Posted on 08/16/2014 7:22:36 AM PDT by ShadowAce
Linux is for computers. For those who need computers to, you know, compute, linux is fine. The consumer doesn’t need a computer. They need a media delivery device.
One major problem with trying to get Linux converts is the confusion from the various ‘distros’. There are some 2 dozen to select from.
Most general users are not that interested in delving into all of the various flavors of Linux. Windows is bad enough with 3 or 4 different versions at each release.
Half-a-decade ago I tried out several versions of Linux distros. Some would not recognize the widescreen monitor. Some would not recognize the PC-TV card. Some would not recognize the printer. I lost enough software and hardware switching from Win98 to XP and again from XP to Win7.
I play with Linux. I use Windows.
When I traveled a lot, I did use Puppy on my personal laptop since it booted so quickly. Now the personal laptop stays at home (traveling with two laptops wasn’t fun) and I use a tablet for my personal travel device.
Just a "Yet another conspiracy theory!"
Linux already dominates the server market. It gives us back end developers what we want. It has no serious competition.
If you used windows XP ,try Lubuntu ,very little difference between the 2 ,well Lubuntu is 10 times faster and all the software is FREE and when Lubuntu updates it updates all software installed when windows just updates itself .Download the ISO of Lubuntu ,burn it to a CD/DVD and boot computer from it to try it out ,it will not install it unless you pick install
Distrowatch.com for all your Linux needs . Youtube also has TONS of reviews of all linux OS and it will also show you how to use if you get confused D’oh
“the majority of people aren’t and aren’t really interested in in having to spend a great deal of time re-programing a niche system so that it will run the software they need.”
What software are you referring to? I have been running Ubuntu on a 10 year old laptop for several years and it has all the software one could possibly want. Plus, I don’t need to search the internet to find drivers for any device I can plug into it, try that with windows. Under Linux, plug it in and it works, no drama.
The average home user wouldn't even know what Linux is, much less know about any lawsuits over it.
I have it running well on a dog of an Atom processor Netbook with 1 gig of memory. YouTube would stutter on Windows Crippled (Starter). Smooth on Lubuntu.
Sums it up - when they get away from the need to use the command prompt to "tweak" things, they will have my full attention.
Ubuntu Linux works great on a desktop and on certain laptops, like Dell Latitude E6400. I agree: for most non-tech users it may be harder to use, but only because it’s not familiar and doesn’t have a commercial presence. The Linux operating system is superior to Windows.
In a word, No.
Linux is not a unified group working to a common goal. In my industry, manufacturing, software developers are not going to recompile or support different OSs. The computer ans OS is the least expensive part of the system I need and saving a couple hundred bucks for a free distro that no one supports is not practical. For consumers google, apple, and Microshaft have a huge foundation and hardware manufacturing. I don’t see any linux distros with the ability to compete, or the desire.
There are post on this thread and all kinds of post on Linx help sites of people looking for help with trying to get Linux devises, take a look around.
The only computer people who you can resonable compare Apple Connoisseurs are Linux geeks. And face it if you aren’t a member of one group or the other you don’t understand them at all. Reminds me of a guy I knew who went around buying up BataMax tapes, because he was sure that it would comeback because it was a superior system and product. ;-)
I work in the medical industry. We have a mixed shop with well over 1000 Windows servers and well over 700 Linux servers--if you count clusters as one server.
We standardized on Red Hat as they do support Linux--though we only need to call them (maybe) once per year. Our Linux servers perform better than the Windows servers. We have fewer people supporting the Linux servers for a few reasons--we can do more than the average Windows admin, and the Linux servers do not need as much maintenance as the average Windows server.
In our case, Linux is very practical.
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