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OSDL's Review of Desktop Linux In 2006
derrida writes "The OSDL's Desktop Linux Working Group has published its first year-end report on the state of the overall desktop Linux ecosystem. The report provides insight into the year's key accomplishments in functionality, standards, applications, distributions, market penetration, and more. Of great interest is the Market Growth part. Quoting from there: 'Most observers believe that much of the growth will take place outside of the United States. "It will be in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries," said Gerry Riveros, Red Hat, "because of the price and because they aren't locked in yet."'"
You don't get a free pass with a comment like that. It's easy to look at what Congress has done here, and say, "boy, is the U.S. fucked." Unfortunately, we aren't alone. Europe is taking our shiny new copyright and patent crap and running with it (and making it even worse in some respects, if that's possible.) Furthermore, there's a lot of pressure being applied to bring other countries in line, pardon me, "harmonized", with certain unpleasant aspects U.S. IP law. We're all going down the tubes together: we're perhaps a couple of elbow joints ahead of everyone else, but not that's all. Too many powerful people around the world want control of their respective economies, and one way you do that is by manipulating and suppressing technological advancement.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Every year, I see these "Linux is ready for the desktop" articles. But it never happens. Back in 2004, WalMart offered a $499 Linux laptop. They don't do that any more. Lenovo, HP, and Dell have fooled around with Linux laptops, but try to order one on line. Search for "linux laptop" on Dell, and you get back "Dell recommends Windows Vista(TM) Business." There are some off-brand Linux laptops available, but they're overpriced.
Linux on the desktop looked closer three years ago than it does now.
KDE in its current form is quite usable for most common purposes, and those abilities it doesn't have can probably be added as widespread adoption takes place. OpenOffice has its faults but it usually does the job. I would say at this point, it's not Linux as Linux that's the holdup. It's:
1. Legacy systems, documents, and most importantly user training in said systems and documents. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" rules when computers are the tool rather than the end goal in and of themselves, and it's hard to fault that logic. If you change your systems you're effectively "breaking" your employees in terms of their productivity, and fixing them is quite a job. It's only justified when the end benefits are worth the pain, and to be fair in most cases they probably aren't, at least in the short term. And we all know how good capitalism is at thinking long term.
2. Compatibility with the largest possible market segment. If your customers/suppliers insist on dealing in old formats (see #1) then it's rather hard to force them to change. And every minute spent dealing with such issues is one less spent on work related to producing something.
3. Costs of retraining your IT department and switching your software/machines. Yes it will take time - hardware support, IT helpdesk training, identifying and testing replacements for currently used apps, etc. Not painless at all.
I would say Linux was "ready for the desktop" several years ago, or at least as ready as Windows. KDE and Gnome are excellent systems for most users, once installed and configured properly. (That's what admins are for - work PCs are not normally maintained directly by users, regardless of OS.) Now the problem is revealed as being rather deeper than originally anticipated - it's not JUST Linux that's the problem, it's change period.
For home use, people want to play media and install thousands of commercial specialty packages, which are all written for Windows. More legacy software issues, with no budget or interest on the part of the people writing them (why target an uncertain platform populated by geeks who give stuff away?)
The problems aren't technological now - I would say they can be more accurately characterized as inertia. It's hard to give people reasons to switch from something that works, even when the new thing is BETTER than the current one. Linux, due to legal constraints as well as not quite 100% compatibility with things like Word formats, is not and probably CANNOT become (legally) a drop-in which is better in all cases.
Personally, I think the only hope for a massive switch to an open source OS is one where the software is written in such a fashion that it can be PROVEN (mathematically) to be secure/crash proof/what have you. Such a verifiable guarantee might gain enough interest/momentum to be worth the massive shifts that still have not taken place, but I am aware of no other lack in the marketplace severe enough to warrant it.
"I object to doing things that computers can do." -- Olin Shivers, lispers.org
I first tried Linux in 1997. At the time I couldn't imagine using it as a desktop. However, there were a few turning points for me:
1) GOOD package management. I started out on Redhat. Whenever anyone brings up RPM problems, they get reamed on Slashdot "RPM IS NOT A PACKAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM!" Well, once upon a time, there wasn't Yum or Red Carpet, and the best thing there was (RPM) was still hell to use. Now between RHEL and Gentoo, I rarely have to worry about not finding dependencies. Thank God.
2) 2.6 Kernel. The reason is because before 2.6, X under Linux always "felt" slow.
3. Firefox.
4. More expansive community, documentation. I remember in 1997 trying to get help:
ME: "I'm trying to do X and it's doing Y. Does anyone have experience with this? "
THEM: "RTFM"
ME, (looking): "The man page doesn't say anything"
THEM: "+b You've been banned, troll."
Now I look at the Gentoo install documentation and user forums now, and I am just in awe. Likewise for many of the other major distros.
Now that wireless is going smooth, the only thing I have to complain about is no matter what I do, font rendering is inconsistent and often ugly. But as of two years ago, I am a happy full time Linux user! Take this for what it's worth, I just wanted to share my experience.
Europe is taking our shiny new copyright and patent crap and running with it. . .
It's called the Berne Convention Treaty. America was shoved into coming in line with it; and ran with it.
America's shiny new copyright and patent crap is firmly rooted in the monarchial grants of absolute right and trade guildism that America's founding fathers firmly rejected.
Too many powerful people around the world want control of their respective economies, and one way you do that is by manipulating and suppressing technological advancement.
And adoption of the Berne Convention Treaty was one of the first signs that America was heading down this path. We gave up being the industrial might driving the economy of the world for being a bunch of paper traders.
If they can manage to hold themselves together as a nation China wins. If not India wins. In any case, we lose as our bits of paper become worthless on the international market.
Jesus we used to make some good stuff.
KFG
Browsing to http://localhost:631/ in firefox to configure your printer is one of the totally counter-intuitive things ESR was complaining about. Browsing to some random port on localhost is like having to tweak a registry key in XP, and it should not be necessary or tolerated for anything a 'normal user' is likely to do.
If you want to add a new printer there should be an "add new printer" tool somewhere obvious, like under the System menu. Bonus points if it already detects the attached printer for you, and if the system can be configured to pop up the add-printer dialog any time you plug in a new printer.
455fe10422ca29c4933f95052b792ab2
You're forgetting a major factor here. Most people didn't learn the applications they use. They were *trained on them*. They never learned the program conceptually. They learned it procedurally... step-by-step.
If you change the steps, the order of the steps, or the location of the steps, and they're LOST. Not only are they lost... they're angry, unhappy, less productive, complaining, and in need of re-training. It doesn't matter if the new software is better or "just as good". It doesn't matter if the platform is better. They know how to be productive when they're following these specific procedures. If changing the software changes the procedures, you have to re-train them in the new procedures, and you have to deal with all the productivity lost while they learn and adapt. And that doesn't include the pushback from the ones who resist change out of fear or inertia.
Any exec or front-line salesperson who uses ACT!... never going to switch platforms until ACT! supports that platform. Seriously.
And that's where your hurdle comes in. Change is neither easy nor painless. Imagine a pain meter on a scale from 1 to 10. Let's say that Windows is a 5 and Linux or Mac is a 2. But the adjustment of switching is an 8. People will opt to stay with the 5. They know the 5. They know they can tolerate the 5. Because even though the 2 is promised, the 8 looms large in the immediate future.
What's going to prompt people to switch is when the combination of Microsoft arrogance and aggressive bad guys raise the pain of Windows to a 6.5, while the efforts of Linux and/or Apple developers lower the pain of switching to a 6.5 or lower. When switching is no more painful than staying the course (or possibly even less painful), you'll see the needles start to move in bigger ways.
Start a happiness pandemic