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It very much depends on what the goal is. GNU/Linux is already extremely popular on server, on embedded devices and on smartphones in the form of Android. Now

It very much depends on what the goal is. GNU/Linux is already extremely popular on server, on embedded devices and on smartphones in the form of Android. Now why wouldn't we want it to become a desktop platform with mass appeal? It certainly would improve the situation for existing Linux desktop users insofar as commercial attractiveness is directly proportional to the size of the user base. A greater number of users could for instance make it more likely for game developers to port their products to Linux. It also forces hardware manufacturers to pay more attention to their Linux drivers or risk being outdone by their competitors. It could, furthermore, prompt companies to port their specialised commercial software (e.g. Photoshop) to Linux. All in all I'm unable to see the downside of strengthening the Linux ecosystem.

jlgreco 13y ago
Linux on the Desktop is like owning your own Cessna. It's not something that you do unless you have a very good reason to. You need it for work (crop dusting)? Great, it can accommodate you. You need it because you have an exceptional use-case (live in Alaska)? Great, with some effort it can probably be adapted to work there too. You need it because you have an unquenchable thirst for power and control, or because you yearn for freedom? Yeah, it'll do that too. Do you need it because 20 miles is too far a commute to walk every day? What the hell are you thinking? Just get a car; the advantages of a Cessna are of no use to you, it can only be a hassle. The flying car is a fool's errand. For people who need airplanes, or want airplanes, airplanes are still here. For people who just need a car, there is no good reason to make that car fly. If my mother asks me what kind of car she should buy, I don't tell her to buy an airplane. If she asks me what sort of computer to use, I don't tell her to run Linux. The downside to a bunch of suburbanites commuting with Cessna's should be obvious. The downsides to a bunch of "suburbanites" trying to casually use Linux are admittedly less obvious, but still present if you think about it. How much money do you think Microsoft and Apple spend on customer support? The community sure isn't going to take up that slack, and I see no reason to think that companies like Canonical are up to that task (they can't even handle their current (skewed technical) user-base (see: other commentators in this thread). In practice, unskilled users put additional pressure on volunteer developers. Non-technical users are not free; they come at a price. I love Linux on the desktop, I've been using it as my primary OS for more than a decade now. The flying-car/'Year of Linux on the Desktop' dream though? I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and turned the t-shirt into a shoprag.
blibble 13y ago
there's no GNU on Android, and probably not on embedded devices either (given the GPLv3) so you'd be more accurate to say just Linux, rather than parroting stallman
- jlgreco 13y ago
  Correct. I like the phrase "GNU/Linux", but only in recent years with the popularization of other userlands that makes the distinction has become useful.
- teho 13y ago
  glibc is under GPLv2 and I find it to be the defining piece of GNU/Linux system. The coreutils are under GPLv3 and therefore projects like Tizen use pre-GPLv3 version of such software. So parts of GNU ecosystem are popular on embedded and the others are not.

jlgreco 13y ago

Linux on the Desktop is like owning your own Cessna. It's not something that you do unless you have a very good reason to. You need it for work (crop dusting)? Great, it can accommodate you. You need it because you have an exceptional use-case (live in Alaska)? Great, with some effort it can probably be adapted to work there too. You need it because you have an unquenchable thirst for power and control, or because you yearn for freedom? Yeah, it'll do that too. Do you need it because 20 miles is too far a commute to walk every day? What the hell are you thinking? Just get a car; the advantages of a Cessna are of no use to you, it can only be a hassle. The flying car is a fool's errand. For people who need airplanes, or want airplanes, airplanes are still here. For people who just need a car, there is no good reason to make that car fly. If my mother asks me what kind of car she should buy, I don't tell her to buy an airplane. If she asks me what sort of computer to use, I don't tell her to run Linux. The downside to a bunch of suburbanites commuting with Cessna's should be obvious. The downsides to a bunch of "suburbanites" trying to casually use Linux are admittedly less obvious, but still present if you think about it. How much money do you think Microsoft and Apple spend on customer support? The community sure isn't going to take up that slack, and I see no reason to think that companies like Canonical are up to that task (they can't even handle their current (skewed technical) user-base (see: other commentators in this thread). In practice, unskilled users put additional pressure on volunteer developers. Non-technical users are not free; they come at a price. I love Linux on the desktop, I've been using it as my primary OS for more than a decade now. The flying-car/'Year of Linux on the Desktop' dream though? I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and turned the t-shirt into a shoprag.

blibble 13y ago

there's no GNU on Android, and probably not on embedded devices either (given the GPLv3) so you'd be more accurate to say just Linux, rather than parroting stallman

jlgreco 13y ago
Correct. I like the phrase "GNU/Linux", but only in recent years with the popularization of other userlands that makes the distinction has become useful.
teho 13y ago
glibc is under GPLv2 and I find it to be the defining piece of GNU/Linux system. The coreutils are under GPLv3 and therefore projects like Tizen use pre-GPLv3 version of such software. So parts of GNU ecosystem are popular on embedded and the others are not.