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Desktop Linux has been getting better each year, though (at least on average). If it still hasn't crossed the threshold of being good enough for the mainstream,

Desktop Linux has been getting better each year, though (at least on average). If it still hasn't crossed the threshold of being good enough for the mainstream, it's because their standards have also been increasing.

btmorex 16y ago
I think that's true, but also Linux on the desktop is the best system for some people right now (me for example). Even if money were no object, like if someone said you can have any Apple system you want, I'd still pick a normal PC with Linux on it. I've always thought the whole "year of the linux desktop" was a meme mostly kept alive by people who never have and would never use Linux anyway. People who actually use Linux don't think it's going to suddenly take over. On the other hand, most think it is actually a good system today.
bad_user 16y ago
This is the first year I've installed a Linux distribution that just worked on my laptop (a Dell Inspiron). Graphics, sound, built-in wireless, usb 3G modem, built-in webcam ... all of them worked out of the box. The experience is great, although I'm still not recommending it to non-technical users ... once the Linux desktop is good enough, you still have the problem of apps running on top, and unfortunately the environment is not really friendly to proprietary software.
instcode 16y ago
Yes, if something is great since day one, it probably stays away from the improving motivation. If you are willing to pay a price for what is being offered, you will get more pleased when it gets better and costs you nothing...
cookiecaper 16y ago
Desktop Linux _is_ the best system around. It's not about quality. People don't care about technical excellence, they care about _doing things_. And for now, Windows offers the easiest way of doing things, because everything works on it because a manufacturer will never release something that doesn't work on the general swath of Windows computers. Pretty much the entire appeal of Mac is a) no viruses/spyware (because nobody writes viruses or spyware for Mac because its userbase is too insignificant to target) and b) big icons and prettier colors, making it "easier" to use. Windows is an institution. It doesn't just give way once something becomes objectively superior; many systems have been superior to the their Microsoft contemporary and Windows didn't magically crumble. It's about installed base.
- contextfree 16y ago
  Didn't spell it out I guess, but "good enough for the mainstream" is here meant to imply "... according to the criteria the mainstream actually cares about".

btmorex 16y ago

I think that's true, but also Linux on the desktop is the best system for some people right now (me for example). Even if money were no object, like if someone said you can have any Apple system you want, I'd still pick a normal PC with Linux on it. I've always thought the whole "year of the linux desktop" was a meme mostly kept alive by people who never have and would never use Linux anyway. People who actually use Linux don't think it's going to suddenly take over. On the other hand, most think it is actually a good system today.

bad_user 16y ago

This is the first year I've installed a Linux distribution that just worked on my laptop (a Dell Inspiron). Graphics, sound, built-in wireless, usb 3G modem, built-in webcam ... all of them worked out of the box. The experience is great, although I'm still not recommending it to non-technical users ... once the Linux desktop is good enough, you still have the problem of apps running on top, and unfortunately the environment is not really friendly to proprietary software.

instcode 16y ago

Yes, if something is great since day one, it probably stays away from the improving motivation. If you are willing to pay a price for what is being offered, you will get more pleased when it gets better and costs you nothing...

cookiecaper 16y ago

Desktop Linux _is_ the best system around. It's not about quality. People don't care about technical excellence, they care about _doing things_. And for now, Windows offers the easiest way of doing things, because everything works on it because a manufacturer will never release something that doesn't work on the general swath of Windows computers. Pretty much the entire appeal of Mac is a) no viruses/spyware (because nobody writes viruses or spyware for Mac because its userbase is too insignificant to target) and b) big icons and prettier colors, making it "easier" to use. Windows is an institution. It doesn't just give way once something becomes objectively superior; many systems have been superior to the their Microsoft contemporary and Windows didn't magically crumble. It's about installed base.

contextfree 16y ago
Didn't spell it out I guess, but "good enough for the mainstream" is here meant to imply "... according to the criteria the mainstream actually cares about".