UK Which? magazine's thoughts on Linux

[buzzingrobot]

I'm thinking of something that actually replaces the existing Windows setup, or creates a dual-boot setup, and then allows that to be reversed, with the Windows installation restored to its previous state and the Linux install removed. One piece of it would have to be a Windows app, and the app that would handle the reversal would need to be a Linux app. Obviously, the existing Wndows install would have to be preserved someplace, either in surplus space on that sytem or elsewhere. (The intent of the rollback capability is to induce trying real Linux without fear of losing Windows if you don't like it.)

LIke I said, I don't have a clue how to do it. I'm just convinced that Linux needs a way to enable people to move an existing Windows machine to Linux without exposing anything at all about partitions, bootloaders, drives, etc. Windows has that because it's preinstalled. Linux won't be preinstalled, so we need to look at something else.

[Mike_Walsh]

A larger, but still pretty small, percentage are motivated enough, for one reason or another, to make the investment in time and learning to make full-time use of Linux. (Canonical has made great progess in reducing that learning curve once Ubuntu is installed. But, the install obviously remains a hurdle.

I'd definitely class myself among this group. Why? Because I've been playing about with these things since the days of the Commodore 64, the Sinclair ZX81, and the Tandy TRS-80....in other words, practically forever. And in the last couple of years, I've become increasingly interested in the 'techie' side of things...

So with XP becoming EOL back in April (and having a somewhat limited income!), for me it was more-or-less a 'given' that I would sooner or later discover the wonderful world of Linux. I, too, started off with wubi (one of the best ideas I think I've encountered in years), and, after a few days (all right, make that HOURS..!), decided that this was the right direction for me.....

And dived in, head first...!! Best decision I ever made, frankly. (Can't get enough of it...)


Regards,

Mike.

[mastablasta]

I'm thinking of something that actually replaces the existing Windows setup, or creates a dual-boot setup, and then allows that to be reversed, with the Windows installation restored to its previous state and the Linux install removed. One piece of it would have to be a Windows app, and the app that would handle the reversal would need to be a Linux app. Obviously, the existing Wndows install would have to be preserved someplace, either in surplus space on that sytem or elsewhere. (The intent of the rollback capability is to induce trying real Linux without fear of losing Windows if you don't like it.)
.

it's kind of what wubi did. double click on windows file launched the install. it created a max 30 GB virtual disk (see file size limits on NTFS) inside windows partition in a folder on C: where Ubutnu was installed. it then created entry in windows boot menu and upon reboot you chose Ubuntu to boot to it. 30 GB is enough for plenty apps to install and try them out.


if you wanted to remove it you went to windows control center and uninstall it or I think you could find the uninstall file and click that instead. it then removed it from disk.

if you liked ubutnu you could then proceed to full install.

I think wubi still works for windows XP (it works with 12.04 not sure about 14.04). And the blogger could use it if they wanted an easy way to install it and to remove it.

[SeijiSensei]

(I think there has not been any great flood off people of XP since it end-of-life, especially home users.)

I looked at the data reported at w3counter.com, which reports operating system usage based on User-Agent strings. In August of 2013, this was the lineup:

1 	Windows 7 	41.72%
2 	Windows XP 	18.64%
3 	iOS 6 	         8.57%
4 	Mac OS X         6.96%
5 	Windows 8 	5.06%
6 	Windows Vista 	4.31%
7 	Android 4 	3.85%
8 	Linux 	        1.91%
9 	Android 2 	1.33%
10 	iOS 5 	        0.87%

A year later, we have:

1 	Windows 7      39.52%
2 	iOS 7 	       10.44%
3 	Android 4 	9.20%
4 	Windows XP 	8.97%
5 	Mac OS X 	5.96%
6 	Windows 8 	4.69%
7 	Windows 8.1 	4.49%
8 	Windows Vista 	3.89%
9 	Linux           2.03%
10 	Android 	1.29%

Windows XP usage fell by half over the course of the past year. Vista, surprisingly, remained unchanged.

[buzzingrobot]

[QUOTE=SeijiSensei;13133517]

4     Windows XP     8.97%
...

I keep seeing reports of XP usage hovering at 25%, but I like that number better. Tracking User-Agent strings, though, might, I wonder, undercount enterprise users.

[SeijiSensei]

These kinds of statistics depend on which sites are being counted. That's why I always take them with at least a shakerful of salt. However they are probably a decent measure of trends unless the data collection methods have changed in the interim. I'm more impressed with the size of the decline of XP usage than the actual percentages reported.

[matt_symes]

I was very disappointed in the reviews which show just how uninformed the users were on how to use Linux; they all appeared to believe that it would be a straight replacement for XP, and that everything would just continue working exactly as XP had.

That is why i am very choosy about the blogs i read, the podcasts i watch and listen to and the tech websites i visit.

Most of them are either uninformed, misinformed or just plain ****

[buzzingrobot]

That is why i am very choosy about the blogs i read, the podcasts i watch and listen to and the tech websites i visit.

Most of them are either uninformed, misinformed or just plain ****

We should expect people to be ill-informed when they come to Linux. There's nothing in the world of Windows, phones, and tablets that prepares anyone for Linux.

The entry barriers to Linux need to be as low as possible. Expecting people to traverse a learning curve before they attempt to install Linux won't cut it.

While I'm ranting, other things that deter broader consumer acceptance of Linux include: ideological zealotry, the unfortunate and inaccurate characterization of Linux as a platform requiring command line and programming expertise, and Microsoft bashing and disparagement of Windows users. All those factors contribute to a general impression of Linux as a dweebish cult that deliberately cordons itself off from the mainstream.

[mastablasta]

only good solution is preinstalled systems with some sane defaults.

I would use portable virtualbox as a virtualising option in order for them to test the so before install (e.g ship an image where you can just double click and exe to get the live Linux os booted on windows). but this is not for the winxp users I guess.

preinstall or extremely easy (one button) install is what is needed.

I am still in the process deciding which web GUI to use for server. I found osme that are easy to install and understand but each has something missing. something I would expect them to have as a home user...

[buzzingrobot]

Preinstalled is never gonna happen unless the Linux desktop is Android-ized and OEMs decide there's more money there than staying with Windows. Two big hurdles.

System76, etc., are edge cases, not precursors of the future.