Apple and Microsoft Have Stopped Taking UX Risks, and the Linux Desktop Can't Afford to Wait
Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop
At Akademy 2026, former Apple and Google UX designer Scott Jenson argued that desktop user experience has stagnated for two decades. While Apple and Microsoft have largely abandoned risky desktop innovation, Linux projects continue to copy their aging models. Jenson urged open-source developers to stop waiting and start experimenting, offering three common pushbacks and his layered definition of UX to guide the way forward.
The whole Linux community has been just waiting for Apple and Microsoft, more or less, to take all the risks, and they're not taking any more risks.