Hi Jim,
> On Feb 15, 2023, at 5:05 PM, Jim Hall <jh...@freedos.org> wrote:
>
> As I mentioned in my other email, I don't think we need to have
> Graphical Desktops included in FreeDOS. I propose that we remove
> Graphical Desktops from the next FreeDOS, starting with the next
> FreeDOS Test release.
>
> Graphical Desktops were a neat experiment, long ago. We used to have a
> few desktops in FreeDOS, including Desktop2 (which was really just a
> graphical menu and file launcher). Today, we have three desktops in
> the FreeDOS distribution, under the "Graphical Desktops" group:
>
> 1. OpenGEM
>
> This is a very nice graphical desktop that is basically the old GEM
> desktop ("Graphics Environment Manager"). If you used DR-DOS, you may
> have seen GEM. It works well and is solid. But no one writes apps for
> OpenGEM - and without apps, it doesn't really add much value. The
> packages are broken (wrong paths) but that is fixable.
>
> I propose we remove OpenGEM from the distribution anyway.
>
> 2. oZone GUI
>
> This is a nice-looking GUI, but it has some noticeable bugs. Even the
> included Minesweeper game doesn't count properly (see 3:40 in
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-Fx5k7Smg)
>
> I don't foresee anyone fixing these bugs. And like OpenGEM, it
> includes a few built-in apps, but no one is writing new apps for it.
> Without apps, it doesn't do much more than a graphical menu program.
>
> I propose we remove oZone GUI from the FreeDOS distribution.
>
> 3. SEAL
>
> This is another nice-looking GUI, and if I recall correctly, a version
> of SEAL became Qube OS. This has a few built-in apps, but no one is
> making new apps for it. And without apps, it doesn't do much more than
> a graphical file launcher.
>
> I propose we remove SEAL from the FreeDOS distribution.
>
> Jim
I personally do not use any GUI under FreeDOS.
But, I’m not sure that we should remove all GUIs from the release. At least
maybe, keep the best one the Bonus CD.
It seems like every couple weeks, someone fairly new to FreeDOS wants to create
a GUI. I feel that some of those prospective developers really just want
something similar to Windows 3.x or 9x to run windows software. Others are most
likely coming from a "modern” desktop OS and think FreeDOS needs a GUI. They
may be wrong or right. I try not to judge. But instead of just having them
wonder down their own path to a half finished GUI, it would be more productive
to point them at one of the existing ones. Giving them a place to contribute.
As Jim said, oZone GUI and SEAL have had unfixed bugs for a long time. They
also have very little software. They should probably be removed.
At present, OpenGEM is probably the most popular and stable. But, it may not be
the answer either. If I recall correctly, the last release was the final
version and for all purposes development has ceased.
There is at lease one very popular desktop GUI still under development. That
would be PC-GEOS. It was open sourced some time back and a small team has been
working on removing any proprietary code.
Perhaps we should keep OpenGEM around for a while. Then maybe at some point,
when the team working on PC-GEOS feels comfortable with a general public
release, we could switch over to including it. We could could also suggest to
those who want to create a GUI, the check out contributing to the PC-GEOS
project.
Jerome
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