Many people take as a given that the desktop computer market is ossified and completely dominated by Microsoft. But, taking the global view, the PC market is anything but saturated. Some huge, untapped markets will ultimately decide how the market share pie will ultimately be divided. There will be room for Microsoft, Apple, and Linux, but how will it shake out?
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Boycott companies that are trying to maintain Microsoft's monopoly.
Companies such as Dell, HP, and Gateway do NOT offer CONSUMERS a non-Microsoft choice.
Do NOT do business with these companies until they do offer CONSUMERS a choice.
Dell and HP, at a minimum, absolutely offer Linux on their machines. Dell also offers FreeDOS on some of their servers, and Red Hat on virtually all of their servers.
Amen, 'joe consumer'! Works for me. And none of those you've mentioned are on my list as I put together my enthusiast computer. 
(I'm going Linux)
On a related note: too many corporations do not listen to the consumers at all--the end-users who buy their products. Even well before the products are created, the developers and programmers have closed ears and are closed-minded. They should be more open, because it is the end-user (the consumer) who knows what he/she wants. I would say boycott the companies that don't listen; or patronize them according to how much they listen or don't.
--EyeAm
HP does offer Linux in one or two of their notebooks, desktops, and servers. They are also one of the major manufacturers to offer AMD as an (excellent) alternative to Intel stuff.
HP had a pitiful Linux laptop offering.
When you go to configure you machine all of the Linux options go away.
Dell wants to sell you the Red Hat enterprise edition.
These are NOT "consumer" offerings like Walmart and outpost.com have.
I could'nt agree with you more. Until these companies offer better, and more choice, with product quality, and even a good choice of Linux / UNIX distros, I for one will boycott them.
--Jed
It's almost impossible in my country to buy a decent laptop without paying the microsoft tax. That's sad.
Again, another population that exceeds 1 billion people, who, for the most part, are exceedingly poor. Of course, I am being a bit naοve here.
Yes you are.Most people there can't even write much less make extensive use of a PC.One of the third world countries where the poor sell their kidney for $100 or less in order to have food.Ther're enough wealthcare organisations that could launch educational projects that eventually involve learning proper computer use.Instead of simply giving money or shortsightened food aid maybe something structural can be done.And why not in this regard lean them an OS that's free and comes with a lot of apps that can be used to make a living.
These are NOT "consumer" offerings like Walmart and outpost.com have.
Or Microcenter. They bundle Linspire (ack!), though it is Linux.
While the offerings from these companies regarding Linux and desktop solutions have been a virtual non-reality, the ugly truth is that they're NOT in business to appeal to consumers.
They're in business to make noney; plain & simple. Can we blame them for that? No.
HP and Dell do have 'server' packages and support offerings. Why? There's MONEY to be made with servers powered by Linux. Some big money, too.
In all seriousness, some of the folks with Dells, Gateways and such should contact the respective companies telling them which Linux flavour they use on their machines and why they enjoy that particular Linux solution over MS Windows.
Perhaps boycotting isn't the answer. Perhaps providing better feedback to the HW mfr's would give THEM the information needed to implement Linux solutions on more destops & portables.
The good thing about Linux is that it is "free" as in beer. The bad thing about Linux is that it is "free" as in beer. With movies and music becoming completely digital, and protecting patents and intellectual property in digital format becoming increasingly important, paying for patents and royalties is going to be expensive. You won't be able to have a free operating system and run games, watch movies, listen to music, read books, or even surf the web. The free age of the internet is over. Computers have become a way of life and many industries are going to make money through computers by protecting their intellectual property.
Good idea. I'll be sure to tell all my friends.
No more Dells, HPs or Gateways for my business until they offer Linux AND BSD across the board. Dell's CEO wants to offer OSX, huh? Why not OpenSolaris and Darwin?
With a little help maybe we can make their financial statistics reflect how it is a bad decision to play favorites in this game of tech.
Wait until Novell releases there much hyped "better then longhorn" OS for the Holiday's.
i am very curious about SUSE 9.3/10.0.
Sounds like the same old articles we've been reading all along. It was nothing more than a 2 page fluff piece to me. I especially liked this part:
Meaning, it fits in with people like myself, who are looking for a system that they can use without worrying about viruses and trojan horses and spyware;
I use Windows and don't worry about any of those. And if you have the skills that actually matches your education then you will know what to do and how to protect yourself.
A article of 2,656 words, with 717 of them about the author, not the topic. Where's the editor?
Also, "it's" is *never* possessive. It's a contraction for "it is". The possessive form is "its". Again, where's the editor?
"Meaning, it fits in with people like myself, who are looking for a system that they can use without worrying about viruses and trojan horses and spyware; "
I always wonder how these people run Linux. I personally use both Linux and Windows. My using Linux has nothing to do with trojan horses and spyware on Windows. I'm technically competent enough to run Windows without those problems. I turn on the built in firewall, run as a normal user, use automatic updates, and use Firefox. I have never had problems with those. Technically stupid people do, but not people who know operating systems. And technically stupid people will have problems with any operating system.
My personal honest opinion is that anyone who has trouble keeping their Windows system clean is pretty technically retarded and Linux just masks their incompetence.
I can't even wrap my head around your subject line. It makes no sense.
The good thing about Linux is that it is "free" as in beer. The bad thing about Linux is that it is "free" as in beer. With movies and music becoming completely digital, and protecting patents and intellectual property in digital format becoming increasingly important, paying for patents and royalties is going to be expensive. You won't be able to have a free operating system and run games, watch movies, listen to music, read books, or even surf the web. The free age of the internet is over. Computers have become a way of life and many industries are going to make money through computers by protecting their intellectual property.
They can try...though once the devices are in the consumer's hands, what makes you think they will remain limited in the way the content provider wishes?
"They can try...though once the devices are in the consumer's hands, what makes you think they will remain limited in the way the content provider wishes?"
You need to fast forward a few years and think about where the future of computers is really headed. Think bigger than what we have right now. Microsoft Product Activation is just the beginning. Computers in the future are going to be completely integrated into everything, your home, your shop, your credit, and everything else you might be doing. There might even be chips integrated into your tennis racket so that you can improve your swing. Processors, motherboards, IP addressing scheme, certificates, registration, and everything else is going to have a big, fat pointer identifying who you are. Annoymousity on the net is already a myth. In the future, companies aren't even going to pretend it exists. It is going to be globablly enforced too, throughout China, India, Europe, the Middle East, and the America's. Maybe the .05% of the "elite" hackers will fight for free ideas, etc. but they will be violating law by playing hacked DVD's and MP3's and they certainly will not be representing any sizable market. Look forward to a copy of an operating system to be costing $20.00 minimum because that's what the OS manufacturers will pay minimum to get the rights to do the minimum of what consumers expect operating systems to do.
You need to fast forward a few years ...
Still doesn't answer my question. (I'm good at speculating too, btw.)
Lack of physical security means lack of assurance of any security.
"If the Chinese government wanted to obtain a Linux distro... Then, as long as they never see any money from this, distribute copies to their entire population."
And who is going to stop them from "making money"? an open source license?
In reagards to raoul's comment: "A article of 2,656 words, with 717 of them about the author, not the topic. Where's the editor?"
I purposefully included that information as too often the character and/or background of an author is attacked. I wanted to make sure that readers understood where I am coming from. Apparently, there is no winning on this point. Next article I will definitely leave all of that information out.
"Also, "it's" is *never* possessive. It's a contraction for "it is". The possessive form is "its". Again, where's the editor? "
Thought I fixed all those types of mistakes before I submitted the article. Looks like at least one got through.
In regards to slash: "I always wonder how these people run Linux. I personally use both Linux and Windows. My using Linux has nothing to do with trojan horses and spyware on Windows."
I do use both Windows and Linux, oh, I also use Macs. I am very technically competent, however, I do spend more time in my Windows system making sure the system is clean than I do in either Linux or the Mac. Also, I started using Linux mostly because I wanted a much more stable OS, and I like the idea of being able to configure the system in nearly infinite ways. Today, I like the idea that I don't need a virus scanner (though I do have one), and that the firewall is built in, and on by default. The built-in firewall in Windows XP is not nearly as good as those from third-parties, so why use it? I continue to use Windows because I have business needs that require certain software that I can not use in Linux (read,there is no acceptable alternative). However, I don't believe in Windows as a secure system, and, no matter how many precautions you take, the possibility of becoming infected in Windows is far greater than in most any other desktop OS.
Other than that, this piece is really my own opinions based upon what the consumer has to say as well as market realities. Any OS can be made to be secure,how far are most people willing to go to do that? How much money can people spend to secure a box they mostly use for non-critical uses?
The fact is that Microsoft would rather just have their stuff pirated in the third world anyway...like has been going on forever. Five years ago we heard these predictions and we'll probably be hearing them 5 years from now.
Oh, and another myth buster. Most people don't even care about the ultimate secure system. People keep on trying to project their hobbyist views on the general public and it always fails.
If the BSDs, Solaris, and Linux combined could get 10% of the desktop marketshare in 5 years that would be a huge achievement
PC-BSD sounds pretty cool & they are going for the easy to use desktop market, so when that matures I will look into it again. I have SuSE home 8.1 now.
"If the Chinese government wanted to obtain a Linux distro... Then, as long as they never see any money from this, distribute copies to their entire population."
Ummmm...maybe you should read the GPL, and numerous other open source licenses. Espescially the parts specifically allowing you to charge for free software.
A very stilted cyber-ecosystem. There are other options out there that may rise to the consumer desktop, because they are designed from the start as desktop systems where things "just work" without all the fiddling of Linux/*nix configurations you have to bit-twiddle endlessly, whilst fighting Dependency Hell in all its various guises. And oh, yes, they're at least as free as Linux...
It takes much less time to get something up and running properly when it only has one real configuration that's designed to be user-friendly, and is configurable entirely (or almost) from the GUI. Choice is good, if you have a lot of time and energy to spend on choosing. A good default configuration is better if you simply want to use a system as a tool. If the new markets are opening in all these very poor countries where incomes are so low that even the computer hardware itself is extremely expensive for them to acquire, what on earth makes you think they will spend all the money to get documentation they need to configure some arcane system, which would be the catch-22 for getting the documentation cheaply/"free" since to get the documentation online would first require them to configure the system to get online to get the documentation they'd need to get them online??? It's the same story as the videotape designed for users to learn how to setup their VCR's! Seriously, if they're this poor, they can't afford the time and energy to get something for "Free" that has the learning curve; they need to spend that time and energy providing for the bare necessities of life: food, shelter, medicine, basic education, etc. and I don't see computers falling into the category of "bare necessities" in such cases. And besides, using computers to any amount of advantage *requires* sufficient literacy in the first place, which would be a far better goal of providing the resources to teach all willing and able students. It's simple enough to offer classes, but in order for there to be people to take advantage of such offerings that help them long-term, you'll likely have to guarantee them support for their needs while learning, as there's always that pesky addiction called eating to fulfill.
Computers are great tools for automation and saving time, but much like a table saw is much better than a handsaw for improving efficiency and saving time, a tablesaw requires a bit more education and background knowledge to assemble, configure and use, while a handsaw has none of that. Shouldn't we first provide them with a good handsaw??
what the writer is telling us that mac should go to the home desktops, windows should go to the corporate desktops (with mac laptops for those that need laptops it seems) while linux should help the developing world get up to speed.
i wonder tho what would happen to apple if one of the bigger wintel companys put out a laptop with hardware selected specificaly to work with linux rather then toss a random distro at one of their existing lines (with the only effect of scaring ms into giving better deals on windows and office).
Ofcourse they would pick MacOSX above OpenSolaris.. Who wouldn't...
Gnome and KDE are just as heavy weight as XP so what kind of machines are the 3rd world running? 128 Meg doesn't really cut it when you add FireFox to the mix.
Maybe an enhanced Dillo and Fluxbox.
well, there is allways icewm. very windows 9x looking 
In regards to slash: "I always wonder how these people run Linux. I personally use both Linux and Windows. My using Linux has nothing to do with trojan horses and spyware on Windows."
Well one might get the impression you using Linux has something to do with trohan horses and spyware on windows.In the whole article you didn't mention the additonal benefits you seem to have according to your reply to slash.
Okay, so you ask, "Where does Linux fit into all of this?" Well, it fits in where it fits in. Meaning, it fits in with people like myself, who are looking for a system that they can use without worrying about viruses and trojan horses and spyware; those who like the feel of Linux, the way it hums along and almost never needs to be rebooted (outside the occasional kernel upgrade), the way you can hack the system to your liking, the way your inner geek gets to come out and play.
The good thing about Linux is that it is "free" as in beer. The bad thing about Linux is that it is "free" as in beer. With movies and music becoming completely digital, and protecting patents and intellectual property in digital format becoming increasingly important, paying for patents and royalties is going to be expensive. You won't be able to have a free operating system and run games, watch movies, listen to music, read books, or even surf the web. The free age of the internet is over. Computers have become a way of life and many industries are going to make money through computers by protecting their intellectual property.
I think your assumptions regarding the importance of computers is accurate; but I don't see what Linux (open source) or Windows (proprietary) really has to do with it. Linux is a kernel. You CAN buy and install proprietary software and install it on a Linux system. And let's be real, computers don't protect intellectual property (as we have all seen), the LAW enforces intellectual property rights. To make a claim like "The free age of the Internet is over" is just plain ludicrous. Living in a wealthy nation makes it easy to make such claims, but in light of your own proclamation of how important computers are to society, you should be more considerate of the have-not's.
.... Thank you English major for that lesson we've already had. Typical.
netpython,
I do believe I go on to say:
those who like the feel of Linux, the way it hums along and almost never needs to be rebooted (outside the occasional kernel upgrade), the way you can hack the system to your liking, the way your inner geek gets to come out and play.
In regards to why use Linux over Windows these are some additional benefits. Not all. But some. And maybe not the most technically advanced reasons, but well grounded and real. I also go on to mention another benefit of Linux due to its pricing and open source licensing. Both things that provide substantial benefits over a proprietery OS. There are many great reasons to use any system, some technical, some personal. It was not the purpose of my article to write a 500 page thesis paper covering the minutae of the current OS landscape and market, which is what would be required to satisfy all the questions and possibilities. I was merely attempting to provide a short analysis of why Linux is not threatened by Apple's moving to Intel processors and where the current three major OS players (minus Unix as it's losing the war to both MS and Linux) will most likely be in 5 to 10 years time.
"If the Chinese government wanted to obtain a Linux distro... Then, as long as they never see any money from this, distribute copies to their entire population."
Ummmm...maybe you should read the GPL, and numerous other open source licenses. Espescially the parts specifically allowing you to charge for free software.
Agreed. I don't think many people understand that you CAN make money from open source. You can sell the software. You can sell all kinds of support (subscription support perhaps?).
It was not the purpose of my article to write a 500 page thesis paper covering the minutae of the current OS landscape and market, which is what would be required to satisfy all the questions and possibilities
Agreed :-)
at work I am faced with xp and novel's netware. No linux, bsd, or unix of any kind. Since I'm not exactly in charge of the decision making I was gratefull to at least be able to have a G5 to work on. At home I'm doing a Slackware desktop with a freebsd file server. Choice choice choice. Pick what you want whether it be for political reasons or personal prefrence, your actions speak more than anything else. Go one step further than boycoting a system manufacturer, build your own system. Run the OS that YOU choose on hardware that YOU want. Thats what its all about on the home end. Well, I guess the business end too if you have the say in what is what.
"but I don't see what Linux (open source) or Windows (proprietary) really has to do with it. Linux is a kernel. You CAN buy and install proprietary software and install it on a Linux system. "
Of course, Linux can have proprietary software bundled with it, but then Linux users have to get used to the idea of paying between $20 - $50 just to get their operating system for all the various patented stuff. Also, Linux users will have to get used to using closed source binaries and closed proprietary formats.
"And let's be real, computers don't protect intellectual property (as we have all seen), the LAW enforces intellectual property rights."
You are right and wrong. Law does enforce intellectual property rights, but the fact that Law enforces this has never stopped a store owner from buying an alarm system or locking the doors to his shop at nights. As computers gain more and more traction, the content creators are going to make sure that an OS or hardware vendor can provide them protection for their intellectual properties.
For example, if I am a Music Company, I will get all the other music companies to agree on a standard, and then we will all go together to Microsoft and Apple and make sure that they are protecting my rights. Then we will go to AMD and Intel and make sure they are protecting our rights. Then we will go to each separate vendor and make sure they are doing the same. If they are not, we will simply not provide them with any content of any kind. We will make sure that from top to bottom, the entire thing is secure and accountable. Once we have done that, we will go to law enforcement to make sure that people are not violating our intellectual property.
"To make a claim like "The free age of the Internet is over" is just plain ludicrous. Living in a wealthy nation makes it easy to make such claims, but in light of your own proclamation of how important computers are to society, you should be more considerate of the have-not's."
The have-nots will continue to have cheap alternatives offerred to them. These alternatives will not be able to be used to watch movies, play games, listen to music, but it will allow them to do basic work and basic communication. But once they start becoming wealthier, they will start looking for all the same type of entertainment Westerner's have. They will start buying the same thing as every other industrialized nation uses. And these nations will become wealthier because noone likes to be poor. They don't do all that work to just keep status quo. In the coming years, look to India and China to start protecting intellectual property. Surprisingly, the pressure will not only come from Europe and America, but also from Chinese and Indian companies inside wanting to protect their products from rampant piracy.
Okay, first off, let me say this, I have read the GPL and the Apache License v 2.0. In fact, I [i]had<i> to so that I could properly license my Open Source software, ClamShell (which is currently distributed under the Apache 2.0 license). My point is that a distro obtained from Red Hat, Suse, Mandriva, etc., can be redistributed freely, as long as you don't charge for it. You can't even receive a donut in exchange for it, no matter how much the CD cost you to burn. Google on the subject, go to gnu.org (after all, most F/OSS is distributed under the GPL), and look at the FAQ. You can create your own software, distribute it under an Open Source license and charge whatever you like for it. Call it a "Make me Smile" charge, or simply, this Software cost $xx, do you want the source code with that?
Looks like my closing italic tag didn't close properly. Please read only "had" as italic, if it matters to you.
Richard
IRT - @Richard Schwalb
You are wrong.
How is he wrong? Seems like a good description to me.
http://www.linuxcd.org/
Look at that ! Illegal cd store lol
"My point is that a distro obtained from Red Hat, Suse, Mandriva, etc., can be redistributed freely, as long as you don't charge for it. You can't even receive a donut in exchange for it, no matter how much the CD cost you to burn."
No you haven't read the GPL or at any rate understood it. Read it again. You can charge what you like for GPL software, you just have to make the source code available including any modifications you have made to it when you redistribute it.
Now that is simple enough isn't it.
No you haven't read the GPL or at any rate understood it.
To make such a statement assumes that you know me and know what I have read. Actually, I have read the GPL and fully understand it. The mistake I made was confusing the Suse license terms with those of the GPL. I apologize for the confusion, although my statement still stands. You can buy a copy of Suse Linux (specifically) and distribute it to your hearts content as long as you never receive anything in exchange. What the terms of other distros are I do not know. Though, one can reasonably assertain that anything distributed under the GPL, and the GPL only for this argument, could very well be charged for, even if as the distributor you are not the author.
I hope this clears up some of the confusion.
there is way to much hype for linux these days, it will always be how it is today UNLESS mac pulls somthing no one would expect but i dont think that would happen.
Everyone is going Linux lately and its market share is skyrocketing. After a contemplating for a long time I've finally switched to Linux myself and I am very pleasantly surprise. Linux is very userfriendly, stable, and fast and as far as I can tell superior to Windows in any aspect. No wonder its the big new thing now.
This is basically just another piece about the commoditization of the software industry, which is an inevitability as in any industry.
The days of actually paying for something as low-level as a general purpose client/server OS are fast going, as far as the traditional sense of term "operating system" is concerned.
Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Apple, Time Warner AOL, SBC, etc. all know the day is coming when the only money to be made will be through providing content to end-users as a service over a commoditized infrastructure. Some of these companies are seeking to capture and own the content itself (Hollywood), others the content delivery service (SBC, AOL), others the platform the content is hosted/delivered on (Microsoft, Apple), and others the interface for managing this content (Google).
So, the future market is subject to these three trends: falling software and hardware costs, and rising content delivery service costs. We can also assume that the amount of content/data out there in going to keep exponentially increasing, essentially making it completely unmanageable one day (or maybe now, if you're like me .
So what's the "operating system" of the future? Is it a kernel and low-level software like media players and word processors? Hardly. Goodbye, Microsoft.
No, the future OS is to navigate and logically organize and infer from this huge pool of data were amassing. Read: Search (or for sci-fi futurists, "AI").
This is why Search is so important to Bill Gates, and why Microsoft is so afraid of Google. And why we should all be so afraid of Google: both in awe at their foresight and leadership today, and terrified by the power they'll wield in the near-future.
After all, the "OS" in the most abstract terms is only the interface between a person and a task. The first OS was the hand. Now we have clients and servers, and all the netty stuff in-between (firewall, DNS, router, blah). In the future, we'll have AI/Search, to make sense of it all for us.
Law does enforce intellectual property rights, but the fact that Law enforces this has never stopped a store owner from buying an alarm system or locking the doors to his shop at nights. As computers gain more and more traction, the content creators are going to make sure that an OS or hardware vendor can provide them protection for their intellectual properties.
For example, if I am a Music Company, I will get all the other music companies to agree on a standard, and then we will all go together to Microsoft and Apple and make sure that they are protecting my rights. Then we will go to AMD and Intel and make sure they are protecting our rights. Then we will go to each separate vendor and make sure they are doing the same. If they are not, we will simply not provide them with any content of any kind. We will make sure that from top to bottom, the entire thing is secure and accountable. Once we have done that, we will go to law enforcement to make sure that people are not violating our intellectual property.
First, the law is the ONLY thing that protects Intellectual Property rights.
Second, coercing computer and software manufacturers under some really bad laws (DMCA, etc) is onerous and forces those manufacturers to past on the costs to people who may NEVER use that particular feature.
Third, the law provides RIGHT NOW the ability to seek redress for violation of intellectual property. What you are doing is confusing Intellectual Property with Copyrights - they are not the same thing no matter how the movie and music industry wants to confuse the two.
What the movie and music industry is ticked over is the "fair use" clause. So they make up numbers about how much money they are losing (which if you go to an accountant, they will tell you if you can not prove it was "stolen", then nothing was lost). The music industry whines about how music is pirated - while at the same time they screw over artists. It's like thieves whining about how much they AREN'T stealing!
But the music industry is lazy and wants someone else to do all the work (after all they're busy screwing over the artists). So they argue they need DRM. Why? Because they don't want to bother actually finding the people violating their copyrights. They want someone else to spend the time, money, and pass that on to the consumer to limit THEIR rights.
If I buy a copy of a song, it doesn't matter where I listen to it (or according to the Copyright law it doesn't). But music companies want to limit your rights.
This isn't about fairness. It is about big business trampling the rights of the people.
I have to say I understand where you're coming from on this and I agree to a certain point.
Linux distributions don't need to bundle any non-GPL programs...and many don't for that very reason. If I want a proprietary program and want to pay for it, I can do so out of my own willingness as opposed to force. This is a good thing. This is a part of the reason Microsoft
The law, much like computers, often fails at what it has been created to do. If store owners knew without question that the law would arrest and prosecute thieves 100% of the time, do you think they would have any alarms or locks? It's deterrence and prevention. Not fool-proof.
For example, if I am a Music Company, I will get all the other music companies to agree on a standard, and then we will all go together to Microsoft and Apple and make sure that they are protecting my rights...
I'm with you on developing a standard but you lost me on the rest. It's like talking to all of these entities somehow will provide infallible assurances that your IP is safe and sound. Microsoft hasn't even been able to do this sucessfully. And any "standard" developed really isn't a standard if only one company has the rights to utilize it.
And getting back to the point of all of this is that the standard should not hinge upon the platform upon which it is implemented. Linux does not have a fear of but rather a bias against proprietary formats.
The thing that people dont get about GNU & Linux and more broadly about open source is that it is rapidly becoming present in all areas of the computing-internet world. I think GNU & Linux will triumph ultimately in all areas due to its open transparency.
I do think Linux can and will triumph on the desktop. However, some simple things need to be addressed:
1. GUI configuration. What happened to linuxconf? This needs to be a cross distribution project. Simple python+gtk or kde equivalent and my point number two would work.
2. Probable standardisation on XML config for /etc and user configs. Macos apparently does this. Its a good thing.
3. Secure network file system. More support for Fuse and sshfs and similar projects.
4. Nautilus to somehow just work. No matter how many times I try it just never seems quite right, too much focus on silly features like picture previews and tags. Why not use KDEs konqueror file manager or combine the best features of the two.
5. Gnome website to be transformed into a readable and logical site for users and sysadmins. Hopefully the marketing project will solve this. Forget about pride and let a user friendlyness team rewrite the site, the graphics are great but the text needs restructuring. It's the key to expanding users on this beautiful desktop.
Special award to Maemo for finally making a cool Linux interface that does not clone Macos or XP. Great design work guys. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact I would love to have free minded designers understand that they can customize linux distributions a great deal more than other OS's. You are not subject to Steve Jobs' approval.
5 years linux on 8 distributions, Redhat,Debian,Mandrake,Ubuntu,YellowDog,Suse,Knoppix,Morphix
And yes I've compiled from source many of my apps and worked with hardware builds on embedded as well.
I had Macos 10.0.1. Ditched it for YellowDog and still would. Freedom is the key: to run what I want where I want. Opensource is great. Spread the love...
In my personal experience, well, Windows dominates because it comes preinstalled. "Best" distros of Linux are as easy to use as XP ever. In my personal opinion, KDE & GNOME also look better and more modern than aging XP UI. I don't think that as for a end-user, for the Regular Joe, there would be lot of difference whichever OS he would pick. But, since he already has XP, why change?
Windows overcomes Linux in two fronts; its preinstalled and it has games. People who use computer just to read email and browse web, may not have the interest to change OS just to do that. If they don't have some Linux fanatic to make the change for them. People who use computer for playing games and watch movies download them over the net, and don't care that some Linux distros are free. So is XP when you download it or when you get bundled with computer.
Linux gets more marketshare when it comes preinstalled with the computer, period
I will really adress only one point :
"If the Chinese government wanted to obtain a Linux distro"
Your from the US right ?
http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=origin
China :
Asianux Cosix Linux Hiweed Linux iBox Magic Linux OpenDesktop Rays Linux Red Flag Linux Xteam Linux
Red Flag Linux and Asianux are Government programs ...
India
ELX Linux IndLinux Luit Linux
To clarify some thing , no you cant legally redistribute SUSE freely and legaly even at no cost , no you dont understand the GPL if you did you would never have add used SUSE or now Novell/SUSE.
While Linux will show up in a variety of places -- it already has -- I don't think it will be as broadly used as your title proposes.
1. GUI configuration. What happened to linuxconf? This needs to be a cross distribution project. Simple python+gtk or kde equivalent and my point number two would work.
Linuxconf was unreliable. Webmin/Usermin also has problems.
No real comments on the rest of it, except that I've used Linux about as long (min 7).
I have read a couple of comments stating that "if you get spyware or viruses on your Windows computer, you don't know what you are doing with windows". Another way it was put, I believe, was something like, "people who use linux to avoid getting spyware or viruses don't know what they are doing with Windows."
Whoever said statements like these are not taking into account that the vast majority of people who use linux actually DO know what they are doing on ANY platform. They simply choose Linux for that and other reasons of personal choice.
Conversly, the vast majority of people who use Windows DO NOT know what they are doing on a computer because they aren't computer geeks! Points such as these should be self-evident.
Most computer users use what they are most comfortable with, which is usually what they were first introduced to.
Adopting a different platform generally means jumping into the new OS direction with both feet and not really looking back. Learning something when they dont have to for the same results. Most don't want to do that.
The point and goal of a "joe-user" having a computer for should not have to entail having something akin to a Microsoft Certification to keep it running properly.
This will be last time I say this, read the other posts for more information. I stated already that I confused the Suse License terms with the GPL's. Last I checked, about two months ago, you could legally redistribute the Suse distro (I'm not talking about the Novell branded offering) as long as you don't take anything in return as payment. There has been an infinite number of discussions on this issue. Google for it if you wish, I am not going to point anyone in the right direction on this. It's been said and debated and answered, definitively.
I understand the GPL as well as anyone else who lacks a law degree (if everyone understood it well there wouldn't be a need for a FAQ, or these silly debates that mostly revolve around semantics, not the meat of the issue). Yes, you can get and distribute a complete GPL system, and that's great for those who care about those things. I know that the FSF would like everything to be GPL'd, but, that is not going to happen considering the current state of humanity. As a species we are too greedy.
Frankly, I don't care how many millions of Linux distros there are, there are very few that matter because they have the market share, thus the mind share. Thus, mind share + market share = better chance to grow on the desktop. If I don't know it exists, I will never try it. And, desktop share is the thing that matters, otherwise, who's going to write software for it.
Now, if India and China have Linux distros specifically for their countries, great. They can get exactly what they need without undue Western influence, if they so desire. Personally, I think globalization can only go so far.
Now, for the record. I confused the Suse and GPL license restrictions. I apologize for the confusion it seems to have caused some people. Again, check the Suse license. GPL is great, but humanity is greedy, and therefore its place will be niche for some time to come (read, proprietory software will have a > 50% market share). This is the last time I will say this. If you really wish to discuss this further, please email me at schwalbrichard at comcast dot net.
Moulinneuf,
Actually you can redistribute SUSE Pro for no charge legally.
"You may make and use unlimited copies of the Software for Your distribution and use within Your Organization. You may make and distribute unlimited copies of the Software outside Your organization provided that: 1) You receive no consideration; and, 2) you do not bundle or combine the Software with another offering (e.g., software, hardware, or service)."
Found that here: http://www.novell.com/products/linuxprofessional/eula.html
Maybe you need to do some research before you start being rude and mouthing off needlessly.
To clarify some thing , no you cant legally redistribute SUSE freely and legaly even at no cost , no you dont understand the GPL if you did you would never have add used SUSE or now Novell/SUSE.
I suggest you read SuSE License statement - It states that the if someone has a copy SuSE they may make as many copies and distribute them to as much as they wish as long as they do not sell them. Or tie them in to aid in selling other software packages.
I know - I read the entire User agrement befor I decided to use SuSE as the OS to install computers we give away to families in need.
to some poor slob in a 3rd world country? Can you imagine having to help out people, new to computers, and having them recompile their kernel. o_O
"Anonymous"
Too coward to write with your real name like me or too stupid to choose and write and use a nickname ... moron ...
http://www.novell.com/products/linuxprofessional/eula.html
"THE
SOFTWARE MAY NOT BE SOLD, TRANSFERRED, OR FURTHER DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT
PRIOR WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION FROM NOVELL."
I said "Legally"
"no you cant *legally* redistribute SUSE freely and legaly even at no cost "
"The Software is a collective work of Novell. You may make and use unlimited copies of the Software for Your distribution and use within Your Organization. You may make and distribute unlimited copies of the Software outside Your organization provided that: 1) You receive
no consideration; and, 2) you do not bundle or combine the Software with another offering (e.g., software, hardware, or service). The term "Organization" means a legal entity, excluding subsidiaries and affiliates with a separate existence for tax purposes or for legal personality purposes. An example of an Organization in the private
sector would be a corporation, partnership, or trust, excluding any subsidiaries or affiliates of the organization with a separate tax identification number or company registration number. In the public sector, an example of Organization would be a specific government
body or local government authority."
Please find the rest at
http://www.novell.com/products/linuxprofessional/eula.html
Thanks and goodnight
China is poor? India's GDP rose by 9% this year, they are not poor. He said he has an inner geed, yet he is afraid to tinker with Linux, what kind of hypocritical crappy person is this?
Hmm.. weird, because most consumers choose microsoft.
There may be like under 3% that choose apple or some other OS.
"Too coward to write with your real name like me or too stupid to choose and write and use a nickname ... moron ... "
How immature of you... Names really do not matter much. Anonymous or not, a name is a name and names and atleast its not manipulated. Seems people hate the anonymous thing when they get pissed and want to attack, but love it when they aren't. Let's just get rid of all privacy rights
www.sub300.com : "We at Sub300 found that Linux was the ideal low cost alternative. One distribution of Linux we found to be the most friendly was Linspire."
Company such as Sub300 does NOT offer CONSUMERS a non-Linux choice.
Do NOT do business with this company until they do offer CONSUMERS a choice.
I was using FruityLoops on Windows to do my music composition, with analog modeling synths, samples and midi and stuff. It cost me ~$150 for the OS plus $100 for FruityLoops.
This software was buggy and it had this horrid registration thing where it basicly downloaded a registry key that matched the system I was installing it on. So when that OS had to be reinstalled or when I got a new system I couldn't migrate it over. I could have emailed FruityLoops and asked for new registration, but instead I decided I'd check out the state of Linux audio.
So I wiped the system and installed Mepis. Used synaptic to pick all the multimedia/audio apps and get them installed. I think it also let me add the Demudi apps, so I got jack, rosegarden, ardour, amsynth, zynaddsubfx, hydrogen, etc. All of it for free with no registration or licensing problems.
Now I am back to composing music on Linux with software that didn't exist when I first started using FruityLoops. If Linux and GNU software in general can improve so quickly to replace codecs and analog modeling synths and midi sequencing software and multitrack recording and editing software, etc, etc, etc. In just a few years.
Can you imagine what this will do for us if it was the dominant OS with commercial support from the same companies I want to buy this software and hardware from? Those companies need to get a clue and stop fighting the revolution or be swept under the coming tides. Its all them. I got my money and my software and I'm willing to support these free projects via paypal until Dell and HP and Microsoft and FruityLoops want to offer me something of quality with free updates, bug fixes, enhancements, etc. Free, after the initial cost of purchase, for my lifetime..
The alternative already exists and is high quality and works well and is getting easier and easier to use every day.
So business can go ahead and hide from reality if they like, but they should know this, more is demanded of them if they wish to compete in this brave new world.
And you MS-using end users.. computers are a tool. I like shiny icons and gradients and easy-to-use interfaces, but I'd rather have a good quality tool that actually does its job without breaking. Windows breaks. It annoys me. It wastes my time. It costs too much. And its as dumb as they can make it, too dumb for me. If you gave me FruityLoops and Windows XP Pro for free, I'd still choose Linux. For I have tasted the fruit.
Hmm.. weird, because most consumers choose microsoft.
There may be like under 3% that choose apple or some other OS.
Yes, Bill Gates used that argument, what 10 years ago?
Brief History Review: M$ successfully marketed their proprietary software to businesses. The employees of these businesses bought computers running M$ software because 1.)They were familiar with it from work, and/or 2.) They needed to bring their work home with them.
Please understand that if all you know about is company "A"'s product, through friends, associates and mass media, of course you won't choose company "B"'s product simply on repuation.
Point: They don't choose anything else because they don't know of anything else.
The most successful departments at M$ is the sales and marketing departments. Product is merely secondary. Never confuse popularity with excellence.
Did you realized that you made a fool of yourself with that statement?
Once in a while, you should press ENTER like this...
...so people aren't shocked at looking at a single massive block of text.
One glance of what you wrote was painful enough that I had to look away. I didn't read a thing you wrote. That's a shame since you wrote quite a bit and I'm sure you wanted people to read it.
You want to boycott Dell for lack of Linux support? It is Red Hat/Dell that are taking over the server market against the likes of UNIX. Dell is no doubt Red Hat's single largest customer.
What diff does it make if Dell, HP etc. ship a linux distro on your desktop in the first place anyway? All most of you (myself included) would do is install our own flavor on the box anyway. So FreeDOS is just as good becasue you are not paying MS.
As far as the desktop is concerned it is supply and demand. Sure lots of people would tell Dell they are interested in Linux desktops but few people actually seem to purchase them. I can assure you that if there was a demand they would be more than happy to respond with a supply.
You have to stop blaming Dell, HP, and Gateway because everyone wants to talk about Linux but nobody actually wants to use it.
Mr , Richard Schwalb
I am going to be nice one last and final time towards you.
Since you have definately proven that your unable to understand and read properly any of the legal documents and its entire contents wich are a binding contract for you between you and Novell let me explain the pertinance ( or lack there of with what your previously offered ) of the information you provide.
You said :
"You may make and use unlimited copies of the Software for Your distribution and use within Your Organization. ""
Yes , but the Governement mass distribtuing CD/DVD to its citizen is considered a service , the citizen are not part or the Government organization they are considered client of the Governement.
"You may make and distribute unlimited copies of the Software outside Your organization provided that: 1) You receive no consideration; and, 2) you do not bundle or combine the Software with another offering (e.g., software, hardware, or service). "
You cannot ask someone to mass Burn cd for you as this would be a service , you would have to have it done by your employee on there own free time because if they do it will beeing paid by you there receiving consideration ...
" In the public sector, an example of Organization would be a specific government body or local government authority." "
The citizen or real public is not considered to be part of the Government organization.
If you dont get it by now this means that Novell , unlike the previous company now bankrupt and extinct known as SUSE as only GPL'ed there newly acquired SUSE Software from IBM and that they let you make some copy for personnal use or copy protection or for your friend/associate/partners/others and that you can share it with them.
But there is no way in hell they will let you or even give you the permission to mass burn CD/DVD and mass distribute them freely and legally to anyone you wish to.
you know one way to end this really quickly is to ask me by email for my coordinate and to sue me for libel and for damaging your good words and damaging the good will of a company.
You believe yourself to be right , I know legally that I am right , lets really proove once and for all who is really right.
One last comment : Who do you which your money for this lost case of yours to go to any preference ?
one sugestion : Consult a real lawyer ...
"I suggest you read SuSE License statement"
I sugest you consult a lawyer your in breach of contract ...
"it states that the if someone has a copy SuSE they may make as many copies and distribute them to as much as they wish as long as they do not sell them. Or tie them in to aid in selling other software packages. "
No , have a real lawayer explaint it to you ...
" I read the entire User agrement befor I decided to use SuSE as the OS to install computers we give away to families in need."
Your offering a service ( instalation of the OS , multiple time , menaing this is redistribution and not distribution ) ( even if at not cost ) and are in breach of agreement , the ONLY way you can save yourself is by asking a full written permission to do so from Novell , if they dont sue you for an example they might decide to ship you some fully supported box for taxs ride off.
"How immature of you..."
So your in agreement and in defense of the guy who said ( not its entire work just my favorite example of this discusting individual :
- The people of New-York deserved to be killed on 9/11.
- Its ok for a parent to molest there childs as long as it stays in the familly.
- Woman who wear skirt after the sun is down deserved to be killed or raped.
etc ...
Personnaly I have in disgust and fiercely loath anyone who accept to wear and endorse the entity of "anonymous" in any of its shape or form. I also put in the same bag people who are defending people who are inept or too stupid to sign there own text with there real name as I always do or with a nickname of there choice.
Great your a scumbag too ...
"Names really do not matter much."
Names are what define people , its the only thing you freely choose to endorse , you can even change it to hide your previous bad deed and make a better world from now on.
You cant understand , its a honorable thing.
"Seems people hate the anonymous thing when they get pissed and want to attack"
I know why anonymous exist , but in the case of this particular site you can choose any nickname you like without having to register , I loath anonymous everytime I see it , I just whont go and harass everyone who use it , its my personnal prerogative and is my rights to do so, so mind your own business your not anonymous I whas not adressing you at all.
" Let's just get rid of all privacy rights"
Anonymous as no rights there are not persons , its an entity wich is used by cowards , traitor thief and liar and every know scumbags on the planet in almost every case to make accusation ar spread fud or lies or any bad adjective under the cover of the anonymous identity in the majority of case.
To have privacy rights you must be a person first.
"The command line is for geeks like myself and old schoolers (although, I do prefer a good GUI)."
150% ACK!
The private media, the multinationals and private press are very pro-Microsoft, they are very good at manipulating the opinion of the nation. And the campaign to oust Lula has started, the president that refused for the third time conference with Bill Gates.
It is worth noting that each computer loaded with Microsoft Operating System is equivalent to 60 extra bags of soya that Brazil has to produce and exports. But what do most of the citizens care about Free Source? Despite being praised internationally, at home the President's popularity is at its worse ever. This is a guy that did not send troops to Iraq but is trying his best despite all obstacles to secure a better future via OSS.
Comparing apples and oranges again, Russian Guy?
Sub300 is a SMB (actually, a very small business). Dell and others (who do actually offer Linux, but on very few models) are very large corporations, with name brand recognition and substantial inventories. You can't compare the two.
Sub300 caters to a niche market. Dell and all are mainstream PC vendors. Holding them to the same standard is dishonest.
That said, if you want a Windows notebook from Sub300 and are ready to pay the Microsoft tax (plus the time it takes to install Windows, which takes longer than installing Linux...), I'm sure the folks at Sub300 will be happy to oblige. Did you contact them before you claimed that they will not sell Windows PCs?
I strongly condemn the statement that "India is having large populations of poor people". It's not correct. I agree that India has large population, but we are a very good developing country.
Regarding the Windows and licenses I have seen in India that many so called rich people also using pirated versions of Windows. This is because of lack of awareness of licences and lack of strict legal policies. Most of the people buy assembled computers and the person who assembles the system simply installs a pirated copy of Windows in it.
That's why I started evangelising in the recent days about using Linux and on top of it awareness about licences etc.
I did read the whole article. The first half was irrelevant mostly but what irritated me the most was the second bit. I completely agree that Linux can bring down costs for several countries.
But it is high time you stopped calling 'China' and 'India' poor countries. That is very patronizing. I agree that 25% of Indians and around 8% [official figure??] of Chinese are poor but Again, another population that exceeds 1 billion people, who, for the most part, are exceedingly poor and Now, take a moment to think about all those poorer nations, and how they can best become ever more competitive in an increasingly technolog