"Has Linux just lost the best chance it had to break into the mainstream desktop"?

[ursaminor]

A recent article about Linux' failure to expand into Windows market.

http://www.itpro.co.uk/610574/can-li...-netbooks-back

[CharmyBee]

TV ad campaigns can help. The question is who has the deep pockets for that (major network station advertising is a very expensive matter), and who would be a presentable pitchman.
The best of that i've recall seeing was the occasional Tux face in IBM enterprise ads from 2001-2005.

[lvleph]

That is funny, because a netbook is not a mainstream desktop. Wasn't distros like GOS suppose to be for netbooks?

[logos34]

TV ad campaigns can help.

yep. Much as I hate advertising, that and mag ads would do wonders to generate a buzz, probably increasing linux migration exponentially.

Surely there exists SOME consortium of interests (spearheaded by FSF?) that could provide the cash for such an initiative (a kind of MOVEON.org for the software world!)

[texashiker]

It was sometime around the year 2003, I was talking with a Dell support tech about Linux. There were rumors going around that Dell was going to offer a Linux desktop and laptop. At that time it was supposed to be Red Hat.

The dell tech told me that the company had hired the tech support people, engineers, developers - everything Dell needed to provide quality product and support.

Well, when the people over at microsoft heard about what the people at Dell were doing; the microsoft employees said something along the line of "If Dell offers a Linux product, they will never sell another microsoft product ever again."

At that time the entire Linux project was trashed and everyone that was hired just for Linux was layed off.

This is from the linked article in the first post

Offer any manufacturer a legitimate way around that and they’re likely to be interested. This, surely, was Linux’s big chance.

Of course they would be interested. But not enough to make the people at microsoft mad at them.

Ever since microsoft opened, they have practiced predatory capitalism. Meaning, their only goal is to drive the competition out of business by any means possible. Whether this is through lawsuits, stealing other companies ideas, or strong arming resellers to only offer microsoft products - it does not matter.

As long as manufacturers and resellers bow before the power of microsoft, linux will never break into the main stream market.

Just take a look at the public school system. Untold millions in tax dollars could be saved by using Linux instead of microsoft. But the schools will not switch - and there is a reason for that.

[Therion]

Ever since microsoft opened, they have practiced predatory capitalism. Meaning, their only goal is to drive the competition out of business by any means possible. Whether this is through lawsuits, stealing other companies ideas, or strong arming resellers to only offer microsoft products - it does not matter.

Much like the Terminator Microsoft "...doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear... And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead" and only then because, at that point, you are no longer in their target demographic. At least, I don't think so. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised to see MS "marketing" the dead...

As long as manufacturers and resellers bow before the power of microsoft, linux will never break into the main stream market.

To their credit, I think resellers would be happy to carry any product that moves. MS, however, makes certain that, as a retailer, the only product on the shelf you wish to carry is their own. ANY time a single product has the market saturation that Windows does, there's more going on than market-share by popular demand.

[bakedbeans4life]

It was sometime around the year 2003, I was talking with a Dell support tech about Linux. There were rumors going around that Dell was going to offer a Linux desktop and laptop. At that time it was supposed to be Red Hat.

The dell tech told me that the company had hired the tech support people, engineers, developers - everything Dell needed to provide quality product and support.

Well, when the people over at microsoft heard about what the people at Dell were doing; the microsoft employees said something along the line of "If Dell offers a Linux product, they will never sell another microsoft product ever again."

At that time the entire Linux project was trashed and everyone that was hired just for Linux was layed off.

This is from the linked article in the first post



Of course they would be interested. But not enough to make the people at microsoft mad at them.

Ever since microsoft opened, they have practiced predatory capitalism. Meaning, their only goal is to drive the competition out of business by any means possible. Whether this is through lawsuits, stealing other companies ideas, or strong arming resellers to only offer microsoft products - it does not matter.

As long as manufacturers and resellers bow before the power of microsoft, linux will never break into the main stream market.

Just take a look at the public school system. Untold millions in tax dollars could be saved by using Linux instead of microsoft. But the schools will not switch - and there is a reason for that.

You are speaking on the unofficial "Microsoft Appreciation Society" forum. Reality has no bearing on what is said here. Now go wash your mouth out with soap for uttering such profanities.

[abyssius]

It's not too late if consenus can be achieved within the Linux community. However, the first requirement is that a single Linux Distro becomes preeminent. This is mandatory in order to apply the branding needed to compete effecteively with the entrenched leaders, MS and MAC. I would nominate Ubuntu for this. (a) Ubuntu is the most widely used distro, which attracts more Windows "defectors" and first-time users than any other distro. (b) Industry-prominent hardware vendors like Dell and Asus already offer Ubuntu-based systems. (c) Ubuntu has already established the Linux "brand." It attracts the most "press" of any distro. This is a crucial factor for increasing market share. (d) Ubuntu has the best support organization in place of any distro. This forum is living proof of this.

If we can get past all these points, then the next step is to implement a profitable business model for corporate and individual end-users. Unlike MS, the profits can't come from software. However, like Apple, a business case can be built for selling Ubuntu-branded and certified Computers/Hardware. A feasible profit model makes investment in mainstream advertising more likely - "The Ubuntu Guy/Girl"(?).


The article mentions "command line" as being a 'turn-off". However, a good marketer can push CLI as a "secret weapon" (which it truly is).

Of course, this is a pipe dream. There'll never be such a consensus in the Linux user base, and with so many flavors out there, any single brand is automatically diluted. If the average 'mainstream' computer user is faced with having to choose between 100 different Operating Systems, they will very likely resort to the old 'stand-by'. Because of this, the entrenched leaders can continue winning simply by "divide and conquer."

[texashiker]

MANY time a single product has the market saturation that Windows does, there's more going on than market-share by popular demand.

Any time a single company has control over a market - that is called a monopoly. I'am waiting for someone like the European courts to break MS up into little small pieces. When that happens, the world is going to be a better place.

It seems like every so many years a distribution of Linux comes along that shakes things up. 10 years ago it was Red Hat, then it was Mandrake, then Red Hat again, <insert a few other names here> and now its ubuntu.

Linux will always be around and hot on the tail of microsoft. Its going to take someone like wal-mart, dell, sony, or HP to stand up and say no more. And then we might finally have an option for a main stream Linux desktop or laptop.

Please note that my story about Dell and linux did not relate to the Dell server product line - only the desktop and laptops.

[abyssius]

Please note that my story about Dell and linux did not relate to the Dell server product line - only the desktop and laptops.

What about these desktops and laptops?
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/s...256,2510837211