>> The question is rather: What killed the Plan 9 desktop? >> >> 1) Lack of modern GUI and GUI development kit >> 2) Lack of Object Oriented GUI configuration tools >> 3) Lack of a decent web0browser >> 4) Lack of a decent communication/messaging client >> 5) Lack of an Office Applications suite >> ... >> ... >> ... >> z) Last, but not the least, hate towards C++ and love for the Go > > But that's the list of benefits, isn't? :)
Precisely. The correlation between what makes something good and what makes something popular is small but negative. One of the primary reasons I stopped using Linux was that it was becoming too mainstream and just like all the commercial junk out there. In general, I don't have any objection to reinventing the wheel. If no one ever did, we wouldn't have the pneumatic tire. But just fiddling about the edges and deciding what color it should be is the worst of R&D sins. It's BORING. If you ever watch the TV shows that are competitions of creative work, the most damning thing a judge can say is that it's boring. The same is true of software development and engineering. Besides, it it becomes unfun very quickly if you can't start something new with a clean sheet of paper at least every few months. BLS
