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OSDL To Start Pushing on Desktop Linux

Posted by Hemos on from the beyond-the-backroom dept.

Psyke writes "The Australian Financial Review is reporting that 'IBM, Red Hat and a consortium of computer makers backed by the likes of Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Intel will push to move the Linux operating system out of the back office from next year.' and 'Meanwhile, the OSDL, which has largely worked on improving Linux's ability to run large servers, said it would work on improving Linux's performance on ordinary desktop computers.'" The article itself is a little off- those companies are working *through* the OSDL of which they are members - along with a number of additional companies as well.

4 of 383 comments (clear)

  1. Redhat by samadhi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Strange I thought Redhat had just abandoned the desktop. If Redhat are going to push Linux out of the back office, where are they going to push it too?

  2. I am really looking forward to the day... by lee7guy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...when the number of Linux desktops reaches the critical mass where hardware manufacturers have no choice but to support linux with drivers, etc. If you'd asked me a year ago I would have told you that that day probably is a decent amount of time into the future. Now, I say we will most likely soon start seeing the signs on the horizon.

    Often we hear people talk about how "linux isn't ready for desktop". Bah. Nonsense. I would rather say; Some people aren't ready for the linux desktop. It might not be as easy as Windows or OSX, but nothing really stops you from using linux instead of windows, except for specialized applications only available on that platform.

    The only thing needed for success is a distro as easy to set up as Mandrake/Suse/Redhat, with the ease of upgrading of Gentoo or Debian. Maybe Fedora is the choosen one, tho I doubt it.

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    1. Re:I am really looking forward to the day... by Theatetus · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Often we hear people talk about how "linux isn't ready for desktop". Bah. Nonsense.

      I got sick of my friends' and relatives' asking me to help them configure their home computers. I installed SuSE for them and they've found it much easier and more intuitive than Windows XP (I'm not a SuSE fan, but it seems to work for them).

      Just goes to show that Linux is ready for the desktop, and Windows XP still has some catching up to do before people like my grandmother can use it as easily as they can use the desktop Linux distros.

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      All's true that is mistrusted
  3. A little market segmentation might help by heironymouscoward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It is difficult and wasteful to try to market products at too large a market. So, "Linux for the Desktop" is probably an unattainable and moving goal.

    This is how I see the real market segments for desktop computers, their percentage value, and how well Linux fits. I apologise in advance for doing zero research and just basing this on my experience of the field, but... hey... this is Slashdot, exactly the place for uninformed opinion.

    Here goes.

    1. "Small Office" use. Value: 20%. Requirements: edit/print documents, spreadsheets, graphics. Web. Email. Music. Linux: perfect. Windows: perfect.

    2. "Medium Office" use. As above, but add support for exotic hardware such as notebooks, scanners, DVD burners, whatever. Value: 10%. Linux: some work to do. Windows: perfect.

    3. "Large Office" use. As above, but add integration with enterprise information systems, currently done mainly through Exchange and Office macros :-). Value: 20%. Linux: some work to do. Windows: perfect.

    4. "Cybershop" use. Value 10%. Requirements: web, chat, email, office, VoIP, p2p, trivial (re)installation, efficiency on cheap, old systems. Linux: perfect. Windows: too expensive and complex.

    5. "Game boy" use. Value 15%. Requirements: support for latest video, audio, and large software library. Linux: needs work. Windows: perfect.

    6. "Serious home user". Value: 10%. Requirements: as for Small Office, but more solid, tighter on the budgets, slightly hackable, and with loads of free software. Linux: perfect. Windows: slightly too expensive, but otherwise perfect.

    7. "Naive home user", Value: 15%. Requirements: as for cybershop, but with ability to plug in digital camera to download snaps of baby. Linux: perfect, with some limitations on range of exotic hardware. Windows: perfect, except for security.

    Overall analysis: Linux can cover 60-70% of the market with nothing more than some good marketing.

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