Linux takes yet another step forward
By George Gardner
How can an operating system, Linux, which just so happens to be a free alternative to their costly #1 competitor, not be widespread and hugely successful? Linux is by far the greatest open source software available to any computer; yet, it struggles for many good reasons.
Linux is not readily available to major brand name computers; walk into a Best Buy and try to find a computer pre-loaded with Linux and you’ll know what I mean. There are, however, options for obtaining a Linux loaded machine; but they are from small companies that often go overlooked when searching for a computer.
The transition is a long, long road; why would anyone who has never used Linux go out of their way, or even think about going out of their way, to purchase a pre-loaded Linux machine? They wont; and they certainly wouldn’t think to install Linux on an already functional computer. They bought a PC, one of the various versions of Windows was on it, it works, and they won’t change. Some debate may be raised on the phrase “it works”, but that is user specific.
In the past, Linux has been backed by large companies like Intel, Hewlett Packard, and IBM to support its adoption; These companies have recently decided to form a new group, the Linux Foundation; where, the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group will be merged into the Linux Foundation and be solely dedicated to helping Linux compete in the big world.
Daniel D. Frye, vice president for open systems development at IBM claims the Linux Foundation is “a clear sign that we are going to continue to work together.”
“It’s really a two-horse race now, with computing dominated by two operating-system platforms, Linux and Windows,” said James Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation. “There are things that Microsoft does well in terms of promoting Windows, providing legal protection and standardizing Windows.”
While the group will mainly be supporting Linux at a commercial level, it’s a start, and one of the first steps that needs to be taken to make it successful. Linux is getting increasingly easier to use; which, seems to be today’s trend in computing, and one of the key factors that led up to computer usage today. Many users don’t want to learn about a computer; they want to turn it on, check their e-mail, and play Spider Solitaire for the duration of their lives.
The fact is, that there is a particular niche market for Linux. According to the IDC research firm, Linux-related hardware, software, and services measure up to $14.5 billion per year! Corporations need to take advantage of it by creating more compatible applications and many, many games; these, among free open source support, will greatly aid to the widespread adoption of Linux.
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January 23rd, 2007
This is a pipe dream.
Linux will never come close to Windows for consumers.
January 23rd, 2007
No one here said it will; but it certainly is not getting less popular.
January 23rd, 2007
@MadClown, maybe for now… but time will come that the price Microsoft is asking for the use of its products, both monetary and freedom, will be too steep that consumers will start thinking twice…
January 23rd, 2007
Until it is as easy to buy a computer with Linux (any flavor) pre-loaded as it is to buy a computer with Windows pre-loaded, linux will always be a fringe group. Try to find a pre-loaded linux (any flavor) PC through google. Good luck! The average user (myself included) doesn’t want to do an installation. Why are they so few shops that will do it?
January 23rd, 2007
Real simple. Because Microsoft has made it so un-worth anyone’s while to do otherwise. Remember that little dust-up they had where they were strong-arming people who didn’t want to install IE? You don’t think there’s not some modern-day equivalent going on?
As i wrote on another board, it seems to me that the reasons why Linux is not more prevalent are multiple:
1. Microsoft.
I know we’d all kinda like to believe that Linux is David and Microsoft is Goliath, but the sad truth is that MS has the juice to more or less pull the plug on the PC market if they so choose.
2. The Linux Community.
I have only been using Linux for two years, and have found the community to be something less than the all-welcoming, Kumbaya-singing entity it’s made out to be. On the contrary; for the most part, I have ended resolving my problems myself, with no help from the community, and usually with complete indifference. And again, this is just my opinion, but it seems to me that there is a rather elitist attitude that sends many potential Linux-philes right back into the arms of Microsoft. We are our biggest asset and our biggest enemy.
i had a few others, but I forgot what they were. No matter; I’ll probably catch all kinds of flak for what I’ve already said now.
But don’t get me wrong; I’d like nothing better than to see Linux validated by being on every desktop. In fact, we have a really good chance to get it in more places than ever, now that it’s more or less common knowledge that Vista’s an overpriced dog. What we need to do is play up that you don’t need to spend almost $300 to get a fast, secure OS with a 3D desktop with all the eye candy you could ever want.
If that doesn’t pull ‘em in, maybe pointing out that half the Internet is run by Linux, and barely any of it by Windows can’t hurt.
January 24th, 2007
I agree that there is an opening for alternative OS’s with the release of Vista.
I’d like to think it will be (at least) a three horse race, though. Look at PC-BSD (based on FreeBSD) and see how that looks for the average user.
January 24th, 2007
Even if major shops start selling linux installed.
Which some have Walmart,Dell, HP.
You guys just don’t get it. Its not just about having an OS that can run your PC. Its about the ecosystem that surrounds Windows. The millions of apps that take 2 clicks to install. I know this is half the reason why my sister has tons of spam put users love the easiness of it. People say “oh well when something as good or better than Office is offered or Office its self is offered on Linux that’s when people will start flocking. That’s bull also. How many years has Mac had Office fully supported by Microsoft and still it has less than 10% share. Its the ecosystem folks. All of the M$ products fit together and play together nicely and are easy for anyone to install and use. Vista, WinXP, Server, IIS, ASP.NET AJAX, .NET Framework…the list goes on and on.
Its a losing battle folks. The only reason I like Linux is because it pushs Microsoft to come out with better stuff.
January 25th, 2007
@MadClown, For myself, I was trying to be brief when I said that there is an “opening”. You’re correct in many respects. (OpenOffice is here already.) Linux is not about to have a break out on the desktop and have a big jump in marketshare. That may take a very long time, or may never happen at all. At the same time, Linux and FreeBSD are used widely in business (largely as servers) and neither of them is going away in spite of their microscopic market share in the desktop/home user space.
But, many of the things I dislike about M$ OS’s are as bad or worse in V1sta. So, I conclude other people may agree and finally be fed-up and try an alternative. This should mean accelerated growth for the alternatives — though still relatively modest. That’s what I mean by “opening.”
July 5th, 2007
My wife and I are fairly computer savy….but…each time that we have installed some flavor of Linux, it didn’t support half of the hardware no matter which machine we tried. One machine didn’t even light up the monitor even though it carried a popular mid-range graphics card. On one machine, Linux did’t support the USB mouse, on another, it did.
Some installations required knowing cryptic DOS-like commands plus completely foreign nomenclature of the machines hardware requiring the purchase of a ‘rosette stone’ for idiots in order to even understand the install directions.
Once Linux was installed, one became limited in what can be done because of the limited types of software available. Unless one is doing word processing or surfing the ‘net, one is stuck using someone’s beta software which usually displays a message to contact some author or organization when the program hits a glitch. Then one finds that this particular program is not being supported any longer and please download and install the replacement version which, by the way, does not work with the saved data of the previous version. This is from personal experience.
Linux and it’s many derivatives are very fast and relatively stable once one gets it installed. If it was aimed for use by the general public instead of computer gurus and elitists, it could and should take Microsoft down a couple of notches. One should not have to be a programmer or an IT expert to use an operating system. Even with the junk that Microsoft spits out, most anyone can use the OS, install new programs and features, by reading common language help files, be able to solve most problems on one’s own. My 15 year old daughter who is not too computer savi is able to navigate and take care of minor problems with Windows. When all the Linux gets to this point….You will see Linux everywhere….
July 12th, 2007
@MadClown
I have a feeling the glare from Balmer’s head has possibly blinded of the truth.
Pick up any distro that makes use of the Synaptic package manager and you’ll find you can install thousands of OSS equivalents to commercial software with one click; hell, Ubuntu takes 5 clicks a few keystrokes to install.
Major distribution is no longer a problem (my Ubuntu-loaded Dell is on it’s way home to me now) and I’m sure when it gets there, it will be right at home sitting next to my other Ubuntu-loaded Dell that’s about a year older. The only hardware problem I’ve seen in months with the 15 or so folks I’ve demonstrated the black and white bird to have been problems with wireless cards. Everything else works like a champ. My 15 year old sister uses Linux and as much as I love her, she doesn’t exactly build rockets in her spare time. Same situation with my parents.
Give Tux a try, use Ubuntu 7.04, and if you run into any snags the community is always right here, waiting to help you out.
Peace
July 23rd, 2007
—>mcphargus:
I notice that you mentioned Dell computer that comes loaded with Ubuntu. I would think that Dell would assemble a machine that was optimized for Linux. It is good that you don’t have problems. people do use their computers for things other than word processing, urfing the ‘net, and a spread sheet.
My daughter uses her computer for multi-media, ie, video, audio, cutting , pasting, titling, fade in and out, audio/video syncing, etc, etc. While Linux can do some of these things, it is limited by available software to handle many of these various tasks.
I do 3, 4, and 5 axis CNC machining. While there are programs available for Linux that can control the CNC machine, an old Dos controlled 286 PC can handle that chore with less headaches.
There isn’t much available under Linux for designing the 3D parts or plotting the various cutting paths of those 3D parts. The programs that are out there that can handle these items are usually prepriatory and/or cost thousands more than M$ based programs.
I have Ubantu 7.04 and you are correct in that it finally can be installed easily… but, it still didn’t recognize some of the hardware bits on three of our machines and it dropped to lowest rez on one of the video cards. The card company does not support Linux so it’s either buy a card to fit Linux or run the machine in 320 resolution from now on.
I cannot see building a machine or buying a pre-setup Linux machine that cannot, at least at the present time, handle as many different tasks as my old Atari ST can. Running a Linux machine just for bragging rights is either being elitist or childish….
Again, as soon as Linux programs begin covering a greater spectrum of uses, it can be a strong contender and probable put M$ in it’s place. I hope it does but until then, we commoners will have to use the tools that work…