Straight from the horse's mouth: no demand for desktop Linux

[kamaboko]

"Linux is ready for the desktop, but desktop users aren't quite ready for Linux. That's the message we got last week from Red Hat and Novell, both of which say that they are focused on the enterprise space and have no plans to expand their desktop offerings in the general consumer market. The problem, they say, is lack of demand."

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080420-red-hat-novell-desktop-linux-ready-for-workplace-not-home.html

One more link:

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Red_Hat_Drops_Consumer_Desktop_Linux_Plans_Du e_To_Market_Monopoly_16611.html

[wannadumpwindows]

That tells me that there's ground to be gained by some other distro. Ubuntu takes over the desktop world perhaps?:)

[SunnyRabbiera]

I am wondering if this means Redfhat is also selling out to MS....
the only one left of the major desktop linux supports would be left is debian.

[Kvark]

I suspect the real reason is that enterprises are more profitable than home users so the best profit is gained by focusing on the workstation and server markets. Enterprises pay for support but home users either figure it out themselves, ask their geek friend or turn to a free support forum. It takes a philanthropist who is willing to send CDs to home users for free to provide Linux for the desktop.

[jespdj]

Red Hat is only interested in Enterprise Linux, because they can earn money with that.

See this thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=761372). Mark Shuttleworth doesn't seem to agree with Red Hat and Novell.

[drascus]

wow so what. Who cares what they say. What novell and Redhat run the whole world now? They are just defeatists thats all. that would be like Ford saying "well there is no demand for cars in the consumer market I just will give up on developing cars." There has go to be a product available for people to test and use to discover that they might want to use it.

[geoken]

OP, can you please read the article over again? Red Hat didn't say there's no demand for desktop linux. They said there's little demand to pay for desktop linux. There is a huge difference there.

[Jackster]

I kinda have to agree with that article. Even though Linux is probably just about ready for the desktop, I've yet to hear anyone say to me "You know what Jack? I really fancy putting Linux on my computer".

It's up to the likes of us to get it on peoples' computers when Windows breaks.

[original_jamingrit]

Aw, where's the love? Red Hat's already done a lot for linux, desktop and otherwise. And Novell, well, is Novell. Just because they are focusing in other areas doesn't mean they're giving up; they're businesses and it's not in their best interests to do something that will lose them money in unsold merchandise, idle tech support, etc;.

Their spiritual withdrawal from the desktop OS race does nothing but emphasize the importance of Ubuntu.

[geoken]

Their spiritual withdrawal from the desktop OS race does nothing but emphasize the importance of Ubuntu.

I would go further and say it's great distros like Ubuntu who have contributed to this. The need to pay for a polished, tested, supported distro is lessening as the community distros are maturing.

[forrestcupp]

Novell and Red Hat are in the business of making money. If they realize they can't make money off of a desktop version of their OS, there's nothing wrong with their not putting effort in making a retail desktop version.

Anyway, last I knew, Red Hat was the power behind Fedora and Novell is the power behind OpenSUSE. So it's not like they're forsaking the desktop. To me, it's better that they're supporting free distros rather than making commercial ones.

[phrostbyte]

I don't think there is a demand for Linux on the desktop with regards to corporations. Most of them are content with Windows XP. I think this will change though, but the rate of change depends somewhat on how good Windows 7 will be.

[ibutho]

I agree with the article. How many people here have actually paid for their copy of their favourite distro or bought support and other services from the distro maintainer? I bet its only a few. For the likes of Red Hat who are supposed to be making money for their share holders, it doesn't make sense for them to focus in an area where little money is to be made.

It also seems like some people are misinterpreting what the articles says. They have not said that they are giving up on the desktop. They are just focusing their efforts on the business and enterprise markets where there is a demand and where they make the most money. Even Canonical is trying to get its foot hold in the business and enterprise markets because they don't make much money from desktop users.

[troymcdavis]

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