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yes let's put it into perspective. Yes the Linux kernel was developed ~25 years ago. Linux is not an operating system it is a kernel. Gnu/Linux distributions
by iamNumber4 9y ago
yes let's put it into perspective.
Yes the Linux kernel was developed ~25 years ago. Linux is not an operating system it is a kernel. Gnu/Linux distributions have several desktops, depending on what part of the world you are from, etc...
Linux hasn't hit the desktop market because you can not just go to a store and buy one.
The problem is availability, the Average Consumer does not what to buy something, and then alter or modify the product as soon as they get home.
To most people computers are entertainment devices. They just want it to work. They just want to buy one.
The reason that Microsoft, Apple, and even Google (chrome books, android) have hit the market share is because they realized the formula of be a hardware company first, software second.
Yes Microsoft has a cartel on Hardware, as they got all vendor companies to make hardware for them. It's like MacDonalds being a real estate company and not a burger flipping company. They take their money off the top of the hardware vendors. They have created a ecosystem that is endless cycle of upgrade. The Cost of ownership of a Microsoft ecosystem is quite expensive over the long term. They have developed a system of hooking users with the home/personal lines, that have forced business to purchase their products.
I should also point out that, Android (Linux kernel) has the largest market share at the time of writing this. Personal computers are changing to things that fit into pockets.
The average consumer is not going to want a desktop or a laptop anymore. As that their use case of just being entertainment devices.
If Gnu/Linux wants to compete for smaller the professional,Gamer,power user desktop/laptop markets. There needs to be a Hardware company to champion it, (Like Dell) that will put it front and center at the Wal-marts/best-buy's/Fry's of the world. So that we can just go buy one.
Remember the superior product is a matter of perspective. Which is the superior product? The product which is perfect, barely breaks, and is fixed quickly if it does. Or the product that has flaws, multiple ways to break, crash, etc... only lasts a few years.
It all depends. To the salesman the one that breaks of course, so we can sell more of them. If it does not break I can only sell it once.
So... long rant short; until we can just drive to the store and buy a Linux PC off the shelf and start using it . There will be poor market share, and we'll fighting to FUD at the work place.
- type0 9y ago> Linux hasn't hit the desktop market because you can not just go to a store and buy one. Remember the 90s when you could do that, at least the smaller shops used to have some Linux CDs. What happened, why is none seemingly interested in selling it? What i mean, the smaller hw shops that are still around could sell NVMe disks preloaded with Linux distros, they could also sell enclosures so that users would be able to run it via usb 3 as a portable operating system. Let's face it, dual booting is dead, for those with interest in Linux but who can't escape the Windows trap maybe could run it on portable storage.
- iamNumber4 9y agoI do remember buying the install media back in the day, you used to be able to get RedHat, Suse, and FreeBSD (if you were a Unix purist) too. The problem then was the problem right now, you can't buy a pre-loaded Linux PC at the store. Imagine if RedHat back in 96-97 could have got HP, Dell, Compaq, etc... to sell a pre-loaded product. How many more people would have been exposed to Linux. Good or bad, exposure is exposure.
- out_of_protocol 9y agoLinux as in Android already won the market. Desktop OSes... are all bad atm imo, for different reasons. Desktop linux is missing many things to be real choice and can't win until it changes. e.g.: standard application format, working across all the distros - with isolation, permissions and stuff (see android's .apk files, snap, flatpak, appimage etc). fault-proof system updates. atm it's possible to break something via regular update and it'll cost you dearly. maybe win-style restoration points/backups. unified desktop experience, not current shitshow where every single app can draw it's very own shaped buttons
- moron4hire 9y agoGoogle is actively working on their own kernel for their consumer facing operating systems. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fuchsia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fuchsia So that "win" is going to be relatively short-lived.
- Nomentatus 9y agoThere's more than one possible reason for this move, but I can't help thinking that escaping the GPL 2 with its (hardware and software) patent grab might be the biggest single reason.
- walterbell 9y agoDid you mean GPL3? If not, would appreciate a link on GPL2 patent issues.
- Nomentatus 9y agoGPL2 Did you Google? Google "gpl 2 patent clause" First result, for me: Patent clauses in software licences - software patents wiki (en.swpat.org) en.swpat.org/wiki/Patent_clauses_in_software_licences Jump to GNU GPL v2 - (See: GPLv2 and patents). See section 6 and section 7. Patent attorney Dan Ravicher argues that GPLv2 includes an implicit ...