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Could 2018 Be The Year of the Linux Desktop? (gnome.org)
Suren Enfiajyan writes: Red Hat worker and GNOME blogger Christian F.K. Schaller wrote why GNU/Linux failed to become a mainstream desktop OS... "My thesis is that there really isn't one reason, but rather a range of issues that all have contributed to holding the Linux Desktop back from reaching a bigger market. Also to put this into context, success here in my mind would be having something like 10% market share of desktop systems. That to me means we reached critical mass."
He named the following reasons:
- A fragmented market
- Lack of special applications
- Lack of big name applications
- Lack of API and ABI stability
- Apple's resurgence
- Microsoft's aggressive response
- Windows piracy
- Red Hat mostly stayed away
- Canonical's business model not working out
- Lack of original device manufacturer support
Then he ended with some optimism:
"So anyone who has read my blog posts probably knows I am an optimist by nature. This isn't just some kind of genetic disposition towards optimism, but also a philosophical belief that optimism breeds opportunity while pessimism breeds failure. So just because we haven't gotten the Linux Desktop to 10% marketshare so far doesn't mean it will not happen going forward. It just means we haven't achieved it so far.
"One of the key identifiers of open source is that it is incredibly hard to kill, because unlike proprietary software, just because a company goes out of business or decides to shut down a part of its business, the software doesn't go away or stop getting developed. As long as there is a strong community interested in pushing it forward it remains and evolves, and thus when opportunity comes knocking again it is ready to try again."
The essay concludes desktop Linux has evolved and is ready to try again, since from a technical perspective it's better than ever. "The level of polish is higher than ever before, the level of hardware support is better than ever before and the range of software available is better than ever before...
"There is also the chance that it will come in a shape we don't appreciate today. For instance maybe ChromeOS evolves into a more full fledged operating system as it grows in popularity and thus ends up being the Linux on the Desktop end game? Or maybe Valve decides to relaunch their SteamOS effort and it provides the foundation for a major general desktop growth? Or maybe market opportunities arise that will cause us at Red Hat to decide to go after the desktop market in a wider sense than we do today? Or maybe Endless succeeds with their vision for a Linux desktop operating system...."
He named the following reasons:
- A fragmented market
- Lack of special applications
- Lack of big name applications
- Lack of API and ABI stability
- Apple's resurgence
- Microsoft's aggressive response
- Windows piracy
- Red Hat mostly stayed away
- Canonical's business model not working out
- Lack of original device manufacturer support
Then he ended with some optimism:
"So anyone who has read my blog posts probably knows I am an optimist by nature. This isn't just some kind of genetic disposition towards optimism, but also a philosophical belief that optimism breeds opportunity while pessimism breeds failure. So just because we haven't gotten the Linux Desktop to 10% marketshare so far doesn't mean it will not happen going forward. It just means we haven't achieved it so far.
"One of the key identifiers of open source is that it is incredibly hard to kill, because unlike proprietary software, just because a company goes out of business or decides to shut down a part of its business, the software doesn't go away or stop getting developed. As long as there is a strong community interested in pushing it forward it remains and evolves, and thus when opportunity comes knocking again it is ready to try again."
The essay concludes desktop Linux has evolved and is ready to try again, since from a technical perspective it's better than ever. "The level of polish is higher than ever before, the level of hardware support is better than ever before and the range of software available is better than ever before...
"There is also the chance that it will come in a shape we don't appreciate today. For instance maybe ChromeOS evolves into a more full fledged operating system as it grows in popularity and thus ends up being the Linux on the Desktop end game? Or maybe Valve decides to relaunch their SteamOS effort and it provides the foundation for a major general desktop growth? Or maybe market opportunities arise that will cause us at Red Hat to decide to go after the desktop market in a wider sense than we do today? Or maybe Endless succeeds with their vision for a Linux desktop operating system...."
Those who arrange Linux have apparently never heard of cooperation. (What did you say? Co-what??? Is that an English word?)
This story about Linux makes me laugh: The number of Linux distributions is declining. AMAZING QUOTE from that story of 2 years ago: "In 2011, the Distrowatch database of active Linux distributions peaked at 323. Currently, however, it lists only 285."
285 different ways to do one thing!!! "Only" 285? Quote from the parent comment: "You know Linux Desktop is a junk OS from the fact an app may require version 2.5 of a library and another one might require no more than 2.4, and Desktop Linux offers no way around the problem."
Linux has VERY poor documentation. A friend of mine said this perhaps 20 years ago: "It's free but you will spend at least a week getting it to work." So, Linux is NOT free. It is VERY expensive!!! VERY! If you are a teenager and like tinkering, and have nothing else to do besides play video games, the cost may be acceptable. Or maybe you are installing Linux on 50 computers. Otherwise probably not.
Windows is "spyware" and the documentation is often poor. But at least there is only 1 current version. Windows 10 is possibly the worst spyware ever made. It's an OS that shows you ads while you are trying to work. But, at least at present, you can stop the advertising: 7 ways Windows 10 pushes ads at you, and how to stop them.
Could you go to prison for recommending Windows, a "spyware" OS? Oh well, there's that. You need a signed contract that the customer understands that Microsoft has control at all times. Or, you can deliver the "Enterprise" version, which Microsoft doesn't allow most customers to have; maybe that isn't spyware. Or, maybe it is: For real Windows 10 privacy, you need the China Government Edition.
But at least, with Windows, you won't be involved with the ENORMOUS complexity of Linux. One example: The Debian Family Tree. That's just one of the "family trees"! If you have a son, tell him not to make 200 women pregnant.
Mark Shuttleworth of Ubuntu Linux said: "many members of the free software community are just deeply anti-social types".
That comment by Shuttleworth on Google Plus is an example of Google being insufficiently managed. It apparently isn't possible to link directly to Mark Shuttleworth's comment. It's necessary to click on "View 173 previous comments" and search for "muppets". (Wow! Google Plus is an example of people liking to use a huge amount of Javascript. Why so much Javascript? Are they teaching themselves about Javascript?)
A long time ago, at a convention, I got into a long discussion with Mark Shuttleworth. I gave him a manual I had written about dealing with the social issues of technology. The only result? Shuttleworth criticized me for giving him a paper copy. He was flying home after the convention; I