These are my final thoughts but this doesn’t mean that I won’t be tinkering with it any longer. In I’ll probably still post every now and then about Plan 9 but they will be small random things and no longer the main topic of posts.
The best way to describe Plan 9 is “different.” For the developers of the project, different in a good way. For the rest of that is arguable. The user interface in my opinion is actually a step backwards. The developers of the project argue that we have settled into our ways and thus no longer innovate. To an extent I agree. You can see a great deal of lazy users in Linux Land. With Linux becoming a more viable alternative distribution to the masses of people who use it only for the cost saving benefits Linux Land has in turn become flooded with people who care not to contribute only to leech. I realize my language here is harsh, but that doesn’t make it untrue. To be honest I really have nothing against these users. With advances such as automated bug reporting found in programs like Gnome they actually contribute like it or not. The point still is, and we mustn’t forget the point, that Linux is not the innovative place it once was. On the same hand though you cannot assume that just because things do not change that they are stale and obsolete. The UI in Linux, in my opinion, is a good example of this. Take Gnome, KDE, Windows, OSX, sit down and look at them. Just about anyone can quickly adjust to using any of them fairly quickly. Here I argue not that we have quit innovating, but instead we have found a niche. One that is easily adaptable to by most people. Why change it if it works?
It is, then, the internals of Linux were the point presented by the developers of Plan 9 really starts to make sense. The ideas contained within the Linux kernel are old. They haven’t changed since really since the 1970s when UNIX was still only a research platform at Bell Labs. Almost 40 years later there are a great deal of new innovative ways to run an operating system. Plan 9 demonstrates this with stunning efficiency in my opinion.
If you ever try Plan 9 do not focus on the outdated looking, overly simplified, and difficult to use GUI. Instead look deeper, look at the sub structure that drives the OS. It is there you see what truly makes it a marvel of software engineering.
I do not believe that Plan 9 will replace Linux any time soon. I don’t even believe that anyone intends it to ever replace Linux. Instead it is a hot bed of research, innovating thinking, and skillful coding that should be adopted by others when it works, and avoided when it doesn’t.
Enjoy the Penguins!
