历史与人物liam-on-linux.dreamwidth.org
人们似乎忘了 GNOME、GNOME 3 和 Unity 为何出现
Everyone seems to forget why GNOME and GNOME 3 and Unity happened
2022 — 2024，它一次次回到首页
黑点是上首页（≥ 50 分）的那次投稿，空心点是没冲上去的投稿，点越大分数越高。
导读
这篇文章回顾了 GNOME 3 和 Unity 诞生的历史背景，作者提出一个观点：这些激进的桌面改版并非单纯的设计失误，而是与当时微软的专利威胁等外部压力有关。文章引发了关于 Linux 桌面那段动荡岁月成因的争论。
为什么经久不衰：GNOME 3 和 Unity 的争议是 Linux 桌面史上绕不开的话题，这篇文章连同评论区的多方回忆（包括 Unity 前首席设计师的现身说法），为理解那段历史提供了难得的一手视角。
HN 评论精选
微软是替罪羊，GNOME 3 和 Unity 的激进改版其实是 iPhone 冲击下开发者的自我膨胀与跟风。
我认为微软在这里只是个方便的替罪羊。当年根本没人显著地表达过这种担忧，真正让人担心的是 FAT 和 SMB 专利，而桌面界面方面只有彻底的克隆才会被追究。当时 KDE、GNOME 和 Ubuntu 的开发者们都陶醉于人气之中：Linux 使用率上升、资金涌入、FOSS 世界开始吸引想廉价积累职业声誉的年轻设计师。然后 iPhone 出现，整个 UX 界都疯了。核心团队真以为自己能'像苹果改变手机那样'重新设计人机交互，交互目标从键鼠转向触屏，因为'融合'和移动行业突然遍地是钱。用这种方式为自己的失误开脱很可悲。微软过去和现在都是对 FOSS 生态的持续威胁，但只用对抗性或应激性的框架来定义 Linux 桌面最重要的设计选择，对这些项目和工作者是一种伤害。如果说经验是我们给错误起的名字，那么拒绝承认犯错就等于说自己什么都没学到。
toyg查看英文原文
I think that MS here is being used as a convenient scapegoat. This worry was never expressed at the time in significant terms. The FAT and SMB patents were much more of a worry than anything related to the desktop interface - only outright clones were being pursued. At the time, KDE, GNOME and Ubuntu developers alike, were simply drunk on popularity. Linux usage was in ascendancy, money was being thrown around, and the FOSS world was starting to attract young designers who saw it as a cheap way to build professional credibility. And then the iPhone happened and the whole UX world just went apeshit. The core teams really thought they had a shot at redesigning how people interact with computers, "like Apple did with phones". Interaction targets moved from keyboard+mouse to touch screens, because "convergence" and the fact that the mobile sector was suddenly awash with cash. It's sad that people try to justify their missteps in this way. Microsoft was (and is) a terrible company and a constant threat to the FOSS ecosystem, but defining some of the biggest design choices of the Linux desktop only in antagonistic or reflective terms does a real disservice to those projects and the people who worked in them. If experience is the name we give our errors, refusing to accept errors were made means stating you've learnt nothing.
Unity 前首席设计师澄清：Unity 源于 OEM 战略和全设备通吃的愿景，与专利无关。
我是 Unity 的首席设计师。Unity 并不是对专利担忧的回应，而是一项复杂 OEM 战略的产物——涉及独家分发的差异化设计特性，以及一个'一次编写、到处运行'的梦想：让 Ubuntu 跑在从上网本到大屏再到汽车的任何设备上。
dvdsgl查看英文原文
I was the lead designer of Unity. Unity was not a response to patent concerns, but rather the manifestation of a convoluted OEM strategy involving exclusive distribution of distinct design features, and a write-once-run-anywhere dream of running Ubuntu on any device from netbooks to big screens to automobiles.
当年 GNOME 2/KDE 3 本可与 XP 抗衡，若微软威胁属实将改写对那段历史的认知。
这对我来说是新闻。我记得 2006 年前后 Linux 桌面似乎正处上升期：GNOME 2 和 KDE 3 都很出色，虽不及 Mac OS X Tiger，但足以与 Windows XP 抗衡。然后 GNOME 3 和 KDE 4 相继搞砸，让 Linux 桌面倒退了好几年。如果 GNOME 3 的激进转向真是微软威胁的结果，那会改变我对那个时代的评价，我对微软反竞争行为的厌恶只会更深。
linguae查看英文原文
This is news to me. I remember that the Linux desktop seemed to be on the ascendancy back in 2006. GNOME 2 and KDE 3 were very nice desktops; while they weren’t Mac OS X Tiger (which still holds up as an amazing desktop), they were solid contenders to Windows XP. But then came GNOME 3 and KDE 4, which were major fumbles that set back the Linux desktop for years. If it’s true that GNOME’s radical direction beginning with version 3 is the result of threats from Microsoft to change its desktop to avoid influences from Windows, then that definitely changes my assessment of the era, and my distaste for Microsoft’s anti-competitive behavior only deepens (this is the same Microsoft that complained about Apple’s look-and-feel lawsuits).
真正原因是 Mac OS X 抢走了 Linux 桌面老用户，促使界面向 Mac 风格靠拢。
有趣的理论，但我不记得发生过这种事。正如其他评论者所说，确实有 FAT 之类的专利问题和 NTFS 互操作性问题，但我不记得桌面风格方面有什么专利纠纷——即使存在，也不是问题所在。据我回忆，真正的原因是 Mac OS X 凭借'带好界面的真正 Unix'攻城略地，吸引大量 Unix/Linux 用户转投 Mac。我甚至敢打赌，许多老用户因此放弃 Linux 桌面转向 Mac，这给新人腾出了空间，让他们把界面改造成类似 Mac 的酷炫风格。当然这只是我的猜测。
jmmv查看英文原文
Interesting theory, but I don't recall this happening. As other commenters are saying, there were indeed patent-related issues around FAT and the like, and huge interoperability problems with NTFS (to name one, but that's irrelevant here)... but I don't remember anything around patents and the desktop style -- which may exist, but they were not the problem here. From my recollection, the real issue was Mac OS X (as it was spelled at the time) gaining territory by being a real Unix with a good interface, thus attracting a lot of Unix/Linux users into the Mac. I'd even bet that many old-timers abandoned Linux on the desktop to move to the Mac, which in turn left room for the newcomers to replace the interface with something resembling the coolness of the Mac. But I'm only hypothesizing here.
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