4 ms·
Makes sense to me. Just as Android is spreading like wildfire in the developing world via lower-end handsets, I would expect zero-cost free-software desktop st
by cs702 15y ago
Makes sense to me.
Just as Android is spreading like wildfire in the developing world via lower-end handsets, I would expect zero-cost free-software desktop stacks to gain share in 'less-developed' countries as hardware prices continue to drop. (The Free desktop stack is already economically viable in the new range of sub-$25 PCs; proprietary stacks are not.)
My impression (based purely on anecdotal evidence) is that use of Free software on the desktop has been growing at a fast pace in the poorest regions of the world for some time, but the trend is still somewhat 'invisible' as the aggregate numbers are still quite small.
- eigenvector 15y agoYou can't install pirated iOS on a low-cost handset. If the same were true of Windows you'd be right, but for many users GNU/Linux and Windows have the same price: $0 or the cost of the installation media.
- apetrovic 15y agoPoor countries have very little (if any) piracy control. Cost of Windows XP or Win7 even in Eastern Europe is usually exactly the same as Ubuntu.
- cs702 15y agoeigenvector, apetrovic -- that used to be a more important factor some years ago, when the Free desktop was unusable for regular folk, and pirating software was much easier. I'm not sure it's an important factor anymore, because the Free desktop has become more usable, and using pirated software has become much more difficult. Nowadays, users who pirate proprietary operating systems end up with unpatched, insecure systems that can't be easily updated, and which require all sorts of workarounds for installing non-pirated applications, among other problems. Meanwhile, proprietary software vendors have been hard at work to make life unpleasant for anyone who attempts to use their code without permission.