Advantages of a Common User Interface

The desktop interface brings greater ease-of-use and a consistent interface to UNIX. This provides many advantages to both end users and application developers. Among these advantages are:

• An easier to use interface enables users to learn the system quickly and use it efficiently.

• Consistency between UNIX platforms enables users to move from one computer to another with minimal difficulty. It also enables programmers to write a single application that can be compiled for each platform, significantly reducing development effort.

• The desktop provides as much consistency as possible with the Microsoft Windows and IBM OS/2 environments. This enables users to easily move between these environments and the desktop.

• Unlike many competing operating systems, several built-in productivity applications enable the desktop user to be productive before buying application software.

• The desktop specifications have been submitted to the X/Open standards organization, ensuring that desktop is "open" and will not tie the user to proprietary solutions.