[SlugLUG] Linux Is Not A Desktop Solution

[Ignacio Solis]

* Rohan Sheth (rohan at rohan.ws) said:
> Here's a little piece which I have been working on this past week.  I'd
> love some feedback on changes before I ask an IRC-Buddy to have to
> posted on SlashDot.

I hate it, which means it's good. It'll start some debate.

While the writing style needs some work, it's still better than that of a lot
of people I know.  I think it's a good start.

On the content side I couldn't disagree more.

Partly it's because not all the facts are right. For example, like Peter was
saying, the FreeBSD side. FreeBSD is not part of the UC at all.  It is not
hosted at UCB, it's hosted at Yahoo.  The FreeBSD copyright doesn't mention
Berkeley at all. (The old 1994 BSD copyright does).  This is the first time I
hear that the current FreeBSD is closely tied to Berkeley (though past history
is obviously tied to UCB).

The essay misses a few aspects for market dynamics. First there is economics.
There is no way this can be removed from the equation. Do you know how much
people make in most of the world? (check out gapminder.org if you want more
info on this).  People cannot afford to pay for something like Microsoft
Windows.  This puts MS in a tough position, either they lower the price
dramatically (how much do you think the people making $1 a day can afford?),
the impose strange taxes/discounts, export/import rules, they continue
letting people pirate the software (in contradiction with current international
IP/copyright laws), or they lie still and let Linux run them over.

Linux might not be there yet, but the demand for such an alternative is
growing.

You also ignore political issues. Most countries do not agree with what the
US does. They do not trust the US or US based companies. Hell, a lot of the US
doesn't trust the government or big US companies.   Close source products are
not good at all for them. Countries like Germany, Brazil, and China are
important markets. Germany drives the EU economy, Brazil drives South America,
and what can you say about China? If you don't adapt to china you won't know
what hit you. China is the biggest market in the world, and they definitely
don't trust the US. China would rather design their own processor (they did)
and work on their own OS (they do) than rely on MS.

Closed format programs are going the way of the dodo. You adapt and evolve or
you will become extinct.

Markets work in funny ways. There is this (sometimes not very clear) theory of
supply and demand. In this case there is a big demand for Linux (or
alternatives?) on the desktop.  If the demand is there, the users will create
the apps.

Which brings me to a question? Do you think we're not there yet? How long do
you think it will take?

I for one think that we're at the business level already. I don't see any real
reason why a small company would want to use MS over Linux. When you have a
small budget you don't want to spend it in software. Let's see, 5 machines with
some productivity software and a server... that'll be $6000+ in software alone.
Or $0 in Linux.   Support you say?  If you want MS support you'll have to pay
more, if you want Linux support you'll pay for it just the same.  You need an
admin? OF COURSE you do! (at least part time).  Even with Windows you need an
admin, you don't let your cashier install and run your servers (unless they
also have some knowledge in that).

Do the users find Windows more friendly than Linux?  NO. There are a couple of
areas where Linux "lacks" user-friendliness.  
1. Installing drivers (and configuring them) 
2. Installing hardware  
3. Installing software and 
4. Installing Linux itself.

Now, all of those 4 _should not be done_ by the normal users in a business
setting. The admin should configure things for you.
Depending on what you are using 1. and 2. might not be needed.  Need to plug in
a usb hard drive? Just plug it in.  
3. Is mostly a non issue if what you want to install is in the package
repository of a distribution.
4. Some would argue that this is getting easier than Windows.

Nothing here is a show stopper for Businesses.

As for software availability, Linux doesn't lack that much software for
businesses. OpenOffice works just fine, just like koffice. I don't really know
that many people that use the more obscure features in office. The one
situation where it's not at it's best is exchanging documents with MS Office.
However, not every document needs to be r/w, you can always just use PDF, like
you did for this essay.  If you keep an intra-company openoffice policy you'll
be fine. If the speed concerns you then you probably have an old computer and
can find other less demanding applications.

Not only that, but in case you haven't noticed, there is a move by the industry
to web based (AJAX?) applications. We already have omnipresent mail (including
outlook-web), calendars, editors (writely), etc. The development in this area
is astounding, and it will just help Linux. The most modern browsers are all
opensource (opera being a side effect).


On the gaming side it's true that Linux doesn't compete with Windows. This is
for one reason... game developers don't release their games for Linux.  There
is no "real" technical reason. Ok, there is a minor reason that is that Linux
is not as easy to program than Windows, but the difference is not that big.
OpenGL and OpenAL can do just as much as DirectX, they're just a little
different. And for game developers that is a big problem since that makes them
do a lot more work for a currently small market share.

This is not that big of a problem. Computer gaming has been losing a lot of
market share itself as gamers move to consoles.  It's true that we're not going
to lose computer gaming soon, but Linux will gain market share, and at some
point it might become viable for developers to actually do something for Linux.


Hmm, by now I don't remember your article any more. 

One more thing, OS X is a great OS. I don't think you make a great argument of
why OS X is bad.  If you've ever been to a MAC store you've seen that they have
software (maybe not as diverse and crappy as windows). They also have good
support, probably better than the support you get from a average windows store.

Not all businesses shun OS-X (Microsoft is one of them... except in their MAC
division).

To conclude, even though I think I missed a lot of things I wanted to say, I'll
quote you and say:

"... more and more people are trying to push Linux as a Desktop Solution."
I believe that. I also believe that more and more people want it as a desktop
solution. Maybe not the people around you (wait, you're in a university
right?). But the forces are moving and it'll happen, whether you like it or not.


Nacho

P.S.  If you are trying to troll you need a little more practice.


-- 
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