1) Linux needs a rebranding. For a long time now, Linux has been labeled as the OS for "hackers and those that live in their mother's basement." And that "it's hard or difficult to use." At this point we really need a company like System76 or even the Linux Foundation to step up and be that next "disrupter" as apple has done on several occasions.
2) We need to get a clear focus on how we want development to go outside of just the Kernel. Yes, some of the DEs also have a clear path for themselves, but we need to have additional conversations outside of the individual teams as to what changes are being made and how this affects the future. For example, Grub and the Arch teams probably need to give each other a heads-up when it comes to updates.
3) Gatekeeping has to STOP!!! I get it, you work with people that ask questions that just mentally drain you because the answers are right there in front of them if they would just read. Then, you get off work, hop into a forum or Reddit to see the same type of questions about a topic you are passionate about and contribute to for free. It's easy for us to take those frustrations out on someone. Not everyone is at the same level of cognition when it comes to different skill sets and some people will never have the same type of cognition that we do when it comes to coding or even just base operations. The bottom line is, if you aren't going to help that person, just walk away from the conversation or point them in the correct direction at the least. I saw a Reddit post last night about someone trying to run newer games on a Linux-converted 2009 iMac. Yes, there were a couple of people that helped, but there were also those that just came there to roast the poor guy.
4) I've mentioned this before, but the DEs need to stop trying to be Windows or macOS and the Distributions need to stop trying to make it feel even more like one of the two than they already do. I'm not saying some familiarity is a bad thing, but when it becomes hard to distinguish between Windows and KDEor XFCE or it becomes difficult to distinguish KDE+latte from MacOS, we're doing something wrong. I'm not going to get into the whole flat/skeuomorphic debate here, but there needs to be something more unique about the Desktop Environment to attract attention. It's no secret that I hate Gnome. I think it's slow, bloated, and lacks too many features that should be standard on any DE. It's the worst parts of macOS and Windows put together. but I digress. We need something that truly stands out as unique that when people see it they know it's Linux.
5) Better vendor relations. I know that Linux is partly the war between open and closed software, and I'm glad to finally start seeing nVidia start to open up some of its code, however, there seems to be this heavy-handed divide of "If you won't make your drivers open source, then we don't want them." Instead, we should be working with these vendors and saying "OK, I understand you don't want part x of your driver open source for your competitor to copy, but how can we help to facilitate communication between these open pieces of software and your hardware?" 90% of what I use on a daily basis is open source (outside of a few things on my laptop.) And I see people that are trying to reverse engineer or just ask, "can you port software x to Linux." I never see, or really even hear anyone asking "How can we, partner with you to develop something that will work with Linux." Yes, I know there was a point in the time with Broadcom, but everything I see now is a project that someone is independently working on and not even trying to work with the manufacturer to get functionality.
6) We need an SI to start building SteamOS Gaming PCs. System76 has some good offerings but they are still small enough that they can't get the bulk discounts that even a CyberpowerPC or iBuyPower can get on hardware. We sometimes have HP, Dell and Lenovo throw out a bone with a developer laptop, but they are still way overpriced for what you get and are often built around an "ultrabook" design with tiny screens, underpowered CPUs, and integrated graphics. Once we get some SteamOS boxes out there we can start offering other Linux Distribution options. That or we can just turn off the auto-launch into big-picture mode.
These are just some of my musings and rants, but I want us to come together as a community to help make things better and easier for the end-line consumer to make the correct choice.
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