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Novell Headed To Linux Enterprise Desktop In Asia
Bill Kendrick writes "Novell's Asia-Pacific division is working on Linux desktop trials in Hong Kong and Malaysia, with the expectation that Linux's adoption on enterprise desktops will continue to grow. They expect many more companies to start embracing it within the next 12 months." A spokesperson from Novell comments: "I don't see it as a watershed where everybody's running Linux desktops, but you'll start to see the emergence of some examples of companies that have embraced Linux and are going down that path."
The more that an open desktop is embraced the more that open standards are embraced stopping big companies like M$ from having closed standards.
Can't do business if you can't share information.
Evolution or ID?
This raises the possibilty that Novell will partner with some Chinese software firm in order to pass China's impending domestic software content laws. I'm sure that the Chinese government would give Novell a nice domestic content seal of approval if Novell brings some IP and perhaps $$$ to the Chinese table.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
I think this is Novell's biggest Linux move since buying SuSE, seemingly putting some weight behind it. I'd be interested to see how they fare out in the asian countries.
China will love them, what with the red colour scheme and all...
The east is a great place to start. They are embracing technology over there greatly. The newest cell phones and other technology are going on there. Plus the east (including china and india) has 1/3 of the worlds population. Pretty smart place to start.
Evolution or ID?
Asian Markets work very much off of a piracy basis for their software, the large amount of software not being paid for or used within the context of a western office environment.
This appears to me to be another part of the trend of companies salivating over the numbers...(Ooohh, 500 Quadrillion-Billion-Monillion people in China, thats a lot more than America!)
Post apocalyptic gaming goodness
The Linux desktop is simply not ready yet. If you rush Linux to the average desktop user they'll try it, most will dislike it (in comparison to MAC & Windows) and it'll put them off ever trying it again.
I think it'll be another decade until Linux is firmly on the desktop, and I don't think we should start introducing it to the average desktop user for another 5yrs yet.
Like a fine wine, it will mature in time.
Here's the list of the best-selling software titles for 2003 (by quantity sold, not dollars fetched):
1. TurboTax 2002 Deluxe
2. Norton Antivirus 2003
3. Turbo Tax 2002
4. Norton Antivirus 2004
5. TurboTax 2002 Multi State 45
6. Taxcut 2002 Deluxe Block
7. Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade
8. Microsoft Office XP Student and Teacher Edition
9. Taxcut 2002 State Block
10. Norton Internet Security 2003
You can see that tax software is huge thing for a bunch of people to have on their desktop. Office suite is another. Internet security (not just antivirus, but user-friendly firewall, port manager and other utilities).
Office is pretty much covered with OpenOffice, so that's done. As for Internet security tools, I am not sure which ones exist for the end user, but perhaps industry could come up with some.
Tax software. Is there a good tax package for Linux, allowing those millions of accountants, small business owners and middle-class Joe's like you and me file their taxes?
Out of free (of charge) software that is getting huge market share of desktop, what would the Linux equivalent of:
- Kazaa
- Real Player
- ICQ/AIM (ok, Gaim is a good alternative)
A step at a time, first networks, then the desktop. The domination by Linux will not happen overnight. How long did it take M$ to get where it is? Look at where they are now, with all the mistakes(Win 3.0, 95, Me, Bob), that get repeated, over and over and ...... and they are still the biggest gorilla on the planet. Don't think the Linux world won't make a few, but we are (hopefully) smarter and have learned from the mistakes of others and won't repeat them.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
Employees of these company's would also be prone to use linux at there own homes, because they use it at work. This is like fresh university students using unix at the work place, because they used it in college.
Most people don't buy quality products, period. They don't buy quality cars, quality clothes, quality groceries, etc. etc. etc.
Why? Mostly willful ignorance. I know a bunch of people who bought Dodge Neons late in the game despite the fact the Lemon Aid guide has been panning them for years. Guess what happened? The cars were always in the shop, I had to give a boost to another one, and another person resold their Neon pretty quickly. That's a BIG purchase.
Look in the grocery baskets at the grocery store. See what people are buying. It's mostly crap and not always cheaper crap.
Look at walmart. Can you find decent quality footwear there? Try putting on a pair of cheap shoes and you can see why so many people who shop there look so fat. Walking is painful. I bought a good pair of leather shoes years ago and had them resoled and quality inserts put in them. They've saved me money over the years and they are incredibly comfortable.
Why should anyone care who is using Linux? The Toyota Camry has one of the lowest driver death ratings per million of cars out there... but plenty of people buy the worst cars (Cavalier, Neon, and surprisingly, SUV's and cheap pickups! etc.)
I use Linux on two systems and my wife uses it on one system. I'm not even going to broach the topic with my parents. My brother has an iBook (I got a faster used Thinkpad and threw Linux on it and saved a lot and I don't have any weird screen problems with white dots like he and so many other iBook people have)
People don't buy based on quality or safety. When I bought a whitebox system from a local retailer my father looked cross and said... "Why didn't you buy a Dell?" and I said, "Why the hell would I?" Considering he knows nothing about computers but he watches a lot of tv, where do you suppose he got that idea? Maybe if IBM and Novell want to advertise Linux, that'll probably do the most good.
It's not the elitism of the "linux community" and how dare you lump everyone who uses Linux in the same label. That's like saying all blacks are the same in a community and all Pakistanis are the same. Geez. Try visiting forums.gentoo.org and you'll see how helpful people are on a daily basis even with the most basic and repeated questions.
You certainly bring up some valid concerns or areas where Free Software can improve. However, you completely ignore the biggest reason more people are not using Linux. The Microsoft monopoly and people's adversion to change.
Microsoft is a convicted, largely unregulated monopoly. They use this power to force computer makers to put Windows on every system they ship. Then, when "grandma" or "Joe Average" buys the computer, they have no desire to replace what came on it with something else. This perpetuates the Micorsoft empire and will be VERY difficult for Linux to break.
I have moved my family to Linux. They all love KDE, from my non-tech wife down to my 6 year-old. I have helped others make an informed choice as to what OS they want to use and few have any problems using Free Software on a day to day basis.
It's just that most people don't know they have a choice and Microsoft does the best it can to make sure they don't find out.
Why should you care what other people do with their computers? When Microsoft rolls DRM into the OS, and marries the Windows to the BIOS, and congress decrees that all non-DRM-compliant computers are illegal "circumvention devices," then you will care very much that Linux failed to create a popular, open platform to prevent this from happening, even though the Linux development community was INCHES away from making it possible. I have no problem with closed source software, but platforms and standards should remain open. Open standards are what made the Internet possible. They are what made the PC boom possible. And, if you care about open platforms and standards, then you should care about how many people use Linux.
I think the major failure is getting the word out to people that linux is just like windows in terms of usability with environments like KDE and Gnome; now we just need the application and driver vendors supporting linux like they support windows.
It's all in the marketing man. Marketing is key. It has nothing to do with this supposed "elitism" you speak of. Elitism is a thing of the 90s. I don't see vendors like Mandrake, Xandros, Lin---s, etc. being "elitist" towards their users.
We need someone with a lot of money, and we need to get the word out in as many places as possible.
Aye, there's the rub! We need money to advertise, and yet, money is only made once the operating system is quite popular (i.e. on support, etc.). So, someone is going to have to invest in it; and with the recent bursting of the bubble, investment has gone wayyy down, RIGHT when linux became really viable on the desktop!
Just great, eh? Oh well, I'm hopeful that with IBM's efforts and others, things will come around eventually.
It's ok man, and remember, market dominance isn't everything.
Capitalism does not have to be as cold as you make it out to be, there are plenty of ways to make a shit load of money without instilling fear in your employees. (Note Indians will soon be in the same boat when other cheaper nations come around).
Here's why - most of the world is 'fucked up' by your definition.
In the majority of economies, those in power use that power to enrich themselves by any means at their disposal, whether by bribery or embezzlement.
I've struggled to see where OSS can fit into this model, but you have shown how corrupt elites can prosper from OSS while not adversely impacting the OSS movement.
All we need now is for Halliburton, EDS and the large consulting firms that play the part of the oligarchy in the West to catch on to this business model, and OSS will prosper worldwide.
There - you're not flamebait, but you've missed the key means by which OSS will gain a foothold in the 'developed' economies.
oh brave new world, that has such people in it!