same question every time
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| tuxchick Dec 01, 2006 10:58 AM EDT |
And I think the answer is the same- Linux and FOSS growth will continue at a brisk, steady rate. We're not going to see massive sudden migrations away from Windows. In fact I think more of the growth will be in expanding markets, not Redmond refugees. |
| Sander_Marechal Dec 01, 2006 11:38 AM EDT |
Well, Vista will certainly help Linux. I think Linux's biggest boost will be critical mass. When it reaches, say, 20% desktop share or someting then a lot of people will meet Linux desktops via friends, work, etcetera. They'll encounter it and like it. If that moment comes at about the same time as a few major retailers peddling Linux then it'll suddenly take off like a rocket. Double digit growt easily. |
| rijelkentaurus Dec 01, 2006 5:13 PM EDT |
>When it reaches, say, 20% desktop share or someting then a lot of people will meet Linux desktops via friends, work, etcetera. 20? Mac is at approx 3% and people know about it. At 20% MS will sheet a brick sideways and die. It's the major retailers that we need, someone to actually advertise Linux. I saw a Dell commercial touting Linux on the server side, maybe soon we'll see someone touting it on the desktop. I already field Linux questions from our customers at my job, which is for an MS shop. Of course, it's usually after they see my laptop (Kanotix) or I mention which AV I like to use (none) or something else that I slyly bring into the conversation. Just trying not to get fired for not towing the company line like a good little robot. |
| Abe Dec 01, 2006 5:25 PM EDT |
On the desktop side, HP is about the only "major" OEM that is offering a desktop with no OS and can configure & order on the web for Linux. You know you are not paying for MS Tax because the no OS ones are about $160. less than the same configuration with Windows XP Pro. They have pretty nice desktop too here. http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF04a/12454-64287-89... http://h71016.www7.hp.com/dstore/MiddleFrame.asp?page=config... |
| rijelkentaurus Dec 01, 2006 5:28 PM EDT |
>On the desktop side, HP is about the only "major" OEM that is offering a desktop with no OS and can configure & order on the web for Linux. It's real progress...and they're definitely "major". You can get the Dells like that (sort of) but the price between FreeDOS and Windows machines is $0. Thanks for the links. |
| bigg Dec 01, 2006 8:25 PM EDT |
Well, if IE7 is any indicator, Vista is in trouble. My wife uses Windows and IE7 was installed unexpectedly. You never imagined one person could swear so much: no matter what we did, her sites didn't open. Finally I rolled back to IE6. For a while she used my Xubuntu because it was comfortable for her. |
| rijelkentaurus Dec 01, 2006 8:53 PM EDT |
>My wife uses Windows and IE7 was installed unexpectedly. You never imagined one person could swear so much: no matter what we did I've encountered odd problems similar to this at clients over the past few days, and uninstallation of IE7 is the only thing that fixed "things". Sometimes it's a problem with an application, and in one case the internet in general did not work until we rolled back to 6. |
| Sander_Marechal Dec 01, 2006 10:57 PM EDT |
>> When it reaches, say, 20% desktop share or someting then a lot of people will meet Linux desktops via friends, work, etcetera. > 20? Mac is at approx 3% and people know about it. KNow it yes, but not many have ever used a Mac. What I meant is that desktop linux will grow steadily untill critical mass is reached (when most people have used a desktop linux at some point) and then we suddently see a huge boost as people switch to Linux en masse. |
| rijelkentaurus Dec 02, 2006 4:06 AM EDT |
>KNow it yes, but not many have ever used a Mac. I see your point. However, most people know someone who loves a Mac and they see the adverts for it and know what it is, and a lot of them are tempted to get one and are just put off by the cost. I'd say most people also know someone who loves a Linux machine, but they don't see adverts for it and therefore have never been tempted to get one because they've never really been told about it. The Cult of Linux doesn't have the $100 million advertising campaign of the Cult of Mac, nor the $1 billion advertising campaign of the Evil Cult of Vista. What do we have, like $3.95? Yes, there's the word of mouth, which is great, and we've got more and more small manufacturers selling preinstalled boxen, but we've a ways to go. The bright side to this grassroots campaign is that it seems to have caught MS off guard. They could have killed Linux in the earlier days with a dedicated advertising campaign, but they didn't take it seriously until it was too late to stop it. HP giving the option to buy a Linux machine on their website strikes me as real progress. No Linux is actually installed, but the price difference is striking. Throw Office into the Windows mix and the price is even more striking. |
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