The next five years are decisive for Linux

[Martial-law]

Within a span of a few years Ubuntu has emerged as the undisputed leader of all the Linux distros. There is no better, more polished distro out there than Ubuntu. I am talking for the mainstream distros. Mark Shuttleworth had said that he wants Ubuntu to be an OS in its own right. And with his very strong financial background he is able to get Ubuntu on the top. Debian is becoming the defacto standard and its a matter of time that even Red Hat and SUSE would be based on Debian. Now to talk about the OS world outside the Linux sphere, Ubuntu is set to emerge the third major OS in the world beside Windows and Mac. Windows based on NT, Mac on UNIX and Ubuntu on Linux. No other Linux distro has the financial strength and ability to reach Ubuntu's polished status. If there is even one, name it!!!:popcorn:

[Canis familiaris]

No other Linux distro has the financial strength and ability to reach Ubuntu's polished status. If there is even one, name it!!!:popcorn:
That would be SuSE and Fedora I think. Though I prefer Ubuntu.

[Bungo Pony]

No other Linux distro has the financial strength and ability to reach Ubuntu's polished status. If there is even one, name it!!!

PCLinuxOS. Seriously, I have never worked with a more user-friendly, works out-of-the-box distro.

What Ubuntu has going for it is the financial backing and the support to make it successful. The vast amount of support is the reason why I use it. Oh yeah, and the repos. Those help too.

A fresh Ubuntu install is slowly becoming more of a pain in the butt. My wife is now dual-booting, and it took me a couple of hours to get the Nvidia drivers behaving properly (which was also the case on my PC). The new Pulse Audio default is also a bit of a pain to work with.

But once it works, it's solid as a rock (well, at least Hardy is).

[ooobuntooo]

Ubuntu needs to be shipped with PCs, just like Windows. It's the ONLY way!

[awakatanka]

Opensuse/novell and fedora/redhat are more polished then ubuntu and even mandriva is more polished with there own system tools like yast in opensuse everything within a few clicks.
I think there are more company's using redhat and novell then ubuntu

[Canis familiaris]

I think there are more company's using redhat and novell then ubuntu
Well that is for the server market. Has no consequence for desktops.

[NoSmokingBandit]

PCLinuxOS. Seriously, I have never worked with a more user-friendly, works out-of-the-box distro.


I love PCLOS a lot. The only thing i hate is that the gnome version doesnt like my video card in my laptop (geforce2go(yes, i know its old but every other distro works well on it)) and its RPM-based which just feels weird.

[kirsis]

There is no better, more polished distro out there than Ubuntu. I am talking for the mainstream distros.


I dunno, I think SUSE, Fedora and Mandriva are all pretty easy to use/learn too these days. Ubuntu just has a reputation for being friendly to the indoctrinated :) (maybe deservedly so but I wouldn't say it's exactly leaps and bounds ahead of the other distros, more like just around the corner)


Debian is becoming the defacto standard and its a matter of time that even Red Hat and SUSE would be based on Debian.


I don't see any grounds for a statement like this. Besides, there would be no reason for RH-based distros to change its ways even if their user base was shrinking - it works after all, doesnt it. There'd have to be some very very compelling reason for them to abandon all the time they've invested in their infrastructure.


Now to talk about the OS world outside the Linux sphere, Ubuntu is set to emerge the third major OS in the world beside Windows and Mac.


I doubt Ubuntu (or any distro) would leave other distros way behind in the shadow. Linux distros are pack animals not lone wolves - if Ubuntu got a ton of new users, some of those would trickle on to other distros. Ubuntu should not be singled out from the pack, even if it becomes, technically, the third most used OS.


Windows based on NT, Mac on UNIX and Ubuntu on Linux.

NT and Linux are kernels, UNIX = operating system.
OS X and Linux distros are based on Unix.
Windows isn't based on anything.


No other Linux distro has the financial strength and ability to reach Ubuntu's polished status. If there is even one, name it!!!:popcorn:

Everything's free and open source :) Every Debian based distro can benefit from Ubuntu polish (non-Debian distros too, to a lesser extent)

[koenn]

The next five years are decisive for Linux
in IT, speculation that project more than 6 months into the future, are almost always proven wrong.

I've been hearing that "now is the year of Linux on the desktop" since 1998.


Debian is becoming the defacto standard and its a matter of time that even Red Hat and SUSE would be based on Debian.
Debian is a community distro and doesn't offer service level agreements. RedHat and Suse control the corporate landscape because they offer service contracts (and certification for 3th party software), besides producing quality distros.
Even if they'd consider using Debian as a base (and throw away 15 years of in-house expertise), it would take years for them to migrate their own infrastructure, certified 3th party software, and all of their customers to a new platform.

QUOTE]Now to talk about the OS world outside the Linux sphere, Ubuntu is set to emerge the third major OS in the world beside Windows and Mac.[/QUOTE]
Third after Mac, which has, what? 5% market share ?


No other Linux distro has the financial strength and ability to reach Ubuntu's polished status. If there is even one, name it
Ubuntu was first released october 2004, that's less than 4 years ago. Who's to say that there isn't going to be yet another new kid on the block (or even an old kid with a new elan) between now and five years from now ?


your fanboyism is clouding your judgement. :-)

[ooobuntooo]

I love PCLOS a lot. The only thing i hate is that the gnome version doesnt like my video card in my laptop (geforce2go(yes, i know its old but every other distro works well on it)) and its RPM-based which just feels weird.

PCLinuxOS cannot be taken seriously as a mainstream os being shipped with PCs.It's most recent theme is a rip of vista. I mean, seriously?!

Ubuntu is the way forward! Endorsed by a South African Astronaut Millionaire!

[cookieofdoom]

I think if someone puts together a good Arch KDEmod distro it's got a pretty good shot.

[swoll1980]

PCLinuxOS cannot be taken seriously as a mainstream os being shipped with PCs.It's most recent theme is a rip of vista. I mean, seriously?!

Ubuntu is the way forward! Endorsed by a South African Astronaut Millionaire!

PCLinux is a distro? I thought it was a really old outdated release of Mandriva

[swoll1980]

I think if someone puts together a good Arch KDEmod distro it's got a pretty good shot.

A good shot at what?

[JerecDrak2]

Never mind the next 5 years, the next 2 will be interesting to watch. The release of Windows 7 will show everyone whether Microsoft has truly dropped the ball for good. I think it will be harder to attract people to Linux with bling though, I'm sure Microsoft will be taking full advantage of their Windows Presentation Foundation in their next release - and I'm not sure Linux will be able to keep up with regards to visual fidelity. Unless the X developers start managing to stay on schedule and the GTK+ toolkit gets integrated with Clutter sooner rather than later so that app developers can give their UIs a refresh I can't see Linux keeping up.

Just noticed that turned into a bit of a rant, hehe, sorry! I think Linux will manage to keep up (or catch up - Linux Audio I'm looking at you) in the next 5 years, whatever happens I'm sure it will be an interesting ride, and I look forward to the competition between Windows 7, Apple OS X and Linux:guitar:

[Daveski]

NT and Linux are kernels, UNIX = operating system.
OS X and Linux distros are based on Unix.
Windows isn't based on anything.

Windows is based on OS/2 and DOS :)

[Dremora]

Within a span of a few years Ubuntu has emerged as the undisputed leader of all the Linux distros. There is no better, more polished distro out there than Ubuntu. I am talking for the mainstream distros. Mark Shuttleworth had said that he wants Ubuntu to be an OS in its own right. And with his very strong financial background he is able to get Ubuntu on the top. Debian is becoming the defacto standard and its a matter of time that even Red Hat and SUSE would be based on Debian. Now to talk about the OS world outside the Linux sphere, Ubuntu is set to emerge the third major OS in the world beside Windows and Mac. Windows based on NT, Mac on UNIX and Ubuntu on Linux. No other Linux distro has the financial strength and ability to reach Ubuntu's polished status. If there is even one, name it!!!:popcorn:

Linux users still don't even amount to 1% of desktop users, and Ubuntu is maybe a tenths of that.

No matter how you slice and dice, any Linux distribution is an ant in a sandbox of giants.

Apathy to Linux on the part of developers isn't helping, and any time one does bother (Adobe, Transgaming....), they get boo hissed.

[kirsis]

Windows is based on OS/2 and DOS :)

Initial Windows versions were based on DOS, yeah. They basically were DOS with a graphical shell on top. However NT and subsequent releases have little to do with DOS.

As for OS/2, it was a based on DOS itself, so DOS and the pre-NT Windows versions were certainly not based on it.

[Chessmaster]

If Ubuntu can get into schools as well as getting governments to use it then we will see a major shift. How much do governments pay for Microsoft Licensing in their offices and educational institutions? Loads I suspect.

Governments are starting to realise that they can use Linux distros for comparatively free, and if more cotton on to that fact then we might see some major changes as workers and students get used to using something that isn't Windows.

Microsoft will resist though. A few years back, here in New Zealand, Microsoft got all pissed off when some schools wanted to bring in some Macs. If I remember correctly Microsoft made threats and stomped their feet but the Department of Education didn't back down.

Anyway, need to get the next generation to realise there are alternatives to Windows. Which means getting more Games linux compatible.

[wirepuller134]

We believe in giving back to the community we live. Every year we used to build and donate computers to the local schools. We would go as far as buying a multi user license for office so fourth for all of the computers. The city we presently live in declined this years batch, so we took the batch down to good will, and are stopping a tradition. The reason given...they have a contract with Microsoft in the district. The sad part is they could really really use the computers. This years computers were set up with Linux, so we tried.

We actually looked at Ubuntu simply because we liked the story behind it, and are very appreciative of the work that goes into it.

[Chessmaster]

We believe in giving back to the community we live. Every year we used to build and donate computers to the local schools. We would go as far as buying a multi user license for office so fourth for all of the computers. The city we presently live in declined this years batch, so we took the batch down to good will, and are stopping a tradition. The reason given...they have a contract with Microsoft in the district. The sad part is they could really really use the computers. This years computers were set up with Linux, so we tried.

We actually looked at Ubuntu simply because we liked the story behind it, and are very appreciative of the work that goes into it.

That really sucks. I wonder how many government agencies around the world don't realise that they could save loads of money in going the way of Linux.

Problem is, I know lots of computer literate people who think that Linux is only for computer experts. They think it sounds cool but are scared of it. Indeed, some of them even seem to think that I am a computer expert just because I use Ubuntu - and I am very very far from any like an expert. The only way that this perception will change is by changing the mindset of the next generation.

[nothingspecial]

Problem is, I know lots of computer literate people who think that Linux is only for computer experts. They think it sounds cool but are scared of it. Indeed, some of them even seem to think that I am a computer expert just because I use Ubuntu - and I am very very far from any like an expert. The only way that this perception will change is by changing the mindset of the next generation.

I agree, I`ve been using a computer for 9 months. Never saw the need for one before and although I think I`ve taken to it pretty well, people who`ve been using them for years think I`m some kind of expert. Thing is, I`ve never used windows or mac so I can`t help any of them.

I bought a vista laptop 6 months or so ago and installed Ubuntu over it `cause thats what I was used to but I guess the opposite is true for 99% of people. Why learn something new if what you`ve got works?

I can imagine posting on an absolute beginners windows forum something like -
Hi, total nooob here
How do install gnome-do?
Will compiz still work?
Will I still be able to access my files from windows?

I`ve got nothing against any os, I just like that my computer works.

If windows and mac work for people why should they change. I booted up that laptop and frankly couldn`t be bothered to find out how windows works. I do believe though that given a pre installed ubuntu computer, any kid in the world would be using it as easily (if not more, due to the forums) than any other os.

[Daveski]

Initial Windows versions were based on DOS, yeah. They basically were DOS with a graphical shell on top. However NT and subsequent releases have little to do with DOS.

Aside from the fact that >NT now have to 'emulate' DOS.


As for OS/2, it was a based on DOS itself, so DOS and the pre-NT Windows versions were certainly not based on it.

Windows and OS/2 shared quite a lot of code initially. My comments were just for fun though...

[kirsis]

My comments were just for fun though...

Sorry if I seemed arrogant. I just sometimes like to argue about the details, is all ;)

[Daveski]

No problem.

[karellen]

There is no better, more polished distro out there than Ubuntu. I am talking for the mainstream distros.

this is a very hazardous statement. maybe it's your own point of view, but I find Mandriva and openSuse to be more polished (and user friendly) than Ubuntu

[ooobuntooo]

Linux has to be made to fit the needs of Joe Consumer, not Joe Linuxnerd!