7 ms·

Yes, Linux has dominated the commodity server space. Look what happened to Sun & Solaris. But what about the desktop? Back in the late 90s there was much talk o

Yes, Linux has dominated the commodity server space. Look what happened to Sun & Solaris. But what about the desktop? Back in the late 90s there was much talk of how the Linux desktop would take over, KDE vs Gnome etc. IBM and Sun backed Open Office, Andy Herzfeld launched Nautilus. And then it didn't happen. MS still owns the business desktop with Windows & Office. And MS still has a big chunk of the consumer desktop, though Apple has taken a lot of it with MacOS.

organsnyder 11y ago
The desktop market is still mostly Windows & MacOS, but if we instead look at client devices in general, Microsoft is losing quite badly: Android (running a Linux kernel) and iOS (BSD-derived, like MacOS) have almost all of the market share, with Windows struggling to make much of a dent.
frik 11y ago
With a proper open source Web based Office alternative, MS Office would loose a lot of customers.
- hga 11y ago
  Unless Microsoft ruins Office, I can't see it happening. I believe it would take a seriously funded company to implement all the needed features (sure, no one uses all the features of Word, but each uses a different vital set of them), prove that, oh, Excel was safe to run your company/trading on, and provide support.
- r3bl 11y ago
  From my own perspective, both LibreOffice and Google Docs are both more then capable enough. I know that LibreOffice is primarily a desktop application, but it has a not-so-perfect remote web interface since version 3.5. But, for filling out forms and keeping the design as it is, I'm currently using a web interface of Office 365. It's a bit annoying to use it at the moment (you can't get rid of the constant "Install Word on Your Device" messages and you first have to upload your document on OneDrive before you can edit it), but it gets the job done.
  - tluyben2 11y ago
    The problem is that other solutions are just not good enough to deliver the exact end product to send to clients or partners or management. We do everything in Google docs because it is just really nice and convenient but when it needs to be finalised for sending off we send it to the one person with a MS Office license who fixes it. I would never condone paying more licenses though because when we all had MS Office licenses exactly the same thing happened... People writing content are usually not the people doing layout and design.
realusername 11y ago
Yes for sure but the desktop itself is not the end of the game anymore, yes Microsoft still owns the desktop but on mobile and tablets, it's another story.
anon4 11y ago
People focused on innovating too quickly without building enough stability. Plus, programmers started imagining they could innovate as designers and we have Gnome 3, Unity, etc. All built for a mythical herd of grandmas who run linux, but need it to be user-friendly, in some imagined user-friendly way.
- reitanqild 11y ago
  Plus, programmers started imagining they could innovate as designers and we have Gnome 3, Unity, etc. I always thought those happened because someone allowed designers to make decisions on the projects? "Usability" I think has been the main driver behind a lot of the problems I have experienced over the last few years.

organsnyder 11y ago

The desktop market is still mostly Windows & MacOS, but if we instead look at client devices in general, Microsoft is losing quite badly: Android (running a Linux kernel) and iOS (BSD-derived, like MacOS) have almost all of the market share, with Windows struggling to make much of a dent.

frik 11y ago

With a proper open source Web based Office alternative, MS Office would loose a lot of customers.

hga 11y ago
Unless Microsoft ruins Office, I can't see it happening. I believe it would take a seriously funded company to implement all the needed features (sure, no one uses all the features of Word, but each uses a different vital set of them), prove that, oh, Excel was safe to run your company/trading on, and provide support.
r3bl 11y ago
From my own perspective, both LibreOffice and Google Docs are both more then capable enough. I know that LibreOffice is primarily a desktop application, but it has a not-so-perfect remote web interface since version 3.5. But, for filling out forms and keeping the design as it is, I'm currently using a web interface of Office 365. It's a bit annoying to use it at the moment (you can't get rid of the constant "Install Word on Your Device" messages and you first have to upload your document on OneDrive before you can edit it), but it gets the job done.
- tluyben2 11y ago
  The problem is that other solutions are just not good enough to deliver the exact end product to send to clients or partners or management. We do everything in Google docs because it is just really nice and convenient but when it needs to be finalised for sending off we send it to the one person with a MS Office license who fixes it. I would never condone paying more licenses though because when we all had MS Office licenses exactly the same thing happened... People writing content are usually not the people doing layout and design.

realusername 11y ago

Yes for sure but the desktop itself is not the end of the game anymore, yes Microsoft still owns the desktop but on mobile and tablets, it's another story.

anon4 11y ago

People focused on innovating too quickly without building enough stability. Plus, programmers started imagining they could innovate as designers and we have Gnome 3, Unity, etc. All built for a mythical herd of grandmas who run linux, but need it to be user-friendly, in some imagined user-friendly way.

reitanqild 11y ago
Plus, programmers started imagining they could innovate as designers and we have Gnome 3, Unity, etc. I always thought those happened because someone allowed designers to make decisions on the projects? "Usability" I think has been the main driver behind a lot of the problems I have experienced over the last few years.