My conspiracy theory is that it was all a practical joke by Shuttleworth, bringing us so close to the ideal of a usable Linux desktop that everyone could get behind, and then randomly moving shit around and creating division within the Linux community. We went from Ubuntu clearly being the market leader and providing a consistent UI, to a clusterfuck of different distributions and DEs.
Shuttleworth needs to make Canonical financially self-sustaining. The strategic focus moves to mobile. Hence Ubuntu phone &c.
What I can't get my head around is why Canonical and so it appears Microsoft think you need one common interface for all the devices so 3 inch screens to 30 inch screens. Apple seem to have worked that one out as have KDE with their various desktop styles.
