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I don't really get the problem. The desktop never really needed Linux, and Linux never really needed the desktop. People seemed to like Ubuntu some years ago

I don't really get the problem. The desktop never really needed Linux, and Linux never really needed the desktop. People seemed to like Ubuntu some years ago though.

jlgreco 14y ago
I think the problem is that some Linux detractors do not realize that there are two seperate standards of success (as mentioned on the Google+ discussion). There is the business standard, and there is the community standard. Linux doesn't need to be a threat to Apple/Microsoft in order to be a success. That is an artificial bar that some people seem to have become obsessed with.
- jiggy2011 14y ago
  I agree, I often get criticised for running a Linux desktop by Windows and Mac people because "nobody uses that apart from geeks lol". Well I'm a geek and I use it because it's the best system for what I do (writing Linux hosted server side stuff) so why do I care what the rest of the market is doing? I guess there is some merit to this argument in the sense that if Linux was the defacto standard on the desktop I wouldn't have to maintain a dual boot. On the other hand I quite like using a niche OS because it means that I'm not a target for malware/shovelware/adware vendors.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    ""nobody uses that apart from geeks lol". Well I'm a geek" Exactly. I cannot count the number of times I have had the discussion: "You should use [MacOSX/Windows].", "Why?", "My grandmother can use [MacOSX/Windows] all by herself." It is hard to physically restrain myself when people think that is an insightful thing to say.
    - ekianjo 14y ago
      Same thing here. I get the "why dont you like/use a Mac/iPad?" quite often these days, which is seriously annoying when coming from non-tech litterate people.
- Spooky23 14y ago
  I agree -- its even stranger when you consider that the commercial success that Linux has had on the server side doesn't really impact Microsoft. Linux killed commercial UNIX.
learc83 14y ago
>The desktop never really needed Linux That depends on how far Microsoft and Apple go with the tabletization of Windows and OS X in the next few years. I've been a mac user for years, but after playing with mountain lion, I could see the writing on the wall. It was time for a new laptop, so I went with a thinkpad with Arch Linux. I don't think that Microsoft will ever manage to completely force the app store on everyone--solely because of enterprise customers--unless maybe they force you to use it on home/basic and make it optional on business/enterprise. However, I do think that's what they and Apple eventually want. I also think that's probably what the average consumer wants. We need Linux as a third (and 4th, 5th...) option for all of us edge cases that don't fit the standard consumer mold.
- cooldeal 14y ago
  >That depends on how far Microsoft and Apple go with the tabletization of Windows and OS X in the next few years. >We need Linux as a third (and 4th, 5th...) option for all of us edge cases that don't fit the standard consumer mold. Err, what about Android? >I don't think that Microsoft will ever manage to completely force the app store on everyone--solely because of enterprise customers--unless maybe they force you to use it on home/basic and make it optional on business/enterprise That is already the case. To sideload apps home/pro versions you need a valid developer license. To sideload on Windows Enterprise the domain IT admins can do it. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsstore/archive/2012/04/25/deploying-metro-style-apps-to-businesses.aspx http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsstore/archive/2012/04/25/depl...
  - learc83 14y ago
    >That is already the case. To sideload apps home/pro versions you need a valid developer license. To sideload on Windows Enterprise the domain IT admins can do it. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsstore/archive/2012/04/25/depl.. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsstore/archive/2012/04/25/depl.... Not really a windows guy, so I didn't know it had gotten that bad. Wow. >Err, what about Android? Android is far too rigid in it's current iteration to use as a general purpose OS. There's just too much you can't do with it. Google has it's vision of what it should be and you have to fight to fight the OS to break away from that (try removing the navigation bar on 4.1). Android could work as a general purpose OS, but it would require a major fork.
deleted 14y ago
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coffeeaddicted 14y ago
The desktop needs Linux if you care about a free desktop. I spend most of my waking life on the desktop and I just prefer a system that allows me to dig as deep into it as I want. Not because I enjoy the digging, but because I know it's available when I have to (once in a while).

I don't really get the problem. The desktop never really needed Linux, and Linux never really needed the desktop. People seemed to like Ubuntu some years ago though.

jlgreco 14y ago

I think the problem is that some Linux detractors do not realize that there are two seperate standards of success (as mentioned on the Google+ discussion). There is the business standard, and there is the community standard. Linux doesn't need to be a threat to Apple/Microsoft in order to be a success. That is an artificial bar that some people seem to have become obsessed with.

jiggy2011 14y ago
I agree, I often get criticised for running a Linux desktop by Windows and Mac people because "nobody uses that apart from geeks lol". Well I'm a geek and I use it because it's the best system for what I do (writing Linux hosted server side stuff) so why do I care what the rest of the market is doing? I guess there is some merit to this argument in the sense that if Linux was the defacto standard on the desktop I wouldn't have to maintain a dual boot. On the other hand I quite like using a niche OS because it means that I'm not a target for malware/shovelware/adware vendors.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  ""nobody uses that apart from geeks lol". Well I'm a geek" Exactly. I cannot count the number of times I have had the discussion: "You should use [MacOSX/Windows].", "Why?", "My grandmother can use [MacOSX/Windows] all by herself." It is hard to physically restrain myself when people think that is an insightful thing to say.
  - ekianjo 14y ago
    Same thing here. I get the "why dont you like/use a Mac/iPad?" quite often these days, which is seriously annoying when coming from non-tech litterate people.
Spooky23 14y ago
I agree -- its even stranger when you consider that the commercial success that Linux has had on the server side doesn't really impact Microsoft. Linux killed commercial UNIX.

learc83 14y ago

>The desktop never really needed Linux That depends on how far Microsoft and Apple go with the tabletization of Windows and OS X in the next few years. I've been a mac user for years, but after playing with mountain lion, I could see the writing on the wall. It was time for a new laptop, so I went with a thinkpad with Arch Linux. I don't think that Microsoft will ever manage to completely force the app store on everyone--solely because of enterprise customers--unless maybe they force you to use it on home/basic and make it optional on business/enterprise. However, I do think that's what they and Apple eventually want. I also think that's probably what the average consumer wants. We need Linux as a third (and 4th, 5th...) option for all of us edge cases that don't fit the standard consumer mold.

cooldeal 14y ago
>That depends on how far Microsoft and Apple go with the tabletization of Windows and OS X in the next few years. >We need Linux as a third (and 4th, 5th...) option for all of us edge cases that don't fit the standard consumer mold. Err, what about Android? >I don't think that Microsoft will ever manage to completely force the app store on everyone--solely because of enterprise customers--unless maybe they force you to use it on home/basic and make it optional on business/enterprise That is already the case. To sideload apps home/pro versions you need a valid developer license. To sideload on Windows Enterprise the domain IT admins can do it. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsstore/archive/2012/04/25/deploying-metro-style-apps-to-businesses.aspx http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsstore/archive/2012/04/25/depl...
- learc83 14y ago
  >That is already the case. To sideload apps home/pro versions you need a valid developer license. To sideload on Windows Enterprise the domain IT admins can do it. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsstore/archive/2012/04/25/depl.. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsstore/archive/2012/04/25/depl.... Not really a windows guy, so I didn't know it had gotten that bad. Wow. >Err, what about Android? Android is far too rigid in it's current iteration to use as a general purpose OS. There's just too much you can't do with it. Google has it's vision of what it should be and you have to fight to fight the OS to break away from that (try removing the navigation bar on 4.1). Android could work as a general purpose OS, but it would require a major fork.

deleted 14y ago

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coffeeaddicted 14y ago

The desktop needs Linux if you care about a free desktop. I spend most of my waking life on the desktop and I just prefer a system that allows me to dig as deep into it as I want. Not because I enjoy the digging, but because I know it's available when I have to (once in a while).