Apple doesn't change. Chrome doesn't change. They both look exactly the same as when they were introduced. What makes platforms strong is stability and consistency. Linux desktop projects are more likely to get funded the more disruptive they are and the more likely it is they'll alienate supporters and cause drama. Like gnome's big shift circa 2014 to tablet first interfaces. If we consider that Linux desktop users are the smartest and most technically advanced computer users in the world, then it's quite a slap in the face to force them to use a gimmicky gui intended for toys as their workstation. The most advanced computer users deserve the most advanced desktop. Sadly that's not the world we live in. Hopefully someday we can liberate the technical class from this orwellian treatment of continual destruction of identity.
I wholeheartedly agree. It seems that there is no middle ground these days between Web- and mobile-inspired GUIs that have taken over the desktop (even in the macOS world) and doing everything via the command line. I feel the same way about GNOME 3's shift to mobile-influenced UI/UX paradigms; sadly this shift also occurred in Windows and macOS.
What I believe is needed are UIs for power users and developers. Nobody stays a novice forever; we need UIs that facilitate the tasks of technically-inclined users, something more ergonomic than CLIs but not oversimplified like modern UIs. Some examples of UI/UX that addresses the needs of power users are support for scriptability (such as AppleScript and Visual Basic for Applications), composability (such as OpenDoc [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFJdjk2rq4E]), WordPerfect's Reveal Codes that allow writers more fine-grained control over formatting, and a demo I saw of Symbolics Genera where the CLI shell assists the user in completing the command (see https://youtu.be/7RNbIEJvjUA?t=380 for a demo of how that interfaced worked; while it's a CLI shell, it's much more ergonomic than any Unix shell I've seen). I would like to see more UIs that fit the needs of power users.
> Like gnome's big shift circa 2014 to tablet first interfaces.
It took a long time to work itself out, but today Linux+GNOME is the only mainstream system that's usable for real productive work on a pure tablet or palmtop device. Far more so in fact than even Apple's iPad. And it got done without having to write and test separate apps, everything has a responsive interface that works throughout the range, from a small handheld to a big desktop screen. That's a remarkable feat.
To be frank, I believe that's mostly thanks to the work put into it because of the Librem 5 project and related initiatives. Before that, GNOME didn't really work all that well on touchscreens at all. 2014 GNOME felt like it would work well on a tablet, but it didn't - as you noted, it took some time to make it work. (disclaimer: I work on L5)
