I have to disagree with Don. I'd rather have the choice rather than someone decide what the 'best features' are and merge them together. Different Desktop / Window managers have different uses. (For instance, XFCE is a good lightweight option to have if you need a desktop manager on a laptop machine) ... I don't use either Gnome or KDE, in fact, I don't use a desktop manager at all -- I use the Fluxbox window manager. As long as desktop applications run, it's all good.
I don't think extra options cause problems with users. If they don't want to learn how to use different desktops, they don't have to...
I think the focus should continue to be on the applications that are available for Linux. I was trying to find a good password management program the other day, didn't want to use one from a non-mainstream desktop software group because it would be a particularly easy program to write to collect passwords for websites and then dial "home" and share with the programmer. Gnome has started development on one, however, it seems limited to Gnome applications. I'd like to see one with less requirements to run... (like http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/ - which is specifically written for Windows, last I checked.) »