Even though I glance at plan9front now and then, I wonder if there is someone else (anyone?) working on modernizing Plan9 somewhat.
back
1 comments
If by "modernization" you mean taking advantage of newer architectures, both the nix and 9front people have produced 64-bit kernels and I think even EFI support.
If by "modernization" you mean porting GNOME, then no. Nobody is doing that. Thank God.
Yes, I am well aware of the EFI support. But the status quo in terms of UX is hideous (barely above twm-grade), and it is currently next to impossible to use Plan 9 on a modern laptop with a touchpad.
In short, my view is that chording your way through rio using a three-button mouse is about as unfriendly as modern Gnome, and that someone ought to put a stop to that without such tomfoolery as porting another DE to Plan9.
Technological modernization won't win Plan9 new supporters, whereas UX modernization will, at worst, make it easier to use.
Edited to add: I have Acme running via plan9ports on the Mac, and even the simple addition of Cmd+C/V/etc. for copy/paste made a world of difference. I am positively thrilled with the notion of actually using it someday without constant fiddling with the Option key and my touchpad.
This situation speaks more to the prevalance crippled input devices and less to the innate superiority of modern UI trends.
Admittedly I only use plan 9 for text processing and as a terminal to other (both plan 9 and unix) systems, but I cannot imagine any work toward buttonless-touchpad convenience that would do anything but cripple what is currently a powerful interface.
I'm not sure there's anything to be gained from forcing different paradigms to bend to whatever monoculture is currently in power.
What you're saying, in a nutshell, is that you based your expressed views solely on your own experience and use cases. That, I think, is what made the Plan9 community tank over the years -- I'll grant that a touchpad is different, but then again I will cheerily admit that my view is that it is vastly more powerful than a three-button mouse.