“Software will increasingly compete on ease of use in the total software experience more than on features. The future will be more about being simple than about any other dimension. […] This is a classic case of experience changing perception and it’s got me to thinking about a seamless platform from server to desktop to phone – think about it.” — Paul Nowak, After Ubuntu, Windows Looks Increasingly Bad, Increasingly Archaic, Increasingly Unfriendly
“Simple” is a deeply valued principle in the GNOME and Ubuntu ethos, so it’s great to see it recognised and appreciated more and more everyday outside the project echo chambers. Vorsprung durch Einfachheit.
The problem is today only Windows achieves the almost seamless integration between the three services you name (mobile, desktop and server). Silo orientated applciation development does not breed fully integrated solutions, and whilst Microsoft is still guilty of this it is probably the only vendor who comes close to achieving the integrated nirvana you quoted.
For example I can take my laptop to any location i nthe wprld where I get an IP address and get access to my email, now I switch on my mobile phone and have the same experience, so offline I can now reply, update my schedule and add and access contacts.
This is only a simple display of the mobile worker interface but is very powerful and is delivered by a single vendor across their integrated solution set. I do not believe there is another vendor who comes close to this flexibility.
Indeed, instead of cramming in all the features you could ever think of and making the software complex, it is more important to just implement the correct features. Stuff like KDE applications (more like software version of shuttle cockpits) are just appalling and should die already.
If you start talking about integration… It’s silly to have video player (Totem) and music player (Rhythmbox, Banshee, whatever) separated. They are all media, entertainment, and guis can and should be context sensitive. It’s appalling after seeing it done by commercial competitors quite elegantly and usably..