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Is Apple Killing Linux on the Desktop?
Domains May Disappear writes "Chris Howard has an interesting commentary at Apple Matters on recent trends in OS market share that says that while OS X has seen continual growth, from 4.21% in Jan 2006 to 7.31% in December 2007 at the same time, Linux's percentage has risen from only 0.29% to 0.63%. The reasons? 'Apple has Microsoft Office, Linux doesn't; Apple has Adobe Creative Suite, Linux doesn't; Apple has easily accessed and easy to use service and support, Linux doesn't; Apple is driven by someone who has some understanding of end-user needs, Linux is not,' says Howard. 'Early in the decade it seemed that if you wanted a Windows alternative, Linux was it. Nowadays, an Apple Mac is undoubtedly the alternative and, with its resurgence and its Intel base, a very viable one.'"
Linux can run on any desktop the only desktops that apple has is a $2200 mac pro and $600 overpriced and underpowered mini that is just a laptop in a small case without a screen build in.
the mini $600 1gb of ram cdwr / dvd slow laptop 80gb HD low end laptop cpu and GMA 950 add $200 to get a dvdwr + 120gb hd and to move to a 2.0GHz 4MB shared L2 cache Intel Core 2 Duo from a 1.83GHz 2MB shared L2 cache Intel Core 2 Duo also you have to add your own keyboard and mouse.
The imac are laptops in a desktop only AIO.
Oooh! I can't wait to go to the Linux Store!
Customer: Excuse me. Can you show me where I might find a word processor?
Employee: Hahaha, noob! Look at the fucking shelf!
This guy's the limit!
Something sounds very wrong with those numbers, I would check how things are configured. Copying a 17 Mb file taking 20 minutes is way too long. I can copy alot more than that from my 700 MHz G3 iBook with it's inferior HDD speeds to my XP machine on wireless in less than that time. Problems with file copying, iPod transfers, Safari lag, and "everything else has ground to a halt" sounds like perhaps it's time to get the hardware checked out? I won't doubt you may have had better results with your Wintel machines, but it's just that, personal experiences. I've personally had great and bad experiences on Linux, Windows, Mac, Amiga, BSD, Solaris. Only constant I see is . . . Mac guys say a possitive note, without fail a Windows fan will come on and slam that user. New switch Mac guys many times sound just as ridiculous for their reasons for switching. Linux guys pop on trying to convince everyone that the world will all come to soon and switch to it. If all else fails, somewhere in there you just need to throw a "M$" to make the Windows guys feel uncomfortable. I am sorry but let me ask it bluntly, who cares if you have Mac addicts, Windows addicts, Linux addicts, or any other addict. It isn't of concern to you what someone else chooses to use or trumpet. Be the better and learn to find what the various platforms do well and not do well.
The entire world as your development group is much more powerful over the long haul than a bunch of guys on the payroll in Cupertino or in Redmond.
It doesn't matter whether you are enamored with or spiteful toward what Linux is NOW.
It's what it has the potential to become, as compared to the old development model of paying a bunch of guys in an office and keeping the guts of their creation under lock and key so that no one else is allowed to improve upon their work, ever.
I'd rather hear some intelligent reasons why anyone would choose to use a Mac over other faster, cheaper, more stable systems.
More stable? What OS do you mean? It certainly can't be Windows. After using various versions of Windows for more than 10 years, when it came tyme for me to get a new laptop I got a MacBook Pro. I have owned PCs with Windows 95, NT4, and ME and I have used PCs with 2000 and XP. The very first tyme I use XP it froze while booting up. On a brand new Dell. The only Window I did not have trouble with the OS was NT4, which I still have.
Faster? My MacBook Pro can run circles around any and all of the computers I've owned or used. And cheaper? Before I bought my MBP I compared the cost to similarly configured laptops from Dell and HP. While the HP was similarly priced the Dell was $200 more.
However the above is only part of why I decided to switch to OS X from Windows. I switched for 2 reasons. First because I hate not being able to use my computer when I want to. With the exception of my NT4 PC I have had hardware problems as well as problems with Windows. Whereas Macs have lasted for several years without problems, every Windows PC I bought new except the NT4 PC had the hdd and the motherboard die within a year. I also had to reinstall Windows a bunch of tymes for them. Secondly I don't want to be treated like a criminal like Microsoft does. I don't want to have to Activate my OS or software. Nor do I want to have the OS or software spying on me. My Mac can also run more software than any other computer out there. If I wanted to, barf, I can run Windows and Windows software on it. I can, and do, run *nix software on it. And I can run Mac software on it.
FalconShould there be a Law?