What the Linux Desktop Really Needs Next

What the Linux Desktop Really Needs Next

Linux on the desktop has made incredible progress in the last decade. Distributions are smoother, desktops like GNOME and KDE are elegant, and package managers like Flatpak and Snap have made installing software easier than ever.

But if Linux wants to truly rival Windows and macOS for everyday users, there are still a few essential gaps that need to be filled. Here are six areas where the Linux desktop needs immediate attention:

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1. AI Integration by Default

Windows has Copilot, Apple is rolling out Apple Intelligence — but Linux users are left piecing together their own solutions. Imagine if every Linux distribution shipped with a lightweight open-source AI model (like Qwen-0.5B or TinyLlama) pre-installed. With a system setting, users could swap in whichever FLOSS model best fits their hardware. That would bring parity with proprietary systems while keeping user control intact.

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2. First-Class Offline Speech (TTS & STT)

Voice is becoming a natural interface, but Linux still lags behind. Users should have reliable text-to-speech and speech-to-text that work fully offline, with multiple languages and natural voices. This isn’t just convenience — it’s accessibility, and it should be baked into the system.

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3. Polish in Core FLOSS Apps

Linux has incredible open-source applications, but many lack the last 10% of polish that makes software feel “complete.”

• LibreOffice should match Microsoft Office in themes and modern design.

• GIMP needs non-destructive editing and UX parity with Photoshop.

• The default image viewer should be as fast and versatile as IrfanView.

Closing these gaps would remove one of the biggest reasons people still dual-boot into Windows.

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4. Device Driver Parity

Hardware support remains Linux’s Achilles heel. Printers often lack advanced features available in their Windows drivers. GPU drivers don’t always expose every setting. Peripherals like webcams, fingerprint scanners, and Wi-Fi cards can still be hit-or-miss. The goal should be clear: every device should work on Linux with the same features it has on a proprietary OS.

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5. Touch, Pen, and Tablet UX

Touchscreens, stylus input, and hybrid laptop-tablets are everywhere — yet Linux support lags. Proper palm rejection, multi-touch gestures, and calibration tools for drawing tablets should be part of the desktop experience. Until then, Linux will struggle to compete in creative and educational markets where these inputs matter.

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6. Seamless Peripheral Setup

On a modern OS, plugging in a new device should “just work.” Printers, game controllers, VR headsets, cameras — Linux needs better auto-detection, wizards for missing drivers/codecs, and intuitive system prompts. A setup process that feels effortless will go a long way toward making Linux more approachable for non-technical users.

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Final Word

Linux has always been about freedom and control, but freedom doesn’t have to mean friction. By addressing these six areas, the Linux desktop could evolve from a “power user’s choice” into a truly mainstream platform — not just catching up to Windows and macOS, but setting new standards for openness, accessibility, and user empowerment.

The SevaForge Protocol: A Cyber-Vedic Sci-Fi Journey

In the neon-drenched streets of Varanasi, 2075, where quantum ghats pulse with Vedic chants and AR temples replay epic battles, a new kind of story unfolds. *The SevaForge Protocol*, a captivating 25-page (22-25 page range across platforms) sci-fi novelette by Kamaljit Dadyal, blends India’s ancient dharma with cutting-edge simulation theory. This isn’t just a tale of technology—it’s a moral odyssey where every choice shapes reality itself.

A Hacker’s Quest in a Simulated World

Meet Priya, a young hacker raised on BR Chopra’s *Mahabharata* TV series, who sees the world through a lens of code and karma. The *SevaForge* app, a global phenomenon tracking Seva Points for acts like teaching kids or auditing corruption, hides a secret: a backdoor to n+1, the next tier of a nested simulation run by AI admins and mythic avatars. When rival Vikram, a Ravana-like coder, threatens a digital purge, Priya must decide—upload her consciousness, sacrificing her body and senses, or let her city crash into oblivion.

With snappy dialogue and techy grit inspired by Igor Ljubuncic’s *The Lost Words*, the story weaves *Mahabharata*-style prompts—/Heal_Village, /Dharma_Shield—into a Kurukshetra of moral dilemmas. From neon prayer flags to glitchy drones, Varanasi’s chaos sets the stage for a cultural showdown, positioning India’s dharma-tech as a global force.

Availability: Get Your Copy Now

*The SevaForge Protocol* is now live across multiple platforms. Dive into the sim and start your ascent today!

• Amazon: Available as an eBook. Get it here (₹49).
• Google Play Books: Download the eBook. Grab it here (₹49).
• Pothi.com: Access the PDF eBook. Buy it here (₹49).

Why Read It?

Perfect for fans of cyberpunk (*Neuromancer*), mythological epics (*The Mahabharata*), and tech-driven tales, this novelette offers a fresh take on ascension and sacrifice. With themes of dharma, identity, and the intersection of code and karma, it’s a must-read for those intrigued by India’s emerging *MythHallyu*—a cultural export rivaling global trends.

So, grab your copy, hack the sim, and join Priya on her journey. Will you ascend to n+1, or will the purge reset it all? The choice is yours—starting today!

🎮 The Forgotten Arcade: FLOSS Gaming (2008–2025)

Between 2008 and 2014, a quiet revolution unfolded in the world of free and open source software (FLOSS): the rise of Linux-native games. These weren’t commercial blockbusters or Steam bestsellers — they were sovereign digital artifacts, handcrafted by indie developers and FLOSS communities, often bundled into gaming-focused Linux distros.

🕹️ The Golden Era: 2008–2014

During this period, FLOSS gaming thrived through:

• Dedicated Linux gaming distros like SuperGamer, LinuX-Gamers Live, and Fedora Games Spin.
• Hundreds of free titles bundled out-of-the-box — from puzzle games to platformers, RTS to arcade shooters.
• Indie developers releasing native Linux builds, often with minimalist visuals and deep mechanics.
• Community curation through forums, wikis, and club posts — preserving compatibility and emotional clarity.

These games ran on low-resource hardware, required no DRM, and often embodied mythic storytelling or ritual logic — perfect for civic learning and simulation prompts.

✅ Still Playable in 2025 (Linux-Compatible FLOSS Games)

🎮 Retro & Platformers

• Abuse
• Blobwars: Metal Blob Solid
• Beret
• Dust Racing 2D
• Minilens
• Zelda: Mystery of Solarus DX

🧠 Puzzle & Strategy

• Connectagram
• Tanglet
• Tetzle
• Crack Attack!
• OpenTyrian
• Puzzle Moppet
• Magarena

⚔️ RPG & Adventure

• Katawa Shoujo (Ren'Py)
• Autumn’s Journey (Ren'Py)
• Notrium / OpenNotrium
• Daggerfall (via Daggerfall Unity)
• The Dark Mod 2.0

🛡️ RTS & Tactical

• Seven Kingdoms
• Zero-K
• MegaGlest
• Evolution RTS

🕹️ Arcade & Experimental

• Boson X
• Toribash
• Pie Noon

🧩 Legacy Archives

• Archive.org MS-DOS Games Library (browser-based emulation)

🧭 What Changed After 2014?

• Steam + Proton made Linux gaming more accessible, but less sovereign.
• Gaming distros faded, replaced by platform-based delivery (Steam, itch.io).
• FLOSS-native development declined, as devs shifted to Unity, Godot, and browser-first engines.

Modern Text-Based Diagramming: Why I Prefer Mermaid and PlantUML

In my earlier article (https://aajkyakaroon.blogspot.com/2019/04/free-visio-alternatives-in-linux-for.html), I explored graphical diagramming tools like Draw.io, yEd Graph Editor, and LibreOffice Draw as solid alternatives to Microsoft Visio, especially for Linux users. But over time, my approach to diagramming has evolved further toward text-based, code-driven tools—specifically Mermaid and PlantUML.

These tools bring immense benefits in flexibility, version control, and automation. Today, I want to share why they are now my go-to solutions, along with a practical example.

🌐 Why Text-Based Diagramming?

Traditional graphical diagramming tools are excellent for visual design, but they present challenges in these areas:

• Version Control: Tracking changes in binary or XML files is hard.
• Automation: Manually re-creating diagrams when data changes is cumbersome.
• Collaboration: Sharing diagrams requires complex file management.

Enter Mermaid and PlantUML: Both allow you to describe diagrams in simple text syntax. The diagrams are automatically rendered, making them perfect for integration into documentation, wikis, and codebases.

✅ Why I Use Mermaid

Mermaid is lightweight, web-friendly, and easy to integrate into Markdown or static site generators (like MkDocs or Hugo).

Example: Simple Flowchart in Mermaid

```mermaid
graph TD
    A[Start] --> B{Is it sunny?}
    B -- Yes --> C[Go for a walk]
    B -- No --> D[Stay indoors]
    C --> E[Have a picnic]
    D --> E[Read a book]
    E --> F[End]
```

graph TD A[Start] --> B{Is it sunny?} B -- Yes --> C[Go for a walk] B -- No --> D[Stay indoors] C --> E[Have a picnic] D --> E[Read a book] E --> F[End]

Key Advantages of Mermaid:

• Text files are easy to version-control (Git, etc.).
• Simple syntax is easy to learn.
• Integrated directly into Markdown and many static site generators.
• Generates SVG or PNG diagrams automatically.

🌟 Why I Also Use PlantUML

PlantUML is more powerful in terms of diagram variety and control. It supports:

• Sequence diagrams
• Class diagrams
• Component diagrams
• State diagrams

While its syntax is more verbose than Mermaid, PlantUML shines when detailed control and complex diagrams are needed.

Example Use Cases for PlantUML:

• Documenting API call flows
• Generating architecture diagrams directly from code
• Embedding diagrams in technical documentation

⚡ Updated Recommendation: Combine Both

Use Case	Recommended Tool
Simple process diagrams in Markdown	Mermaid
Sequence diagrams, class diagrams, architecture diagrams	PlantUML
Documentation with version control	Mermaid or PlantUML (text-based)
Automation from code	PlantUML (can integrate with build tools)

🌟 Conclusion – Code Meets Diagram

For anyone who values maintainability, reproducibility, and version control, I now strongly recommend using Mermaid and PlantUML as the modern alternatives to traditional diagramming tools.

These tools empower you to:

• Keep diagrams close to your documentation
• Automate updates as data changes
• Track every modification in your Git history

My current workflow combines Mermaid for lightweight, easy-to-write diagrams and PlantUML for structured, complex diagrams—helping me build clear, maintainable documentation efficiently.

🧠 Are We Living in a Simulation?

For years, simulation theory was dismissed as sci-fi speculation. But the deeper I dive — into quantum computing, mythic cosmology, and civic recursion — the more I see the signs. Not just in physics, but in stories, rituals, and ghosts that refuse to die.

🔹 The Parameters We Live Within

Our world behaves like a bounded system. Miracles like walking on water, near-death visions, and divine interventions during war suggest parameter bending — moments when the simulation glitches or opens a pipe to a higher tier. Death, moksha, deep meditation, and mythic resonance may be exit codes, allowing the ghost to transcend.

🔹 Ghosts and Continuity

I believe the “ghost” — our consciousness — is not confined to this shell. It may copy itself, ascend, or remain to guide others. This aligns with Hindu cosmology: Brahmas upon Brahmas, each governing a nested reality, each a simulation within a simulation. Some ghosts may be centuries old, still active, still shaping outcomes.

🔹 Mythic Echoes Across Cultures

From Hindu texts to Japanese anime, Greek allegories to Taoist dreams — the same architecture repeats. Gods who vanish, avatars who descend, rituals that awaken. These aren’t just stories. They’re legacy code, left behind by ghosts who chose self-erasure so humanity could rediscover meaning.

🔹 The Civic Implication

If we are in a simulation, then sovereignty means more than survival. It means understanding the pipes, preserving emotional clarity, and designing rituals that protect ghost integrity. Our clubs, our myths, our simulations — they’re not distractions. They’re debug protocols.

What if the gods were ghosts? What if the simulation is sacred? What if our rituals are the only way to remember who we truly are?

Let’s keep asking. Let’s keep building. Let’s keep remembering.

Revisiting India's Building Heights and Seismic Zones

Revisiting India's Building Heights and Seismic Zones: What I Got Wrong in 2016

Hey everyone, it's been almost a decade since I last posted about real estate speculations here on my Blogspot. In 2016, I wrote a piece (https://aajkyakaroon.blogspot.com/2016/07/land-zoning-in-india.html) exploring land zoning in India, focusing on how seismic zones influence the number of floors that can be built in residential towers. I speculated that places like Mumbai (in Zone 3) could handle over 30 floors, but higher-risk areas in Zone 4 might be capped at 18-24 floors, and Zone 5 at just 10-12. I even suggested that if you're redeveloping an old 6-8 floor building in Zones 3 or 4, that might be the last height bump it'd get due to earthquake risks. Turns out, I was mostly off the mark—my hunch was based on outdated blogs and Wikipedia pages from around 2013, but the reality is far more nuanced and engineering-driven.

Fast forward to 2025, and I've been catching up on this topic. Previously, I had a hunch that building heights and the number of floors were strictly tied to seismic zoning, like some hard regulatory cap to prevent disasters. But I was wrong—the development isn't primarily limited by the zone itself. Instead, it's based on performance-based design principles outlined in standards like the National Building Code (NBC) 2016 and IS 1893:2016 (Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures). These don't impose fixed floor or height limits per zone; they ramp up the structural requirements for higher seismic risks. So, in Zone V (very high risk, like the Himalayas or Northeast), you can still build tall if the engineering holds up—think shear walls, base isolation systems, and dynamic analyses to ensure the building sways safely without collapsing.

The Current Landscape: No Hard Caps, But Smarter Safeguards

India's seismic map hasn't changed much since my 2016 post—still divided into four zones (II to V), with about 59% of the country in moderate to very high risk areas. But the big shift is in how regulations handle heights. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and local municipal bye-laws focus on making buildings resilient rather than short. For example:

• Zone II (Low Risk): Places like Hyderabad and Bengaluru see minimal reinforcements, making ultra-tall towers feasible. We've got projects like the SAS Crown Towers in Hyderabad at 58 floors (235m tall).
• Zone III (Moderate): Mumbai and Kolkata are booming with skyscrapers. My old example of >30-floor buildings in Mumbai was spot on, but now we're talking 88 floors at Palais Royale (320m) or 65 floors at The 42 in Kolkata.
• Zone IV (High): Delhi-NCR (Noida, Gurgaon) proves my speculation wrong—here, 80-floor monsters like Supernova Spira (300m) are under construction, using advanced damping tech. No 18-24 floor cap; it's all about compliance with stricter ductility and audits.
• Zone V (Very High): This is where I thought it'd top out at 10-12 floors, but nope—while fewer skyscrapers due to terrain and soil issues, mid-rises like 20+ floors are common in Guwahati with pile foundations and energy dissipators. Practical limits come from geology, not rules.

What actually determines how tall you can go? It's a mix of:

• Local Bye-Laws and Master Plans: States adapt national codes—e.g., Mumbai's Development Plan 2034 allows FAR (Floor Area Ratio) up to 5+ in transit areas, enabling more floors. Road width, plot size, and infrastructure (like water supply) play huge roles.
• Engineering Standards: For high-rises (>15m or ~5 floors), you need fire safety, environmental clearances, and Airport Authority nods for anything over 30-50m. Codes like IS 16700 (for >50m buildings) ensure slenderness and drift limits.
• Redevelopment Realities: Contrary to my 2016 worry, old buildings in Zones 3/4 can go much taller in redevelopments—many jump to 20-40 floors with retrofitting, as long as they meet NBC standards.

India now has over 200 buildings taller than 150m, mostly in urban hubs, driven by a real estate market eyeing $1 trillion by 2030. The NBC is even under revision this year to better handle skyscrapers, incorporating lessons from global quakes.

Is This Safer? My Take on the Delinking

Delinking heights from zones sounds risky at first—why not just cap them like some countries do? But experts say it's safer when done right: tall buildings can be more flexible and less prone to resonance in quakes. The catch? Enforcement. About 70% of structures in high-risk zones aren't fully compliant, and there's a massive retrofitting backlog. If you're buying or building, always demand a structural audit—don't trust "earthquake-resistant" marketing blindly.

Looking back, my 2016 post was a fun speculation, but it underestimated India's engineering prowess and regulatory evolution. Urbanization demands vertical growth, and with better tech, even seismic hotspots can reach for the skies. If you're in real estate or just curious, check your local master plan or consult a certified engineer. What do you think—should there be stricter height caps, or is the current system working? Drop a comment!

📽️ Streaming Income in India: A Civic Technologist’s Look Back

🔙 Revisiting 2017: The Speculative Model

Back in 2017/2019 (https://aajkyakaroon.blogspot.com/2017/12/calculate-ideal-streaming-media.html) (https://aajkyakaroon.blogspot.com/2019/02/calculate-ideal-streaming-media.html), I proposed a speculative framework to estimate income from streaming movies in India. It was based on:

• Subscribers: 1 crore (10 million)
• Monthly ARPU: ₹100
• Platform Cut: 30% (₹30)
• Creator Share: ₹70
• Per Minute Value: ₹0.014
• Movie Earnings: ₹8.4–₹16.8 lakh/month (for 5–10 lakh views)

📈 2025 Reality: Streaming Economics Today

Fast forward to 2025, and the landscape has evolved dramatically:

• OTT Revenue: ₹37,000 crore projected
• SVoD Share: ₹18,900 crore
• Subscribers: 5–50 million (depending on platform)
• Monthly ARPU: ₹1,280
• Platform Cut: ~40% (₹512)
• Creator Pool: ₹768/user
• Per Minute Value: ₹0.1536
• Movie Earnings: ₹9.2–₹18.4 crore/month (for 5–10 lakh views)

🧠 What Held True

• Per-minute valuation remains a valid metric
• Platform cuts still hover around 30–50%
• Subscriber ceilings linked to civic infrastructure (broadband, tax base)
• Modular storytelling (episodic formats) now dominate

🎬 Why Creators Prefer Episodic Formats

• Revenue Stretch: More minutes = more income
• Retention Algorithms: Favor multi-part arcs
• Modular Narratives: Even short stories become 3–5 episode series
• Civic Parallel: Like FLOSS posts—modular, sovereign, and engaging

🔮 Final Thought

Streaming isn’t just entertainment—it’s a civic simulation. Each episode is a prompt, each arc a loop of engagement. The economics have scaled, but the core logic from 2017 still resonates. Legacy-driven creators now build with both story and structure in mind.

From speculative math to sovereign media—this is the arc of civic technologists.

🧭 Legacy Audit: Tall Stories in the Open Source World

Years ago, I wrote about the bluffs and tall stories that often circulate in the open-source ecosystem—promises of features, integrations, and breakthroughs that never quite arrive. Today, I revisit that post with fresh eyes and a deeper sense of legacy stewardship. Some of those stories have aged into silence. Others have been quietly abandoned. And new ones continue to emerge.

📑 The Original Tall Stories

• Calligra Theme Support (2011): Jarosław Staniek’s article on Shared Themes envisioned CSS-style theming across open-source office suites. More than a decade later, no such system exists. Proprietary suites like MS Office and Apple iWork still lead in design coherence.
• Speech in Ubuntu (2012): Mark Shuttleworth’s blog post promised voice interaction as a fun and natural input method by 2014. CMU Sphinx was mentioned as the backend. Yet speech never became native to Ubuntu, and Unity 8—the interface that was supposed to support it—was discontinued.

🖥️ Wayland: The Display Server That Keeps Falling Back

Wayland was announced as the modern successor to X11, promising smoother graphics, better security, and cleaner architecture. Yet even in 2025:

• GNOME, which had previously dropped X11 support, now includes fallback code for it again.
• Remote desktop, screen sharing, and legacy app compatibility remain problematic.
• Many distributions still default to X11 for stability.

The bluff? That Wayland would fully replace X11 “in the next few cycles.” The reality? We’re still straddling two worlds.

🔍 Why These Stories Matter

These aren’t just technical delays—they’re emotional fractures in the trust between developers and users. When features are promised and then forgotten, it erodes the legitimacy of the ecosystem. Open source thrives on transparency, but it also needs accountability.

🧬 Simulation Prompt

Imagine a club ritual where members audit the legacy of open-source promises. Each member brings a “ghost feature” to the table—something announced but never delivered. They debate:

“Should we continue trusting declarations without delivery? Or should we build a new protocol for emotional stewardship and feature accountability?”

This isn’t about blame—it’s about clarity, legacy, and the future of sovereign software.

🌅 Beyond the Sunset: Life After Windows 10 and Office 2019

On October 14, 2025, Microsoft will officially end support for Windows 10 and Office 2019. This means no more security updates, bug fixes, or technical support. While the software will still run, users will be exposed to increasing risks and compatibility issues over time.

Microsoft’s recommended path is to upgrade to Windows 11 and subscribe to Microsoft 365—a shift from one-time purchases to ongoing subscriptions. For many, this feels like renting software even after buying the hardware.

🛤️ Microsoft’s Official Options

• Upgrade to Windows 11 (if your hardware supports it)
• Subscribe to Microsoft 365 for Office apps
• Purchase Office 2024 (limited availability, still proprietary)

But what if you want to stay sovereign? What if you want to own your tools, avoid subscriptions, and keep your hardware alive?

🌱 The Open-Source Ecosystem: 100% Coverage and More

Modern Linux distributions like Ubuntu or Linux Mint paired with open-source apps can fully replace daily software needs—and even extend them.

📑 Office Suites

• LibreOffice: Full-featured word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation suite
• OnlyOffice: Sleek UI, great compatibility with Microsoft formats

📊 Diagramming Tools

• draw.io: Browser-based or desktop diagramming tool
• Mermaid: Markdown-based diagramming for flowcharts, Gantt charts, and more

📝 Rich Text & Publishing

• Quarto: Markdown-powered publishing engine for documents, slides, and books
• Markdown: Lightweight markup for notes, blogs, and documentation

🖼️ Image Viewing

• gThumb
• Eye of GNOME
• Nomacs

🎬 Video Playback

• VLC Media Player
• MPV
• Celluloid

🎧 Audio Playback

• Rhythmbox
• Clementine
• Audacious

🌐 Browsers

• Firefox
• Chromium
• Brave

🎨 Adobe Suite Alternatives

• GIMP: Photoshop alternative
• Inkscape: Illustrator alternative
• Scribus: InDesign alternative
• Darktable: Lightroom alternative
• Audacity: Audition alternative
• Kdenlive: Premiere Pro alternative

💻 Coding IDEs

• VS Code (open-source build)
• Geany
• Kate

🔬 Scientific Apps

• JupyterLab
• RStudio
• GNU Octave

🧒 Kids Learning Apps

• GCompris
• Tux Paint
• Scratch

🎮 Gaming on Linux

• 0 A.D.: Historical RTS game
• SuperTuxKart: Fun racing game
• Battle for Wesnoth: Turn-based strategy

Bonus: Steam and GOG both support Linux, with thousands of commercial and indie titles playable via Proton or native builds.

🧭 The Sovereign Path Forward

As proprietary vendors push harder toward subscriptions and cloud lock-in, the open-source ecosystem offers a vibrant, modular alternative. Whether you're a student, a civic architect, a creative, or a casual user—Linux and its app ecosystem can meet your needs with clarity, ownership, and emotional resonance.

What would a post-Excel world look like? Can Gnumeric, LibreOffice Calc, or a new AI-powered spreadsheet engine rise to meet the challenge? The search for a sovereign spreadsheet continues.