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Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H)Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H)Posted Mar 6, 2013 2:59 UTC (Wed) by mmcgrath (subscriber, #44906)In reply to: Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H) by mmarq Parent article: Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H)
> big pile of Bull...
Sorry mmarq, that 1% isn't mantra, it's just math. You've fallen into the "I wish it weren't this way" trap. I used to be right there with you. If you actually click through the link I referenced, that wasn't a paid software statistic.
The problem isn't the hardware vendors. They don't want to offer Linux because people don't want to buy it for their desktops. Lets be real and look at it another way.
If we charged for Linux desktops what Apple charges for OSX, few would buy it. If OSX were free (in every way) few would use the Linux desktop. It's not enough to be free anymore. It also has to be as good if not better.
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Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H) Posted Mar 6, 2013 7:49 UTC (Wed) by niner (subscriber, #26151) [Link]
The 1 % comes from website statistics that seem to be centered on the USA. The linked Wikipedia article cites statistics varying between about 0.9 and 1.9 %. A recent statistic from Valve's Steam on the other hand already shows Linux as having 2 % market share. And that's with Steam for Linux being released only for a couple of weeks and with Ubuntu still the only officially supported distribution.
In other words: it's really, really hard to find some correct number here.
Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H) Posted Mar 6, 2013 16:43 UTC (Wed) by mmcgrath (subscriber, #44906) [Link]
> In other words: it's really, really hard to find some correct number here.
If the highest numbers you could find were 2% of PC video gamers then lets go with 2%. My point still stands. We give the Linux desktop away, there's 98% of people out there that would prefer to pay for an alternative.
Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H) Posted Mar 6, 2013 20:35 UTC (Wed) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
no, it's that they pay for the alternative when they purchase their computer and don't see it worth their time to switch from the vendor 'supported' OS to Linux, let alone go through the hassle of trying to get some money back for the OS that was bundled with their hardware.
That's very different from saying that they would rather pay for an alternative.
Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H) Posted Mar 7, 2013 10:29 UTC (Thu) by dgm (subscriber, #49227) [Link]
> no, it's that they pay for the alternative when they purchase their computer and don't see it worth their time to switch from the vendor 'supported' OS to Linux, let alone go through the hassle of trying to get some money back for the OS that was bundled with their hardware.
It's still a bit more confusing. _Users_ do not pay for the OS that comes with their computers, OEMs do. And for them, Windows + crapware pre-installed has actually _negative_ price, that is, they get money for that. Free is not cheap enough to compete. Someday someone verify if this common practice is completely legal, and in the best interest of consumers.
Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H) Posted Mar 7, 2013 11:15 UTC (Thu) by hummassa (subscriber, #307) [Link]
> Someday someone verify if this common practice is completely legal, and in the best interest of consumers.
I have no doubt that the mentioned practice is completely legal in most jurisdictions around the world (*). But I also have no doubt that it is *not* in the best interest of consumers.
(*) modulo the cases where the crapware is also malware, or is (possibly unintentionally) infected with malware.
Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H) Posted Mar 6, 2013 8:40 UTC (Wed) by anselm (subscriber, #2796) [Link] [The hardware vendors] don't want to offer Linux because people don't want to buy it for their desktops. Also (and mostly) because Microsoft will come down on them like a ton of bricks if they do. Since most of their business is selling Windows machines, losing that nice discount on Windows would be tough on them. Hardware vendors live by selling hardware, and if Microsoft didn't essentially pay them to push Windows they couldn't care less which OS went on their computers – they would happily sell you CP/M if it helped them move more boxes. Besides, the kickbacks from pre-installing junk software on top of Windows are nice if you're a hardware vendor. If OSX were free (in every way) few would use the Linux desktop. It's not enough to be free anymore. It also has to be as good if not better. The important point to remember here is that Apple is a hardware vendor. They're doing OS X not because they are in the business of making operating systems; they're doing OS X because it helps them shift boxes at higher margins than if they were Dell or HP. They didn't want others to sell computers based on Mac OS even way back when it sucked rocks, since what they really want is for people to buy Apple hardware. (In any event, Apple's main business these days is selling lifestyle gadgets rather than computers. They could stop making computers tomorrow and would still be highly profitable.) There are people who will put Linux (or Windows) on their Apple computers because the computers are really rather nice if somewhat expensive. These people are not necessarily masochists. If OS X was clearly that much better in every respect than the other operating systems then that wouldn't ever happen.
Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H) Posted Mar 6, 2013 21:54 UTC (Wed) by mmarq (guest, #2332) [Link]
>Also (and mostly) because Microsoft will come down on them like a ton of bricks if they do. Since most of their business is selling Windows machines, losing that nice discount on Windows would be tough on them. Hardware vendors live by selling hardware, and if Microsoft didn't essentially pay them to push Windows they couldn't care less which OS went on their computers – they would happily sell you CP/M if it helped them move more boxes. Besides, the kickbacks from pre-installing junk software on top of Windows are nice if you're a hardware vendor.
Yes the big "institutional" vendors, Dell, HP etc... might be exactly like that, like an implicit blackmail threat, comply and have bonus or else...
But what about letting the "potential" Stormy Peters do it lol (just an example with a picked name, nothing relevant or personal) http://lwn.net/Articles/541625/ ... i mean there can be many "local" smaller vendors in a model similar to the traditional white box model, but attaching themselves and their clients to a model resembling Android, with free and non-free (per say), paying or freeware "appstore"...
The main distros are only a repository / appstore, the local and other customizations is up to those small vendors that can derive a good business out of the hardware selling (and customization that could surpass windoze by miles, or any attempt to emulate by any distro-> simply because one size can't fit all).
This will break the Redmond barrier i'm sure.
Canonical reveals plans to launch Mir display server (The H) Posted Mar 6, 2013 17:47 UTC (Wed) by mmarq (guest, #2332) [Link]
>Sorry mmarq, that 1% isn't mantra, it's just math. You've fallen into the "I wish it weren't this way" trap. I used to be right there with you. If you actually click through the link I referenced, that wasn't a paid software statistic.
No, is a mantra, bare with me lol...There is the small lies, there is the big lies, then there is the statistics...
Sponsor me good(don't have to pay directly), and i can arrange you a statistics in any line you like.
How many Linux systems are behind good NAT firewalls ? .. how many Joes do double boot ?... how many downloads serve to install in a plurality of machines ?
No Linux is very far from the top preference on the traditional Desktop systems... i can easily agree ~10%, and this without a clear view into many countries where Linux is much more popular, like Brazil and China. Perhaps ~1% ( even so i doubt) is in the USA, but the USA stopped from being the reference for many innovations now...
Now if you count the client side including systems from smartphones to tablet (where Android is the top reference)... up to the desktop... then those 10% might get a several times (x) boost...
In any case what is the importance of being a leader or not ?
Those numbers mean nothing related to quality and usefulness... and Linux has "terrible VERY powerful enemies", ppl just can't forget that, there will always be a very steep up-hill battle.
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