LINUX desktop ready to take off...

[derjames]

Hi there,

LINUX desktop to take off, I did find this at news.com.com, it´s quite interesting though...

http://news.com.com/Novell+Linux+desktop+set+to+take+off/2100-7344_3-6059461.html?tag=nefd.top

cheers

[junior aspirin]

i dont see it hapenning. someone says this every year. its slowly becoming more popular, but it will remain in the minority for a while yet im my opinon.

until hardware and software manufactures take notice and support linux i cant see it going anywhere quickly. all this has been said before, but this is what is holding linux back, plus the main producers of prebuilt pc's only ship with windows.

[aysiu]

plus the main producers of prebuilt pc's only ship with windows. Only once this bug gets sorted will the Linux desktop really take off.

[prizrak]

Only once this bug gets sorted will the Linux desktop really take off.
Yes and no. The path to home desktop dominance is through business desktop dominance. People are gonna use Windows at home as long as they have it at work, very few want to deal with two different systems (no matter how similar they are) at home and work. Some people have to use Windows (such as my father) to do work related things like telecomute (I remember you mentioning your own VPN woes) or use a Windows only piece of software. If one's organization uses Linux one will want it on one's home desktop to eliminate unnecessary complications. I also think that organizational adoption will drive OEM's to at least offer two choices (some do now but they hide it).

[NeghVar]

Chicken or the egg? The question is: will major companies shipping Linux preinstalled make software vendors make Linux products OR will software companies making Linux software push hardware vendors towards selling Linux.

If I'm a hardware vendor and I look at Windows or Linux, I say I can save more/make more with Linux BUT software is all for Windows so people likely won't like that.

Similarly if I'm a software vendor and I look at the situation and see the potential for Linux income the question becomes, do I spend the resources to develop/port products to Linux with so few users currently available compared to Windows.

The real answer is going to be one of a few things:

1) Some crazy name brand software/hardware vendor puts REAL support behind linux and forces the rest of the industry to get moving.

2) A couple software vendors and hardware vendors will team up and work together to put REAL support into Linux.

Either way when I say major companies I'm talking people like Adobe with Photoshop (Gimp lover whine all you want but the fact remains that the most requested application is Photoshop) and with Hardware vendors, companies like Dell and HP (note I hate both of these companies, I prefer to build my own)

Of course there are a few other possibilites but those are the ones that came to mind quickly.

[Kindred]

](*,)

[briancurtin]

news.com.com says so, so i guess that means its really ready.

[helpme]

i dont see it hapenning. someone says this every year. its slowly becoming more popular, but it will remain in the minority for a while yet im my opinon.
Of course it will stay in the minority for a while. Nobody claimed it would now magically take >50% of the desktop market, least of all Novell. The point Novell is trying to make that Linux, or rather their upcoming offering, is ready and will be making inroads in the following markets:


First are large corporate users with employees who don't need full-featured PCs but rather just basic software such as a Web browser. Second are small business owners who see the savings from Windows license fees going straight to their own wallets. Third are residents of Brazil, Russia, India and China--the so-called BRIC countries--who are price-sensitive and who haven't already made a big investment in Windows, he said. China in particular is interesting because of pressure to curtail Windows piracy, Hovsepian said.

[Sushi]

As Aaron J. Seigo said: There will be NO "year of the Linux-desktop", when we will suddenly have everyone switching to Linux. What we will have is gradual migration to Linux.

It's actually quite interesting to see. I started using Linux around 1998-1999. And there were lots of complaints about Linux back then. Usually installing Linux was just too hard. Well, that problem has been fixed long ago. Then we had complaints that Linux doesn't have decent GUI. KDE and GNOME fixed that. Then we had complaints that it's too hard to install apps/hardware. Well, that has been solved a while ago. And hardware seems to "Just work" these days. Then we had complaints that Linux lacks the apps. And that is being fixed as we speak. We now have photo-management-apps, music-jukeboxes, paint-programs, word-processors etc. etc. And they are not crappy apps, they are kick-*** apps.

It seems to me that the problems people have had with Linux are being fixed one by one. And while they are being fixed, more and more people will gradually move to Linux. When all the major pieces are there (we are just about there), we will have faster transition, but no "year of the Linux desktop". What issues still remain? Well, games is one. And pre-installed Linux-machines from major OEM is another. Either one of those will make the transition a lot faster.

I wouldn't be one bit surprised if Linux had 10% market-share in 2010.

[RaptorRaider]

As Aaron J. Seigo said: There will be NO "year of the Linux-desktop", when we will suddenly have everyone switching to Linux. What we will have is gradual migration to Linux.
I think the year companies like Dell start shipping their low end PC's with Linux and a decent discount compared to Windows, could be a year when the migration goes relatively fast. And if Novell's executives are capable of negotiating like Microsoft has done in the past, I can see SLED 10 make that migration happen in the next 12-18 months.

Also, I think some may be underestimating the potential an operating system like Dapper has; free (as in beer and as in speech), free support for 18 months and in many ways more advanced than Windows XP.

[LMP900]

Until people are more informed (or care to be informed) I don't see a huge migration. Like Sushi said, everything will be gradual.

I know a lot of people that don't even know anything other than Windows exist... nor do they even care. They look for price, specs, and features, the OS is just an afterthought for many of them. I once told someone that I was getting a Mac and was telling him about its features. He quickly asked me why and told me that "XP was awesome" and was already "packed with features." I like XP, but I'm glad I looked elsewhere!

They really need a huge marketing blitz if they want people to start caring. Most people hate change. As long as their current setup works for them, they don't see a reason to look elsewhere. I'm fine with that though. If someone shows interest in my Mac or Ubuntu desktop, I'll boast about its features, but I'll rarely go out and try to convert others. If their content with what they've got, then so be it.

[Kerberos]

http://members.aol.com/AardTiger/kitecd/images/pengstand.jpg

;)

[aysiu]

Year of the Linux Desktop is about as meaningless a phrase as ready for the desktop.

[m.musashi]

I think the year companies like Dell start shipping their low end PC's with Linux and a decent discount compared to Windows, could be a year when the migration goes relatively fast. And if Novell's executives are capable of negotiating like Microsoft has done in the past, I can see SLED 10 make that migration happen in the next 12-18 months.

Also, I think some may be underestimating the potential an operating system like Dapper has; free (as in beer and as in speech), free support for 18 months and in many ways more advanced than Windows XP.
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/e510_nseries?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

Yes, Linux isn't pre-installed and these aren't totally a bargin but it's a start.