6 ms·

Ubuntu and Its Leader Set Sights on the Mainstream

48 points by peter123 18y ago

jacobolus 18y ago
Could 2009 finally be … http://www.google.com/search?q=%22year+of+the+linux+desktop%22 http://www.google.com/search?q=%22year+of+the+linux+desktop%... ??
- DTrejo 18y ago
  http://blogs.computerworld.com/we_already_had_the_year_of_the_linux_desktop http://blogs.computerworld.com/we_already_had_the_year_of_th... :)
- froo 18y ago
  I had a dual boot xp/ubuntu system for the last 18 months now and last night around 1am I reformatted and am on a pure ubuntu system as Photoshop was really the only thing that kept me tethered to Windows (I bit the bullet and have instead decided to learn GIMP) I read the article this morning, good read.
  - jacobolus 18y ago
    > (I bit the bullet and have instead decided to learn GIMP) Don't do it. You're artificially constraining yourself with a tool less common, less powerful, less stable, less elegant. If you instead spend that time learning about color science, the benefit to your work (assuming you do any kind of art or design) will be much more significant.
    - froo 18y ago
      I agree that photoshop is the better of the two tools, I'm mostly using gimp BECAUSE it's a less powerful tool.. it's an experiment to see what I can create using lesser tools so that I rely more on my creative abilities and less on an elegant solution. I may well end up hating it, but I wont know that until I give it a try.
      - jacobolus 18y ago
        Using bad equipment as a constraint on your art is not likely to spark creativity, but instead just give you a worse result. It's like saying you're going to start programming in Cobol instead of Python because it might make you rely more on your creative abilities, or you're going to start running in wooden clogs instead of running shoes, or replace your computer display with a 10" one. If you want to guide creative thinking, put a constraint on the output, not the toolset.
  - Herring 18y ago
    I've heard photoshop runs on wine.
    - etal 18y ago
      Some versions do. There was a big (funded) push to get Adobe's Creative Suite running on Wine a while ago. http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=17 http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application...
- martythemaniak 18y ago
  The answer seems to be... no http://www.google.com/trends?q=linux+desktop http://www.google.com/trends?q=linux+desktop In any case, someone's gonna have to define what "year of the linux desktop" beforehand.
gibsonf1 18y ago
If only Autodesk products ran on Linux! (I think they made a pact with MS years ago to be exclusive on MS though)
- froo 18y ago
  You're statement is wrong unfortunately. Maya (arguably the premier 3D modelling program for film and games) runs on Windows, Mac and Linux systems
  - gibsonf1 18y ago
    Well, their primary applications, such as AutoCad and Revit, only run on Windows. They own roughly 80% of the world market in these cad applications.
- peregrine 18y ago
  Well the issue probably is the companies that use Autodesk need to print the drawings they create on special printers. With special drivers. And thats only the tip of the iceberg I'm sure.
dhughes 18y ago
Linux has been pretty solid since 1999/2000, before that it was OK for home use but you had to like messing around with it (although it's no worse than Windows was in '93...making a boot disk to play games to get around the memory limitations). Ubuntu blew the doors off when it came along and made it a Mom and Pop OS i.e. anyone could easily install and use it, I put it on my 60 year-old Aunt's computer. Also the other reason Linux is gaining in popularity is not due to Linux, most average home computer users all do the same things; check e-mail (web based not ISP), IM (web), browse web pages - all of which are not OS dependent.
- pcc 18y ago
  Hmmn -- surely, if something were completely independent/neutral of OS, by definition then it would not be able to exert any influence on the popularity of any OS? So if Linux arguably is gaining in popularity because of average home users checking webmail, browsing etc; then it seems to me this must in fact be ascribable to some fundamental differentiating characteristic(s) of Linux applicable to these users. Possible differentiators might be cost, ability to arrange for fast boot to a usable web browsing environment, reduced virus concerns, etc. etc.
  - dhughes 18y ago
    Not necessarily, I'm sure a lot of people thought, and still think, Windows is the only choice i.e. Windows = computer. They don't realize there are other Operating Systems suitable for the home user. Now that Apple is gaining in popularity and applications such as Firefox are OS neutral people have a choice, everything is evening out and that is why Mac and Linux are gaining ground.
  - etal 18y ago
    There's a theory that any industry category will naturally support three competitors, in a certain market-share ratio like 60%, 30%, 10% [1]. This happens free of market manipulation, and mostly depends on marketing strategy rather than the competitors' actual merits. Think Google, MSN and Yahoo right now, for example, or car brands in the past, soft drinks, car rental companies -- there's a market leader, a rival/also-ran, and a something-different. Anyone else has trivial market share. Following this rule, the market for operating systems is clearly out of whack. Windows' share should be much smaller, but still majority, because that's how it's marketed -- the market leader, the one everybody else uses. Apple should get the Avis spot -- #2, but we try harder. And Linux should still hold onto around 10% share, by adapting to meet the specialized needs that Joe User-oriented OSes have to leave behind. The rise of cross-platform and platform-independent apps, and mobile devices where the OS shouldn't even be noticeable, break the network effect that supports Windows' considerable lead and allows the market shares to drift back toward the natural ranking. [1] Closest citation: 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Law of the Ladder. I think Laura Ries has supported the 3-player claim more specifically.
jawngee 18y ago
Until someone spends a good bucket of cash on hiring UI talent to clean up the abortion that is the linux desktop, they'll still be lagging way behind OSX and Windows, both of which offer a superior and consistent experience. I love linux, btw, and know my way around the command prompt fairly well. And, of course, it is my first preference for most server scenarios. That said, my opinion is that it's a near failure as a desktop OS. I have Ubuntu installed on my Dell laptop and have had it on there for about a month. It's certainly usable, and I certainly get my work done in it, but it always feels like I'm using something that has been duct taped together. Everytime I climb back aboard my Mac Pro at work, it feels like I just took a shower. For starters, X has to go the way of Quartz. I still can't get this laptop to play full screen video at a decent frame rate. No problem when I dual boot into Windows. No problem when I had hackintosh installed on this laptop. Why is this so hard? It's not the decoding, it's the drawing. Basic shit like window ornamentation is always "almost there" and it frustrates me that it isn't "there". It's like the uncanny valley of UI, this linux desktop. Compviz is cool, but feels cheap and has all kinds of redraw issues. Most of the free replacements for professional tools feel like they're designed by people with severe visual disabilities. Froo, you are in for a rude awakening thinking you can replace photoshop with Gimp, even Gimp 3.0 is still a long shot away. Thankfully, I can get my work done in a full screen terminal for most of it, Eclipse for the rest. That's my opinion after using it for a month. So not ready for prime time.
- jawngee 18y ago
  Case in point, right after posting this, my f*cking audio stopped working just like that. Awesome.
  - Herring 18y ago
    Sounds to me like you're having some personal problems, like maybe your graphics card isn't supported. Spend some time at ubuntuforums.com & see if they can help.
    - jawngee 18y ago
      This is a pretty common dell laptop. If we're talking about prime time, and I have to ask on forums for help with something basic like this, then is it really ready for prime time? I don't hate ubuntu, I just hate when people say it's ready for prime time when it's most certainly not. Ready for netbooks? Sure. But not for a full-on windows laptop replacement. No way.
etal 18y ago
A feature on R a few days ago, and now Ubuntu? What, did Stallman's airship raid the NYT over the holidays?
hussong 18y ago
From the article: "Ubuntu (pronounced oo-BOON-too)" -- intended pun or involuntary irony?

48 points by peter123 18y ago

Could 2009 finally be … http://www.google.com/search?q=%22year+of+the+linux+desktop%22 http://www.google.com/search?q=%22year+of+the+linux+desktop%... ??

DTrejo 18y ago
http://blogs.computerworld.com/we_already_had_the_year_of_the_linux_desktop http://blogs.computerworld.com/we_already_had_the_year_of_th... :)
froo 18y ago
I had a dual boot xp/ubuntu system for the last 18 months now and last night around 1am I reformatted and am on a pure ubuntu system as Photoshop was really the only thing that kept me tethered to Windows (I bit the bullet and have instead decided to learn GIMP) I read the article this morning, good read.
- jacobolus 18y ago
  > (I bit the bullet and have instead decided to learn GIMP) Don't do it. You're artificially constraining yourself with a tool less common, less powerful, less stable, less elegant. If you instead spend that time learning about color science, the benefit to your work (assuming you do any kind of art or design) will be much more significant.
  - froo 18y ago
    I agree that photoshop is the better of the two tools, I'm mostly using gimp BECAUSE it's a less powerful tool.. it's an experiment to see what I can create using lesser tools so that I rely more on my creative abilities and less on an elegant solution. I may well end up hating it, but I wont know that until I give it a try.
    - jacobolus 18y ago
      Using bad equipment as a constraint on your art is not likely to spark creativity, but instead just give you a worse result. It's like saying you're going to start programming in Cobol instead of Python because it might make you rely more on your creative abilities, or you're going to start running in wooden clogs instead of running shoes, or replace your computer display with a 10" one. If you want to guide creative thinking, put a constraint on the output, not the toolset.
- Herring 18y ago
  I've heard photoshop runs on wine.
  - etal 18y ago
    Some versions do. There was a big (funded) push to get Adobe's Creative Suite running on Wine a while ago. http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=17 http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application...
martythemaniak 18y ago
The answer seems to be... no http://www.google.com/trends?q=linux+desktop http://www.google.com/trends?q=linux+desktop In any case, someone's gonna have to define what "year of the linux desktop" beforehand.

gibsonf1 18y ago

If only Autodesk products ran on Linux! (I think they made a pact with MS years ago to be exclusive on MS though)

froo 18y ago
You're statement is wrong unfortunately. Maya (arguably the premier 3D modelling program for film and games) runs on Windows, Mac and Linux systems
- gibsonf1 18y ago
  Well, their primary applications, such as AutoCad and Revit, only run on Windows. They own roughly 80% of the world market in these cad applications.
peregrine 18y ago
Well the issue probably is the companies that use Autodesk need to print the drawings they create on special printers. With special drivers. And thats only the tip of the iceberg I'm sure.

dhughes 18y ago

Linux has been pretty solid since 1999/2000, before that it was OK for home use but you had to like messing around with it (although it's no worse than Windows was in '93...making a boot disk to play games to get around the memory limitations). Ubuntu blew the doors off when it came along and made it a Mom and Pop OS i.e. anyone could easily install and use it, I put it on my 60 year-old Aunt's computer. Also the other reason Linux is gaining in popularity is not due to Linux, most average home computer users all do the same things; check e-mail (web based not ISP), IM (web), browse web pages - all of which are not OS dependent.

pcc 18y ago
Hmmn -- surely, if something were completely independent/neutral of OS, by definition then it would not be able to exert any influence on the popularity of any OS? So if Linux arguably is gaining in popularity because of average home users checking webmail, browsing etc; then it seems to me this must in fact be ascribable to some fundamental differentiating characteristic(s) of Linux applicable to these users. Possible differentiators might be cost, ability to arrange for fast boot to a usable web browsing environment, reduced virus concerns, etc. etc.
- dhughes 18y ago
  Not necessarily, I'm sure a lot of people thought, and still think, Windows is the only choice i.e. Windows = computer. They don't realize there are other Operating Systems suitable for the home user. Now that Apple is gaining in popularity and applications such as Firefox are OS neutral people have a choice, everything is evening out and that is why Mac and Linux are gaining ground.
- etal 18y ago
  There's a theory that any industry category will naturally support three competitors, in a certain market-share ratio like 60%, 30%, 10% [1]. This happens free of market manipulation, and mostly depends on marketing strategy rather than the competitors' actual merits. Think Google, MSN and Yahoo right now, for example, or car brands in the past, soft drinks, car rental companies -- there's a market leader, a rival/also-ran, and a something-different. Anyone else has trivial market share. Following this rule, the market for operating systems is clearly out of whack. Windows' share should be much smaller, but still majority, because that's how it's marketed -- the market leader, the one everybody else uses. Apple should get the Avis spot -- #2, but we try harder. And Linux should still hold onto around 10% share, by adapting to meet the specialized needs that Joe User-oriented OSes have to leave behind. The rise of cross-platform and platform-independent apps, and mobile devices where the OS shouldn't even be noticeable, break the network effect that supports Windows' considerable lead and allows the market shares to drift back toward the natural ranking. [1] Closest citation: 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Law of the Ladder. I think Laura Ries has supported the 3-player claim more specifically.

jawngee 18y ago

Until someone spends a good bucket of cash on hiring UI talent to clean up the abortion that is the linux desktop, they'll still be lagging way behind OSX and Windows, both of which offer a superior and consistent experience. I love linux, btw, and know my way around the command prompt fairly well. And, of course, it is my first preference for most server scenarios. That said, my opinion is that it's a near failure as a desktop OS. I have Ubuntu installed on my Dell laptop and have had it on there for about a month. It's certainly usable, and I certainly get my work done in it, but it always feels like I'm using something that has been duct taped together. Everytime I climb back aboard my Mac Pro at work, it feels like I just took a shower. For starters, X has to go the way of Quartz. I still can't get this laptop to play full screen video at a decent frame rate. No problem when I dual boot into Windows. No problem when I had hackintosh installed on this laptop. Why is this so hard? It's not the decoding, it's the drawing. Basic shit like window ornamentation is always "almost there" and it frustrates me that it isn't "there". It's like the uncanny valley of UI, this linux desktop. Compviz is cool, but feels cheap and has all kinds of redraw issues. Most of the free replacements for professional tools feel like they're designed by people with severe visual disabilities. Froo, you are in for a rude awakening thinking you can replace photoshop with Gimp, even Gimp 3.0 is still a long shot away. Thankfully, I can get my work done in a full screen terminal for most of it, Eclipse for the rest. That's my opinion after using it for a month. So not ready for prime time.

jawngee 18y ago
Case in point, right after posting this, my f*cking audio stopped working just like that. Awesome.
- Herring 18y ago
  Sounds to me like you're having some personal problems, like maybe your graphics card isn't supported. Spend some time at ubuntuforums.com & see if they can help.
  - jawngee 18y ago
    This is a pretty common dell laptop. If we're talking about prime time, and I have to ask on forums for help with something basic like this, then is it really ready for prime time? I don't hate ubuntu, I just hate when people say it's ready for prime time when it's most certainly not. Ready for netbooks? Sure. But not for a full-on windows laptop replacement. No way.

etal 18y ago

A feature on R a few days ago, and now Ubuntu? What, did Stallman's airship raid the NYT over the holidays?

hussong 18y ago

From the article: "Ubuntu (pronounced oo-BOON-too)" -- intended pun or involuntary irony?