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Linux vs. Windows
An anonymous reader writes "Technology Review has a great article discussing how pretty, user-friendly Linux desktops, cheap machines sold at stores such as Wal-Mart, and the growth of useful free software like Open Office have made Linux a 'key business risk' for our friends in Redmond. The story notes that Linux's market share for desktop computers has already surpassed Apple's. Says the Open Source Initiative's Eric Raymond, 'The sinister plan for world domination is right on schedule.' All right!"
Funny how Linux from Walmart which itself is a large corporation may help fight the software giant Microsoft is. How ironic where the revolution comes from.
that humble little vmlinuz can run on tons of things. sure, desktops got everyones eyeballs and twitchy middle finger all wrapped up, but linux computers don't need an interface. at all. in order to do Real Work.
no, i'm not just talking about beouwulfs and the like, i mean things like vending machines, HVAC control, ticketing systems, etc...
(embedded linux is where microsoft is going to have fight our lead...)
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
Wal * Mart is the Devil's Own Store. That is until it sells Linux machines and it becomes a acceptable part of the Linux 'world domination'
Tech, life, family, faith: Give me a visit
Is lindows (aka linspire) the real salvation of linux? A pretty graphical interface? High processor requirements? A prioritary installation process?
How is this better than windows again?
What is we really just teach people how to do unix correctly?
Davak
...finally an article asserting what many, many people have been saying for quite some time.
Now all that "we" need to do is to go through and find things that need to be improved upon. Don't get me wrong, I still configure most of my stuff at the command line, and I believe that everything should be configurable from the command line, but it might not be a good idea to get GUI configuration to work for all user-level functions (including hotplug USB and firewire) so that Joe Schmoe or Grandma doesn't have to try to use a command line to plug in and get pictures off of a digital camera, or access a USB memory device, or hook up the new printer.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
"Preaching to the choir"
This article is basically just - pardon the expression - a circle jerk. Or, at best, inviting flamebait. What is there to discuss - that Linux is improving in the marketplace? Or that it's becoming more of a threat to Microsoft?
Mod the article -1, Redundant.
Selling ridiculously cheap machines that automagically do everything (connect to the internet, read pics from your digital camera, etc.) will capture a large share of newbies that do not yet own a computer. If these people never change their OS too, then we will see an increase in Linux desktops.
Easy is the key. Price is secondary but extremely important.
MS has no where to go but down. That's one of the disadvantages of having a monoply.
To put it very shortly, i think interoperability with the windows world (e.g samba & wine) is still the key to gain more users especially in offices.
...
If i buy one of these PCs, and i put it in my win2k based office, i should be able to print and share files without any RTFM
We learn from history that we learn nothing from history - Tom Veneziano
I think we'll have a big slaughter of Windows market share as they continue to not-get-Linux, and then things will REALLY get interesting. I don't believe for a second that MS is going to go down, down, down and just drop off the face of the planet.
A few years after longhorn is released, when the market is closer to 50/50 for linux/windows machines, and MS will be forced to actually do things better just to survive.
There's a lot in the way of human resources at microsoft, and that could create some dang good stuff - given the need to, when there's a giant penguin huffing down your neck.
I saw the headline and I slapped my forehead. I think we have a linux vs windows flamewar about 3 times a week here.
Just equate linux vs windows with car transmissions. Linux is like a manual, it's $300 cheaper, slightly longer learning curve, gives you more control, but the people who get it are unique because they like to drive.
Whatever you use your computer for, just be productive and the issue of operating system becomes irrelevant.
Linux, despite all of its wonderful benefits still has a long way to go to be used by grandma and grandpa who have never touched a computer. Sure, I always hear how some linux guru has set one such setup up, but they are always forced to maintain it.
What i'd like to see is a comparison of sitting 1000 people down in front of a windows box and a linux box and see how easy it is to do simple common tasks:
Write a short 1 page summmary on your life and print it (no printer setup yet)
Listen to an mp3
Check the news on CNN
Rip a CDROM
Burn a CDROM
Change your wallpaper
Download and install a list of programs that people might commonly install (ie; gaim/aim, a game written for both windows and linux)
And then some more advanced tasks
Setup a website (IIS or apache preinstalled)
Change your screen resolution
Find a file somewhere on your computer
Then compare the success/failure ratio and the average time it takes to do each task between windows and linux.
I'd bet that at this point in time and probably for quite a while windows will be far ahead in this competition. Im not saying it will always but I think there is still a long way to go.
So what sold the iMac? Was it the looks and people didn't care about the price? Or was it that you turned the iMac on and you had a working pc that you never touched the insides of and rarely installed new software on?
These walmart PC's are cheap and all and perhaps Linspire is good at providing a Mac like, no hazzles, experience. Linux can be hard when you are installing it on unknown hardware but that is not the case here, Walmart does the install and they decide the hardware.
Anyone wanting to do something "extra" like gaming with these PC's is going to be in for a rude suprise. Even the few commercial linux games that exist won't run to well on this. Then gain XP won't run on this. 128mb? HAHA. Linux can do that, windows? 3.1 maybe.
So is there a market for this kinda cheap PC? You can use it to download music and movies and watch them. Mplayer is far superior to anything MS ever developed (install mplayer and you will never even need to know about divx xvid or any codec) and properly installed users could have a very easy time. IF all they want is a working desktop for "light" work/entertainment.
This may be real inroad for linux. Don't sell linux. Sell a working internet PC.
Now all that remains is to find out sales figures AND more importantly update figures. How many machines remain linux and how many get a windows install on them?
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
BZZZT!!! That day already came and went. It's called a TV. It's a dumb terminal that they spoon feed content to you with. Add WebTV and there you go... Of course you still need to buy a box every three years because they only guarantee them for 90 days unless you pay for the extended warranty. But that's another rant for another time.
Un-news
Has IBM dropped off the face of the planet?
Has Sun dropped off the face of the planet?
So, why should Microsoft?
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
How ironic that the same people who preached that quantity != quality, and that linux was better despite less marketshare, are now hooting about how they've surpassed Apple's marketshare. Why does it matter? I thought it wasn't important...
How ironic that the same people who have moaned and bitched about monopolies are now making jokes about an ultimate goal of "world domination".
I don't want to live in a world where everyone uses Linux. I don't want to live in a world where everyone uses Macs. I don't want to live in a world where everyone uses Windows. I want to live in a world where people are not locked into one platform, and are free to choose the tool that suits them best. My only objection to MS, really, was their strong-arm tactics to keep Linux, BSD, etc from even getting their foot in the door with PC manufacturers. There has been quite a bit of progress in that department ("secure" PC collusion between MS and BIOS companies notwithstanding) which is why the Linux-specific server vendors are now struggling; there's no market for them, because you can buy a Gateway, Dell, HP, or IBM certified to run at least one distribution of Linux, complete with hardware tools for monitoring and whatnot.
Please help metamoderate.
Take off the shackles by changing the laws, and I guarantee you'll see just how formidable they can be, even in Germany.
Umm.. yeah. as you seem to imply, thats why those laws are there: to prevent exactly such a thing happening.
maybe germans don't want a wal-mart, huh? did you ever think of that, did you, huh?
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
Well, as someone who started on unix systems and had to suffer windows at a later date, i imagine that people who started fresh with linux would keep it..
Why? for the same reason people stay with windows plus the reasons people are considering migrating to linux.. Many people will stick with what they know, and those who know linux are likely to get to like the security, stability and flexibility of the system.. Moving to windows from Linux will not only present an unfamiliar environment (as it does the other way round) but an environment that is far less flexible and less stable, plus linux users will have become comfortable browsing the web and reading email in relative safety, and will likely assume they can do the same under windows... thus taking little/no protections against malware.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Well, this also lends credence to the argument that Macs are still ahead on the desktop. What they're trying to drive at is that Linux is being used as a desktop operating system more than OS 9/X is, which seems untrue, based on things like the Google numbers. Because people are buying desktop machines and using them as servers, they don't really count towards the " on the desktop" numbers.
The Open Source revolution is a complex economic revolution at least as much as it is a social phenominon. IBM doesn't care about the revolution either so much as it cares about its own bottom line too.
And the road to open source, like the road from feudalism or communism to capitalism is a one-way road. Once open source becomes established in a market, the trend cannot be reversed.
Stay tuned for more.
(also you might find my blog interesting: http://ossne.blogspot.com as this is right on topic)
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
The other thing that makes this work is the fact that it is voluntary. If I don't want to write code for OSS, I don't have to. The code is written in a distributed manner by people who wish to write the code.
This can't really apply to a governmental system, because it would require the willingness to participate by all governed individuals. There is always going to be people who procrastinate, or those who just flat out refuse to participate.
De-centralized control only works amongst the willing, the ones who have made the choice to contribute.
You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
I am not trying to start a flame here, just want to state issues that I have with Linux from a small business owner standpoint.
Keep in mind, there are a lot of small business owners out there running machines. It is a huge market.
Also, a small business owner has a business to run, and does not have time to mess with keeping computers operational.
Here are the issues:
1) Linux is no cheaper than Windows for my size of operation. I am not going to mess with building my OS, I want it off the shelf.
2) There are fewer Linux support folks out there. They cost me more. Simple economics.
3) When I want to buy new hardware, how the heck do I know if I can get driver support from Linux? Any hardware I look at tells me on the box if it will work with Windows or not. In all fairness, this is getting better with the large name vendors like HP and IBM.
4) Application software. Just about any accountant that I can find knows plenty of accounting packages that run on Windows. The Linux options are a lot fewer and far between. Finding a local accountant that knows them is even harder. Personally, I don't want to change accountants just to change accounting software.
5) The GOOD news is that applications like OpenOffice are good enough. I don't like them as much as Office, but they are good enough to get the job done. However, the temps you can hire usually know Office, they don't know OpenOffice. I am sure that time will fix this one.
In a nutshell, Linux handles the technical issues well. It has a LONG way to go on the usabilty and integration fronts.