why Linux users should care [LWN.net]

why Linux users should care

Posted Nov 19, 2008 23:10 UTC (Wed) by rwmj (subscriber, #5474)
In reply to: why Linux users should care by fuhchee
Parent article: MinGW and why Linux users should care

Maybe you could read more of the article. For example:

Bringing open APIs, apps and file formats to Windows users is important: It's important to Windows users because it breaks their lock-in and makes switching to a fully free platform easier down the road. It's important for [Linux developers], because your potential audience of users will increase by a factor of 10x or 20x.

Anything which increases the user and developer base, and brings in future Linux users, is good for Linux users and developers now. If you're a Linux developer forced to write software for Windows it's good too because you don't need to leave the Linux environment to use this cross- compiler.

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why Linux users should care

Posted Nov 20, 2008 0:03 UTC (Thu) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link]

I can imagine it would work for specialized (e.g. scientific) applications, where potential users are experts in the problem area and can express their ideas in writing in a concise way.

As for general purpose applications (e.g. DVD burners, file managers etc), Windows users would probably only drain time of the developers without contributing back ideas and fixes. That could slow down or even halt the development, thus inconveniencing the existing users.

why Linux users should care

Posted Nov 20, 2008 14:09 UTC (Thu) by chsnyder (guest, #52714) [Link]

Yes. Portable software (works the same across all platforms) breaks down barriers to entry for potential Linux users. Firfox, VLC, Thunderbird -- these look and feel the same across all platforms, and it's a HUGE deal.

It means that when a Windows user tries Linux, she can appreciate the performance and usability improvements without having to re-learn how to use her applications. It means that when you leave your Windows computer at work, and fire up your Linux laptop at home, you can use the same apps, the same documents, and even the same preferences.

To put it another way, anything that makes it easier to write portable code makes it more likely to be developed first in Linux, and then ported to other OSes. That is extremely good news for Linux users.