Red Hat CEO Questions Relevance of Desktop Linux

snydeq writes "Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst questioned the relevance of Linux on the desktop, citing several financial and interoperability hurdles to business adoption at a panel on end-users and Linux last night at the OSBC. 'First of all, I don't know how to make money on it,' Whitehurst said, adding that he was uncertain how relevant the desktop itself will be in five years given advances in cloud-based and smartphone computing, as well as VDI. 'The concept of a desktop is kind of ridiculous in this day and age. I'd rather think about skating to where the puck is going to be than where it is now.' Despite increasing awareness that desktop Linux is ready for widespread mainstream adoption, fellow panelists questioned the practicality of switching to Linux, noting that even some Linux developers prefer Macs to Linux. 'There's a desire [to use desktop Linux],' one panelist said, 'but practicality sets in. There are significant barriers to switching.'"

Comments

Give up control?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't want to give up control of 'MY' unit to the cloud...ever!

Re:Give up control?

[nizo]

Were you forced to post this troll as part of some bizarre 12 step program?

Re:Give up control?

[Anonymous Coward]

...supported by a few unemployed nerds living in their mother's basement somewhere.

You mean that Linux is supported entirely by a single group of siblings? Their mother must be very proud.

Re:Give up control?

[godrik]

Thank you AC for this archived post from 1999.

Re:Give up control?

[Anonymous Coward]

I recently lost my job. Like you, I, too, am totally incompetent at doing anything but vomiting up patently incorrect facts and deliberate misdirection.

Can I send you my resume so I can get a job doing what you do?

Oh Yeah?!

[oldhack]

How about laptops, huh?!

Re:Oh Yeah?!

[Pecisk]

Huh, better tell me how about grapes?!

(For those who didn't get...yeah, that story about fox)

Re:Oh Yeah?!

[Foofoobar]

I'm still waiting for my mod point stimulus otherwise I'd definitely bail you out. MOD UP!!!

Oh golly...

[Murpster]

Yes I think I'm going to take this sage wisdom from some ignant suit... "I dunno how to make money off it, so it must be irrelevant." Maybe loosen that tie a little and let some oxygen up in that ol' brain there, buddy? Perhaps then RedHat and Fedora will stop getting declining in quality with each new release.

Revealing statement

[Keith Russell]

I'd rather think about skating to where the puck is going to be than where it is now.

We've just learned two things about Jim Whitehurst:

1. Fedora is going to bail his ass out when "cloud computing" goes out of vogue.
2. On any given night, he is the most knowledgeable hockey fan in the Carolina Hurricanes' luxury boxes.

Re:Of course the desktop will be relevant in 5 yea

[NeoSkandranon]

wat u meen?!!

I had to.

[Samschnooks]

Were you forced to post this troll as part of some bizarre 12 step program?

1. Accepting that you have a problem with accepting Linux and that you are powerless in regards to Windows.
2. Came to believe that Linux will restore us to sanity.
3. Make a decision to our computers to Linux or to the distribution that we prefer.
4. Make a moral inventory of our computer systems.
5. Admit to Slashdot, Linus, and to others the exact nature of our wrong OS choice.
6. We submit to Linux to remove our OS shortcomings.
7. Humbly submit to Linux
8. Make a list of computers we installed Windows on and make amends and become willing to install Linux on them
9. Find those machines and install Linux.
10. Continued to take computer inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with Linux as we understood the distribution we use, praying only for knowledge of Linus' will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Must be slashdot...

[mcneely.mike]

I figured around step 2.5 there would be "Have sex."
!but then remembered what it was i was doing and where i was doing it and then....

I'm sorry... where was i?

Re:Jim Whitehurst must be french.

[pak9rabid]

Sweet..just the segway I needed for a tasteless French joke

How many gears does a french tank have?

5...one for forward, 4 for reverse.

Re:Put it in a shiny box.

[Runaway1956]

People are still using multiple boot desktops? Even here in Backwoods, Nowhere, we have had Virtual Machines working for quite some time. No need to reboot, when I can network Mac, Ubuntu, WinXP, Win7, and Debian machines ALL ON ONE DESKTOP MACHINE! Phhht! Multi-boot is so, what? 1999?

Re:He's just angry...

[mcgrew]

Making a profit and being relevant are two different things.

Not if you're a Ferengi

I see it changing next YEAR! And I will PROOF IT!

[SmallFurryCreature]

NEXT YEAR, the death of the desktop will have been 5 years away for 31 YEARS!!!

Times are changing my friend! A bold new world is about to dawn!

Re:I use Linux on my laptop, but

[gbarules2999]

5. Bake cookies fresh, on the hour. And then feed them to me.

Re:He's just angry...

[Anonymous Coward]

But it's meeeeeee!!! Me me me! Windows taught me that it's My Documents, My Computer, My Music, My everything! Who cares about everyone else's computers? Mine! Mine mine mine! And Windows invented the computer so i think they know a bit more about it than you do.