still much faster, light-weight, and flexible (e.g. allowing creating/opening individual tomboy notes).
By communicating feature additions and subtractions better, people won't be so negatively surprised. Set proper expectations.
3. Key consumer software weaknesses
No good media creation suite. I was trying to make a photo slide show with a soundtrack a while ago, and I went through two days of installing/testing, setting up ppa's, compiling sources, etc. to get the latest versions, and nothing really works well. I mostly code, write, and use the web, so it's not mission-critical for me, but for a "consumer desktop OS", the absence of an official and well-functioning suite of applications akin to Apple's music and movie makers is a weakness.
Other apps like Evernote and a more up-to-date Skype would be nice as well.
4. What hardware does it run on flawlessly?
When you buy a computer with Windows or OS X, you know that everything will work. With Ubuntu/Linux, you don't. It's a huge stress factor before buying a new computer. Ubuntu has "certified hardware", but it's buried on some wiki page or other back page. This information should be front and center on the home page, so that I can buy something with confidence that it just works.
5. Conclusion
Ubuntu (whether Unity or Gnome) is far more usable than Windows (messy config menus, no multiple desktops, no full-screen desktop zoom, inconsistent shortcuts, etc.), and at least as good as OS X (which for example doesn't allow you to change the system's font size globally, and is less keyboard navigation friendly).
I'm considering abandoning Ubuntu again, because it can't compete on power consumption.
I am sympathetic to Canonical being annoyed by the bitchy entitlement complaints over superficial UI features (e.g., open/close buttons left or right). It's bike-shedding to the max.
That said, I think better up-front communication of changes can help set expectations. It forces the designers to reason why they are removing/changing/adding something. This doesn't have to lead to drawn out discussions, but some design decisions seem to be "shot from the hip" without realizing that they may affect/ruin thousands of people's work flow.
Lastly, there are huge issues like power consumption and predictable hardware compatibility that currently heavily weigh against Ubuntu/Linux.
#3 is one of my biggest gripes, in general. The Gimp is one of the worst products I've ever taken the time to try to learn. I'm not just tweaking photos, I'm trying to do some work as a professional, working on files given to me by other professionals. Forget about trying to open a PSD with more than a couple layers on it. Don't even bother.
And the interface... I don't mind spending a week or two learning an interface if it will allow me to get the job done, but The Gimp makes me want blood. Decent media software is the ONLY reason I keep a Virtual Box image of Windows 7 on my drive. Well, that and the occasional browser testing, but I find that's less of an issue in recent years.
As for hardware, I've run into Very few problems on a few DIY systems and laptops / netbooks. Graphics compatibility has always been an enormous issue. Especially multi-card for 3+ monitors. I assure you it's possible, as I've done it a couple times, but I tend to fall into a slight depression once the battle of getting it to work is over. Otherwise, I've been incredibly lucky. Install and go.
The battery issue is a major one. I've found that Lubuntu keeps up well on my netbook, and I rarely unplug my work notebook, so I don't run into it much, but you're spot on about the importance of getting that right, or at least making the correction simple.
As for Gimp itself: I must admit that I love it and love it a lot more than Photoshop. I use it to post-process the pictures that I take (example: http://www.flickr.com/photos/valanx/sets/72157627905845341/ ) and while I have no need for anything fancy, I have yet to find something that beats the speed of the Gimp.
Yes, Alt+c, adjust, Alt+i, s - you do have to get down to your keyboard if you want speed, but once you're fluent with that stuff, you just breeze through it. Put differently: The Gimp gets out of my way and provides just the functionality that I need. I love that.
How long did you spend staring at your screen in slackjawed disbelief after selecting the zoom tool and finding that instead of zooming out, right-clicking does nothing?
Regarding #1, it's not necessarily a kernel problem. One bloated program running in the background could be using a bit too much CPU and disk. "Modern" desktop environments love those programs, for some reason.
It could be a lack of support for a specific advanced power-saving feature at kernel level, but that wouldn't be my first guess..
Concerning power consumption. As you already figured out, it's not an issue with Ubuntu, it's an issue with drivers and hardware compatibility. I too run an ASUS laptop, and initially I got very bad mileage. However, after some tweaks (enable a feature in the graphics driver, disable secondary graphics card, work-around buggy BIOS, etc) I got pretty much the promised 8 h.
I only played around with it a long time ago. Very interesting language indeed. You may also like Ioke (http://ioke.org/) - a jvm based language that is directly inspired by Io.
Ioke is lovely. Not particularly practical, but I had a ton of fun learning and contributing to it. More friendly and approachable and (if I understand Ola correctly) explicitly macro-friendly than Io. I think of it as the ultimate DSL language.
I've been looking for a post-lisp for some time now, and while I find Clojure very entertaining, RH took making it a Lisp seriously. This constrains it from the complete and utter evil I can accomplish with Io.
This is something I want to experiment with as well. I tend to play music and shuffle, dance and pace around for movement while standing.
The thing that keeps me from going with a treadmill desk is that I switch from casual tasks (email, etc.) into highly focused work (coding, writing) seamlessly and for the focused tasks I prefer to sit most of the time, and even unplugging my laptop from speakers, power, monitor, etc. to take it to a chair or lower table just feels disruptive.
In terms of back health walking is hard to beat though. That's why I do my desk dances or even stand on unstable surfaces (a firm pillow or piece of foam in the simplest case) - to "diversify" my standing posture.
Coding while walking works fine for me. As far as the mechanics, it's not hard to walk and type at the same time. 2 mph isn't very fast. I can't draw with the mouse while walking, so the occasional graphics work has to be done standing.
Mentally, the consistent motion sometimes helps with flow, sometimes not. It's hard to tell, but switching between walking and standing seems to be enough for me to support the various required mental states. I've been doing this for about two months now, and while I have no hard data, I've done what I consider to be some of my best and most creative work ever in the last two weeks, so worst-case the walking isn't too great an obstacle to my coding.
And this is indeed a huge improvement for my back over both sitting and standing.
The slouching when in the zone is true for me as well, which is why the pure standing or standing / tall sitting are not a good option for me personally. They just kill certain types of productivity.
Adjustable sit-stand desks are just unbeatable in terms of being least disruptive. Whether the cost can be reasonably written off as an investment in better health and productivity really depends. Long term, I think it's very worth it, but the initial cost does sting somewhat.
I've played with that setup as well and it works ok, but not great.
One problem is that the bar stools are hard to get on and then move to be positioned properly.
Another problem is that leaning against the edge often doesn't work well, because a) the chair keeps slipping back and b) you rest your butt on a narrow edge which presses on nerves, blood vessels and bones, making it very uncomfortable.
I've tried lab stools, ironing chairs, bar stools, etc. and the problems are similar. Drafting chairs could work, but are too short for me - made for tall sitting desks (drafting table), not standing height.
I can think of two potentially comfortable solutions I haven't really tried yet:
1. A thick, padded round bar like they have on the London tube and other trains to lean against. This could be mounted on a wall, which eliminates the sliding away problem.
2. There are (expensive) saddle chairs - where you sit upright on a wide and split bicycle type seat that puts you at ergonomically healthier angles (135 degrees from thigh to back instead of 90 degrees of "normal" sitting). No leaning/slouching possible on those though. Further problem: Sitting on your reproductive organs for long hours may be uncomfortable and unhealthy.
I made this site, trying to build a useful buying guide.
I'll be in and out, but feel free to ask any questions here or through the contact form on the site. I'll try my best to get back in a reasonable time frame.
I'd also appreciate any feedback on the technical/marketing aspects of the site.
I think the products are too expensive. This guy made his own standing desk for $0.00 (reusing stuff lying around the house) and then added sit/stand capability by adding a drafting chair from Staples for about $120...
I agree, they are expensive, and I'm actually planning on adding a do-it-yourself section with solutions like the one you've referenced.
Some people pay a lot of money for fancy office chairs though (Aerons for example), and I'd always advise to go with a sit-stand desk.
Drafting chairs with a tall desk are certainly worth a try, but it can be difficult to impossible to get the same relative height sitting on the drafting chair and standing up - this can put your wrists at a very uncomfortable angle when typing for example. (I'm pretty tall, maybe that's why this hasn't worked so well for me).
I scanned the page for the word "Buy" on the left or top, hoping to find links to sites that sell ergonomic desks. Maybe it's just me, but I would find the left side more helpful if it was titled "Ergonomic Desks You Can Buy" or something similar, rather than just "The Desks" since those two words are so commonly used throughout the page.
There are two significant aspects for these desks:
1. Do they cover the sitting and standing range (or just some variable sitting range)?
2. Can you adjust the height without taking everything off your desk?
Regarding 1: There are some desks with hand cranks that may be marginally cheaper - but the ones I can think of right now don't cover the standing range, they are only good for sitting positions for people of different heights.
Also, while there are some possibly cheaper ones, they look so flimsy and poorly constructed that I wouldn't recommend them for serious work, e.g., the frame is so weak that the desktop just wobbles and shakes at the slightest touch.
Regarding 2: Many cheaper desks have pin-based mechanisms. I used to have the Ikea Fredrik desk (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60111123), but I found that I never adjusted it, because taking everything off was too cumbersome. Then I had it at a standing height, and found standing all day too uncomfortable.
I will keep my eyes open and add more desks as I find them - if you come across anything, please pass it on.
Yeah, these are definitely cheaper. I remember seeing these and similar ones before. I think they may be below satisfactory for professional use, though.
The range is a bit limited (29-39 inches - too tall for short people sitting and too short for tall people standing, but fine for the mid-range of body heights).
Also, these things look a bit flimsy (no information on load capacity) and a bit awkward to adjust (seems like you have to loosen grips on both legs and then move up/down.
I didn't include them on my site, because I really wanted to present desks that can satisfy serious desk workers (like most geeks).
The DIY one looks like fun, I've built my own furniture before. I'll add it to my future DIY section.
The one with the plan is an interesting idea, but unless building hardware is your hobby, probably not so feasible.
I agree that the prices seem really high. I've looked around a lot for any DIY height adjustment mechanisms to retrofit a regular desk, but finding "desk grade" pneumatic cylinders in retail is pretty difficult.
I've been playing around with html5 local storage, and it's kind of cool for speeding up some operations by caching data that is frequently used, but like any caching, expiration is still potentially tricky.
Also, the really hard and awesome part for me is syncing/merging online-offline - a standard(s) solution for that would be a real killer app enabler. (Because we all are not online 100% of the time, even if only due to spotty reception or on planes, and it sucks not to be able to access your data).
Thanks for your answer. I'm very excited about the project, esp. with a future server sync api (as mentioned in the roadmap). Perhaps I then could finally write a decent evernote client for linux. :)
The sync API has already been released: http://github.com/maccman/syncro - I'm also just about to release the JavaScript version of the client (so you can have realtime sync between web and desktop apps.
I used to get Hi5 invite spam. Perhaps they're just bitter that Zynga is better at spamming.
Let's face it, all these "social" companies use default opt-in and "let's spam your address book" and other unethical "viral" features - simply because complaining geeks are shitty customers anyway (don't click ads, don't install "apps"), and average Joe doesn't get it and/or doesn't give a damn.
On a substantive level, I think all file managers should have tagging, smartly filtered collections (a la itunes "smart folders", but more powerful), and built-in full-text search. On top of that, a rules engine for copying/moving around files (e.g. move all downloaded pdf's older than 15 days to the trash). Ideally, this stuff would be higher level than the file-system, thus allowing cross-platform use of this system.