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That's nice but ... Will this year be the year of the Linux Desktop ? Nop ... How about next year ? Nop ... When will the Year of the Linux Desktop occur ? A

by XaYdEk 10y ago

That's nice but ... Will this year be the year of the Linux Desktop ? Nop ... How about next year ? Nop ... When will the Year of the Linux Desktop occur ? At our current trajectory I estimate that will occur somewhere around the time* of: a) The Apocalypse b) The Heat Death of the Universe *whichever comes first

XaYdEk 10y ago
Ok, don't get me wrong, I love Linux and I'm not trying to be an ass. I'm a Linux guy (Debian/Gentoo mostly), but you will never get average users to switch to Linux, the same way you will never get me to use anything after Windows7 for personal use, I have a rage fit with all the icons and no proper command line and they will have a rage fit (or at least have a feeling of angst) if they have to type 3 lines of commands in the terminal to fix or setup something. Where I see Linux as powerful, they see it as difficult. Where I see Windows and Apple as limited and inflexible, they see it as simple. So it seems people will go for easy 98% of the times.
- berntb 10y ago
  >> you will never get average users to switch to Linux Last I looked, Linux (in Android) was leading BSD-alike (iOS) -- and those are probably the two most popular platforms around... :-) Especially for average users that are cost conscious. (At a minimum, place one and three of installed world wide base?)
  - XaYdEk 10y ago
    Desktop. Talking desktop. You will never get them to do it by themselves, you have to set it up for them. There is a resistence to switching to Linux, because of the image they have in their mind about it. Mint and Ubuntu are very user friendly and yes once I dropped them (Ubuntu & Lubuntu) on my familly computers the resistance vanished in a matter of minutes after using them. Biggest problem was "Why is the X on the left top of the window ?" So I'm saying: without some incentives or guidance, adoption of Linux desktop by average users will remain low because of perceived difficulty, existing familiarity with Windows and Mac OSes and general mental inertia.
- illys 10y ago
  Forget about command line and just try this: Install Linux Mint (the one I find fit - but other distribs could do), with a web browser and WPS Office, explain your basic Windows user how to reply to system update popups (very similar to Windows). You should not hear from them until the next mandatory system upgrade (in several years).
  - wiredearp 10y ago
    Or tweak the popups to only trigger on important security updates. That's what I did for my father and now I'm not even sure he knows who I am.
- tobltobs 10y ago
  Since Win8, if a relative, who only needs a browser and a word processor, asks me to reinstall his computer for him I just install Ubuntu without asking and telling. Most can't tell the difference and no one switched later to Windows. Most like the intuitive new "Windows" UI ... Imho the times where Windows was easier are gone. Ubuntu is the new easy.
- Scarblac 10y ago
  I have a desktop at home with both Windows 7 and Ubuntu 14.04. The default boot option is Windows. The machine is about eight years old. By now Windows has become unbearably slow, so the rest of my family (wife, 7 year old, 2 year old) all always choose Ubuntu, and they have no complaints. Of course, everything they do happens in a browser, but that's probably true for a lot of people.
illys 10y ago
It starts slow, but an ever-upper trend shows something: To me, it means people succeeding with it are incentive to others. Of course there is no marketing or TV ads to kick-off a large public (explaining a slow take-off). In my family, the hacker sons had Linux for 10 years... Then Windows XP retired and the grand-parents had to throw their very clean and working computers. At this point they got Linux Mint, saved money, and (as end-users) did not see any difference with Windows XP (except that green color). From that time, the aunt and sister have also moved to Linux Mint and are happy with it. By the way, libreOffice was unpleasant for them (habits and broken document layouts) and they smiled back to WPS Office. Windows is gone in 4 houses, including 3 non-geek houses; IT wastes have a lot decreased and money is saved for better purposes... And it is ages the geek family members were not called for viruses or cryptohacks. They are only called for new installs :-)
- pjmlp 10y ago
  > And it is ages the geek family members were not called for viruses or cryptohacks. They will soon http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/09/linux-kernel-security-needs-fixing/ http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/09/linux-kernel-securit...
  - illys 10y ago
    Future will always be fear and uncertainty. I can only testimony for my experience, positive!
- theandrewbailey 10y ago
  Several years ago, I was dealing with Windows XP on my parent's machine. I decided to do something crazy and install Xubuntu (my preferred Linux distro) on it. They didn't miss Windows that much, and there has never been a time where Windows was needed for anything; even the new HP printer + scanner worked fine. Turns out that Linux is just as good for email, web browsing, Youtube, and solitare.

by XaYdEk 10y ago

XaYdEk 10y ago

Ok, don't get me wrong, I love Linux and I'm not trying to be an ass. I'm a Linux guy (Debian/Gentoo mostly), but you will never get average users to switch to Linux, the same way you will never get me to use anything after Windows7 for personal use, I have a rage fit with all the icons and no proper command line and they will have a rage fit (or at least have a feeling of angst) if they have to type 3 lines of commands in the terminal to fix or setup something. Where I see Linux as powerful, they see it as difficult. Where I see Windows and Apple as limited and inflexible, they see it as simple. So it seems people will go for easy 98% of the times.

berntb 10y ago
>> you will never get average users to switch to Linux Last I looked, Linux (in Android) was leading BSD-alike (iOS) -- and those are probably the two most popular platforms around... :-) Especially for average users that are cost conscious. (At a minimum, place one and three of installed world wide base?)
- XaYdEk 10y ago
  Desktop. Talking desktop. You will never get them to do it by themselves, you have to set it up for them. There is a resistence to switching to Linux, because of the image they have in their mind about it. Mint and Ubuntu are very user friendly and yes once I dropped them (Ubuntu & Lubuntu) on my familly computers the resistance vanished in a matter of minutes after using them. Biggest problem was "Why is the X on the left top of the window ?" So I'm saying: without some incentives or guidance, adoption of Linux desktop by average users will remain low because of perceived difficulty, existing familiarity with Windows and Mac OSes and general mental inertia.
illys 10y ago
Forget about command line and just try this: Install Linux Mint (the one I find fit - but other distribs could do), with a web browser and WPS Office, explain your basic Windows user how to reply to system update popups (very similar to Windows). You should not hear from them until the next mandatory system upgrade (in several years).
- wiredearp 10y ago
  Or tweak the popups to only trigger on important security updates. That's what I did for my father and now I'm not even sure he knows who I am.
tobltobs 10y ago
Since Win8, if a relative, who only needs a browser and a word processor, asks me to reinstall his computer for him I just install Ubuntu without asking and telling. Most can't tell the difference and no one switched later to Windows. Most like the intuitive new "Windows" UI ... Imho the times where Windows was easier are gone. Ubuntu is the new easy.
Scarblac 10y ago
I have a desktop at home with both Windows 7 and Ubuntu 14.04. The default boot option is Windows. The machine is about eight years old. By now Windows has become unbearably slow, so the rest of my family (wife, 7 year old, 2 year old) all always choose Ubuntu, and they have no complaints. Of course, everything they do happens in a browser, but that's probably true for a lot of people.

illys 10y ago

It starts slow, but an ever-upper trend shows something: To me, it means people succeeding with it are incentive to others. Of course there is no marketing or TV ads to kick-off a large public (explaining a slow take-off). In my family, the hacker sons had Linux for 10 years... Then Windows XP retired and the grand-parents had to throw their very clean and working computers. At this point they got Linux Mint, saved money, and (as end-users) did not see any difference with Windows XP (except that green color). From that time, the aunt and sister have also moved to Linux Mint and are happy with it. By the way, libreOffice was unpleasant for them (habits and broken document layouts) and they smiled back to WPS Office. Windows is gone in 4 houses, including 3 non-geek houses; IT wastes have a lot decreased and money is saved for better purposes... And it is ages the geek family members were not called for viruses or cryptohacks. They are only called for new installs :-)

pjmlp 10y ago
> And it is ages the geek family members were not called for viruses or cryptohacks. They will soon http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/09/linux-kernel-security-needs-fixing/ http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/09/linux-kernel-securit...
- illys 10y ago
  Future will always be fear and uncertainty. I can only testimony for my experience, positive!
theandrewbailey 10y ago
Several years ago, I was dealing with Windows XP on my parent's machine. I decided to do something crazy and install Xubuntu (my preferred Linux distro) on it. They didn't miss Windows that much, and there has never been a time where Windows was needed for anything; even the new HP printer + scanner worked fine. Turns out that Linux is just as good for email, web browsing, Youtube, and solitare.