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AI BriefWire / Briefing
Rhino Linux released an early snapshot featuring its new Lomiri desktop environment. This update aims to unify mobile and desktop experiences. The change brings nostalgia by recalling the Unity desktop's design and functionality.
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Rhino Linux has always been a beautiful desktop Linux distribution, and there are some major changes on the horizon that will converge mobile and desktop.
I've been a fan of Rhino Linux for some time. I've called it a Swiss Army knife of Linux distributions and believe it offers the best take on the Xfce desktop. It's a beautiful distribution that anyone could use, no matter the skill level.
But there are big changes afoot with the distribution, changes that could help elevate to new heights, should things work out.
Years ago, Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) had a dream of bringing desktop and mobile devices together. They called that dream "convergence," and they were the first to bring it to light.
The idea was simple: You plug your phone into a monitor/keyboard/mouse, and the mobile UI would be presented on the connected monitor, only in desktop form. It was genius. To that end, they migrated Ubuntu from the GNOME desktop to the in-house Unity desktop. It was beautiful, and it offered some of the most forward-thinking features I'd ever seen on a desktop.
Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. I believe the biggest hurdle Canonical faced was hardware. The only OEMs willing to bet on Unity and convergence were unknown companies creating low-end devices. I was one of the few who received a test device and found it to be just awful. It was slow, buggy, and the mobile take on Unity failed miserably.
Not long after that, Canonical dropped the idea of convergence, went back to the GNOME desktop, and continued on its previous path of least resistance.