The War Is Over, and Linux Has Won

xtaski writes "Dana Blankenhorn bluntly states a reality that many have known: 'The war is over and Linux won'. With Oracle and Microsoft putting Linux in the spotlight and positioning themselves to grow with Linux. 'A new report shows that 83% of companies expect to support new workloads on Linux against 23% for Windows. ... Over two-thirds of the respondents said they will increase their use of Linux in the next year, and almost no one said the opposite.'"

Comments

Re:There will be multiple "wars".

[Slithe]

I think that #3 will happen as a natural progression from MS's anti-piracy efforts and OEM deals.

Huh? You may have a point about WGA etc. (although users have been known to deal with a LOT of crap), but how does price discounts for Dell hurt Microsoft (besides lower profit margins)? Widespread OEM support is one thing that allows Windows to dominate.

It used to be that when an new MS OS came out, you went out and bought a copy, and installed it on all the computers in your home. Maybe you even went in halfsies with a pal. Now, not only are you not able (without some real effort) install on multiple machines, but you don't even go out and buy a copy of the OS.

That has not been my experience. My (well my family's) first computer was a Tandy Sensation running Windows 3.1 (although, at the time, I was not sure exactly what Windows was besides a logo that appeared every time my computer booted). We mostly change Windows versions when we bought new computers; my mother's computer is running Windows 98SE, my grandfather's computer is running Windows ME, and my grandmother's laptop is running Windows XP. I will soon give my laptop, which is running Windows XP, to my mother.

You buy a computer with the OS already on it.

Most people buy a fully setup computer for convenience reasons; they do not want to know how to setup Windows, so the PC manufacturers need to set-up the computer beforehand. I think that Vista will still come in boxed editions.

Now what happens to your old machine. Yes, some people will toss them out.

Hardware components (especially harddrives) do not last forever, and when a major piece dies, some people, in my experience, decide to buy a new computer.

But, there will also be a significantly large group of people that will just install Linux.

A lot of people have never heard of Linux, and even fewer care enough to burn a CD and repartition their harddrive. If Linux is to become the dominant platform, it REQUIRES the support of major OEM manufacturers.