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Bob Young says Linux won't rule the desktop
Wee writes "I just came across this interesting Yahoo interview with Bob Young
in which he says that Linux won't rule the desktop but will instead focus on replacing legacy Unix systems and enhancing Linux's embedded presence. He makes some pretty good points. The oddest quote: "So our opportunity is not to replace Microsoft on the PC. If you've got a perfectly good working PC, why you would go through the angst of replacing it?". Not sure where to start answering that one. My wife (a dedicated Win32 user) liked his car analogy. I need to get her to read 'In the Beginning was the Command Line'..."
I use Windows when I have to, such as syncing my Sony Clie (pilot-xfer is working on supporting it), playing DirectX 8 games (Transgaming is working on supporting that), and running MS Office when absolutely necessary (otherwise, I'm loving StarOffice 6 and KOffice.)
Linux has become an alternative for me, so I use it. Many others are discovering the same thing. It did replace Windows as my primary desktop, but only because I was willing to take the time to learn it, and willing to tolerate some of the lingering annoyances. It's getting better all the time, too.
--SC
You read fiction? I write it! Lemme know what you th
Despite the progress made by people like Ximian, there is just way to much stuff in the way of new users trying to get familiar with Linux.
Even in something very recent (RH 7.2) I still find the following problems:
And let me clarify, I don't mean that it is not possible for Linux to do these things, only that it is not intuitive for a new user to do so.
Now there are certainly those who would argue that they prefer the system not do so much on their behalf, I agree, which is why there should be a toggle - both the new and advanced user can be satisfied! Right now, they are not.
Yeah, that's a good point. The best time to challenge Microsoft was when many people still did not own computers. Unfortunately, so many people are used to using Windows (and let's be honest, they basically like it for the most part) that there's a lot of inertia against getting new people to use Linux at home. Unfortunately, the Linux GUI has only come into its own with good, stable versions of KDE and Gnome in the past 2-3 years, long after the Windows GUI became easy to use. Windows has its share of problems, but it was there first. History tells us that technical superiority, like Beta vs. VCR, isn't always acknowledged in the market.
I hate it when journalists do this crap.
Bob Young says:
So our opportunity is not to replace Microsoft on the PC.
ZDNet reporter Matthew Broersma says:
Red Hat chairman Bob Young says Windows will continue to rule the desktop!
What a crock! That is NOT what Bob Young said. He said that they have an opportunity to expand their business in new directions. Directions that will be of more benifit to RedHat and their customers then "the desktop".
Why is it so hot? Where am I going? What am I doing in this handbasket?
Remember the old quotation from Ghandy...
First they ignore you.
Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then you win.
On the server side of things they are on the "they fight at you" stage.
On the client, they are at the "They laugh at you", but that is _second_ stage. Considering that focus on the desktop came after focus on the server that is good enough for me. Actually, the relevance of this arguments about the linux desktop is that MS is starting to see scenarios where they stop laughing and start fighting coming closer. Otherwise it wouldn't be news.
I was running Windows as my primary desktop and Linux as my secondary until three months ago. Now it is the opposite. I have got vcl (www.videolan.org) for dvd viewing and xine (xine.sourceforge.net) for all the other video formats. Mozilla for the web. Kmail for mail. Open Office for those nasty MS office files you get sent. And I play wolfenstein (my preferred game) and all of Id games and a lot of free ones on Linux. I use kinkatta and jabber fot instant messaging.
The packaging systems are improving, so I only have to use urpmi against a ftp server everytime I need something.
And kde is getting better and better.
So basically, Linux can do almost all that Windows will do and I get control, and source code, and no crappy restrictions on things like givving applications to my friends, activation, content rights management, etc.
In fact, it is much better value. And I think a lot of people thinks the same way.
That from a home user point of view. If you look at goverment needs, where they can save so many $$$ by not having to pay and audit licences, and use open data formats, Linux has a lot of scope there as well (see korean, chinese, german, french and UK goverments at different stages of linux use on the desktop).
When his defense asked, "Which computer has Jon Johansen trespassed upon?" the answer was: "His own."
The fact that you had problems with Win2k doesn't make Linux easier to use. If you want to install a new display/scanner/printer driver in Win2k, you insert the cd or click on a link on the manufacturer's website, and the driver gets installed. There is no unified driver architecture for Linux, which makes every manufacturer go his own way (if there are official linux drivers at all). Without some basic OS and editing knowledge you're lost when you want to install software or drivers on linux. For the average user who's happy to know the difference between directories and files that's a bit too much to ask for.