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
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