“The War Is Over, and Linux Has Won” - REALLY?
I refreshed Slashdot tonight to find this headline on the first page. The headline comes from the article found below.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=837
Have I been under a rock for the last few years? I didn’t notice Linux over throwing the server or desktop market. Is there some other “war†that Linux has won? The article above states that Linux has victoriously won the “war†with Microsoft and other competitors, but I just don’t see how. I’m a huge fan of Linux/open source products and I proudly run Linux on 75% of my computers (Can’t get away from Windows because of some applications.).
It’s funny how this article leads everyone to believe Linux has won. Then it kind of slides into saying that it is expected to win. Well, winning and expecting to win are two different things. Anything could happen in the next year or so and with Microsoft’s new product lineups, I don’t see any large changes in trends.
I do expect to see small migrations to Linux, but corporate America is still afraid of Linux. Why do I say that? The average IT guy is not, but those same IT guys are not the ones making the ultimate decisions and paying the bill. Executives are choosing Microsoft, not because it’s the best product and can’t be beaten, but because it’s a reputable company. An executive knows that Microsoft will be around for a while and it’s a secure choice.
Servers are a great start to getting Linux into the mainstream, but it’s not the answer. I hope that Linux doesn’t get pigeon holed for being a great server OS and being known as just that.
So what do I feel Linux needs to do to win the desktop war? One answer will not solve this problem. I feel we need to reflect on the past and try to learn from it. Microsoft won the OS war in the first place because they provided people with a cheap OS that was easy to use. Most importantly, they provided useful applications such as Microsoft Office.
Below are some ways Linux can win the desktop war:
1) Microsoft Office needs to be on Linux.
2) Corporate America and schools need to use Linux on the desktop first.
3) Better gaming support.
4) Better hardware support for everything, especially new technologies.
5) More easily accessible applications.
Once I start to see Linux applications at Best Buy, then I’ll feel that Linux is starting to win the OS war. The average Joe does not want to spend three hours finding a program and then another ten trying to compile it. People denounce RPM’s, but this is probably one of the smartest ideas and best directions for Linux. YUM is my personal favorite, but you still have to know the name of the applications you want to install. Getting Linux apps can be a real pain in the ass, end of story.
6) Better support, less “figure it out yourself n00b!!â€( no wonder why people don’t want to use Linux)
I know making eye candying is a big thing right now, but everyone needs to remember that is not the reason why people will stay with Linux. People use computers to do work, play games, socialize, and use the Internet. The open source community needs to focus on more useful applications, usability, and speed. Without these three ingredients, Linux is useless to companies and the average person. Linux has not won the “war” and probably won’t for a while.
P.S. Sorry if my spelling and grammer are off tonite. Writing this article when I’m a little sick.