Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia) [LWN.net]

Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)

Posted Jan 16, 2007 10:13 UTC (Tue) by frankie (subscriber, #13593) [Link]

> I've used Linux on the desktop for more than 10 years. It's much better than
> before, but I feel that something is missing before Linux really get a
> chance to go above the 3% usage it has had for a year.

I hope that 'something' will miss for ever. What people looks for is a Windows-zation of the Linux desktop. That day, I will switch os.

Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)

Posted Jan 16, 2007 14:23 UTC (Tue) by yodermk (subscriber, #3803) [Link]

Why? Linux is flexible enough to accommodate both a "windows-ized" desktop and whatever power user desktop you use.

Surely getting the masses on a Free system (whatever that system is, but Linux seems the only really credible candidate) would only be a good thing for everyone?

Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)

Posted Jan 16, 2007 17:47 UTC (Tue) by chuck97224 (guest, #40161) [Link]

I think the biggest obstacle to linux desktop adoption by the masses is the CLI. You really can't
install and use linux without at some point, opening a terminal and typing in "cryptic commnads".
Don't get me wrong, I love the CLI. But I have have watched several newbies (my wife and by
brother) give up on linux and go back to windoze in frustration because they couldn't do something
they wanted by just "clicking" like in windoze.

Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)

Posted Jan 16, 2007 19:07 UTC (Tue) by hathawsh (guest, #11289) [Link]

Really? My non-techie wife runs Ubuntu 6.06.1 on her laptop. She never uses the command line, but she never needs it. She uses Gnucash and OpenOffice.org, browses the web, uses email, prints stuff, plays games, and even installs new software using the "Add Applications" feature on the main menu. She has the option of booting to Windows XP instead, but she nearly always chooses Linux because she considers Linux more reliable and safer.

In fact, my brother, his wife, my sister, and my mom all do the same thing. None of them are techies, and all of them are too far away for me to provide much tech support. They have all turned out to be self-sufficient and have learned a lot on their own.

IMHO, everyone who believes Linux is not ready for the desktop should try the same experiment I did, if they have the resources to do so: take a used but relatively new machine, load Ubuntu Dapper on it, and give it to a family member or friend who doesn't have a computer or whose computer is very old. Guide them through the installation of games and a music player. Set up web browsing and email. Then let them dive in on their own. If the experiment is successful, they will happily use the computer often and won't need much help. I've certainly seen the experiment succeed.

Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)

Posted Jan 16, 2007 20:09 UTC (Tue) by macson_g (subscriber, #12717) [Link]

Really. I love the (K)ubuntu's admin tools, they provide user with possibility to do _almost_ everything without touching terminal

I'm using my girlfriend as guinea pig, and she is doing quite well, but still there were times where i had to step in and use shell or edit config file:

1. adding new repositories require shell or editing command line. This is well documented, but still scary. Besides

2. documentation is mostly in english (we ae using polish i18n). The admin tools (kde control center, adept) are ot translated or translated partially with few BROKEN_TRNALATIONs

3. Adding repositories is required to add software like Kadu( gadu-gadu IM cient, must-have here in poland), multimedia codecs, Flash or Sun-Java.

4. Few times I had to use lsof to seek'n'destroy process blocking dvd drive , preventing it from ejecting.

Please don't tell me about using ogg, gnash, Flash-less browsing etc. I have no desire to ignite flamewar. I'm just trying to point that there are still small but important problems that make users like my girlfriend or my sister turn back to Windows(TM)

Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)

Posted Jan 16, 2007 23:08 UTC (Tue) by hathawsh (guest, #11289) [Link]

Well...

#1: Adding repositories isn't an end-user activity, it's administrative. I don't expect desktop users to do much administration. For my family, I enabled the "multiverse" repository, and now they can choose non-free software if they desire. Also, Synaptic does indeed have GUI dialog for selecting or adding new repositories, but I haven't bothered telling anyone about Synaptic, since it's an administrative tool.

#2: I haven't tested languages other than English, although my perception is that i18n is very important to the Ubuntu developers. Sorry you haven't had much luck with your language, but good translation generally must be done by a native speaker of the target language, so please help.

https://translations.launchpad.net/

#3: Not a problem once you've set up her computer.

#4: Yes, occasionally things freeze or crash, but my family has observed much worse breakage on other operating systems, so they're tolerant.

I've given up on the idea that end users should successfully install their own operating system. Even with Ubuntu, you still have to be quite computer literate to succeed in all aspects of installation. The more reasonable goal is usability and maintainability by end users, and I believe Ubuntu meets that goal.

Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)

Posted Jan 18, 2007 10:14 UTC (Thu) by gnb (subscriber, #5132) [Link]

#1 is a fair point for office users, but many or most home users are
their own admins (all the ones who don't have a friend or family member
willing/able to do this for them). That's a lot of people.

Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)

Posted Jan 16, 2007 21:48 UTC (Tue) by AJWM (guest, #15888) [Link]

On the other hand, one of my frustrations with windows is that I can't go into a command prompt and enter a cryptic command or edit a config file to figure out what's going on or just fix something.

(Not quite true -- I do use the CLI on windows for some networking issues, fortunately most of the relevant commands -- ping, ipconfig, tracert, route -- are not far removed from their *nix ancestors -- but regedit is a long way from running vi on a text file.)

Re: CLI

Posted Jan 26, 2007 9:25 UTC (Fri) by ldo (subscriber, #40946) [Link]

I think the biggest obstacle to linux desktop adoption by the masses is the CLI.

Yeah ... and guess what? Microsoft has discovered that having a powerful CLI is a competitive edge after all. Which is why they're developing PowerShell. Which I think is doomed to fail ... but that's another story.

Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)

Posted Jan 16, 2007 19:16 UTC (Tue) by grouch (guest, #27289) [Link]

I've used Linux on the desktop for more than 10 years. It's much better than before, but I feel that something is missing before Linux really get a chance to go above the 3% usage it has had for a year.

What's missing is a level playing field. When the average person can walk into a brick-and-mortar store and find computers sporting multiple operating systems, and be able to choose to mix and match those operating systems, the only things missing will be those which have yet to be created. The monopoly, and its cascading influences on all PC hardware, is still maintained with artificial barriers against ordinary shoppers choosing for themselves.

Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)

Posted Jan 17, 2007 4:44 UTC (Wed) by oblio (guest, #33465) [Link]

You're right, there's a lot of talk about this. It happens every year, "the year of desktop for Linux".

Frankly, I think that it will happen someday, but not quite as everyone sees it, with Linux having the same market share as Windows has today (maybe 90-95%). But I do believe that when it does happen, 10-15% will be more than enough. By that time, the important people (hardware companies, ISV, corporations), will take notice, and it will be more than enough for a pleasurable experience using desktop Linux.

Till then... hang on :)