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Why Linux Doesn't Spread - the Curse of Being Free

Posted by Soulskill on from the you-get-what-you-may-or-may-not-pay-for dept.

Vlad Dolezal tips us to a philosophical take on why Linux hasn't grown to challenge Windows as the most popular operating system. According to the author, the reason is simple; Linux is free, and humans tend not to equate free things with being valuable. "Here's what Compy McNewb sees. He can get both OS's for free. But one of them is worth over three hundred dollars, while the other one is worth nothing. 'That's not true!' I hear you scream. 'Linux is worth a lot! It's just being offered for free!' I know it's not true that Linux is worth less than Windows. It's far more valuable to the end user in terms of getting things done. But that's not what Average Joe Computer Newbie sees. He sees a free product versus a three-hundred-dollar product he can get free. It's all about the perception!"

4 of 1,243 comments (clear)

  1. plus by neverhadachoice · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    +1

  2. Re:Or it is not spreading by Joshwaa · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Agreed. It's perfect for enthusiasts because it offers near limitless customization, and lets you do whatever you want, but even 'user friendly' distros like ubuntu never just work, and to someone who doesn't care about the capabilities a bash shell offers them, everything just seems 10X harder than it is on windows.

  3. Re:Or it is not spreading by Hatta · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    You can set a registry key to make the system be case sensitive

    Right, is setting a registry key really any harder than mounting your FS with an option? Actually, passing options to mount is a lot safer, so I'd prefer that anyway.

    How frequently do you actually differentiate by capitalization alone

    Constantly.

    why do you want to suffer so much?

    I'd ask you the same thing.

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  4. Re:Look to the Mac by mellowbird · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    The Mac has a good imaging model in PDF, linux is stuck with Xwindows which I hear is inferior to the Windows imaging model.