"Can the ordinary computer user ditch Windows for Linux? The question came up when I decided that my six-year-old version of Microsoft's Windows operating system had to be replaced. My Sony Vaio computer was still too young for the trash heap. And I was hesitant to spend $200 on the Windows XP operating system, especially with Microsoft planning to launch XP's replacement, Vista, in January. So, I decided to give the operating systems that run on Linux technology a try."
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Member since:2005-07-07
How do you get the software out there, and in enough of a critical mass, to ensure that people stop sending Office documents and start sending ODF ones? How do you make sure that open formats that work well on any system are used at the expense of proprietary ones like Windows Media and Real on the internet? How do you ensure that this ball gets rolling and starts a snowball effect, supporting desktop Linux in a non-linear, upward, fashion as it rolls?
OpenOffice supports MS Office documents very well so you don't really need to worry about people switching to ODF. As far as media formats, realplayer is available for Linux and is better than the Windows version in my opinion. Most formats don't even play out of the box on a Windows machine anyway. In fact I would wager that most Linux distros support more formats out of the box than the XP upgrade the author finally settled on.
Member since:2005-11-13
As far as media formats, realplayer is available for Linux and is better than the Windows version in my opinion. Most formats don't even play out of the box on a Windows machine anyway. In fact I would wager that most Linux distros support more formats out of the box than the XP upgrade the author finally settled on.
How many DRM'd formats does Linux support, and how many will it support in the future? And more importantly, for the ones it does support, how big of a pain in the ass is it to get them up and running and communicating with portable devices, especially the ones that only work on WMP10 on the Windows side?
The idea of DRM'd media formats might be irrelavent to the overzealous Stallmanites out there, but to Generation iPod, such a thing is very relavent.
Edited 2006-05-15 23:17
Member since:
2005-07-06
For me, though, using the Linux systems didn't make sense. I often send documents and spreadsheets between my home PC and the one at work, which uses Microsoft Office. And the files are sometimes complex. Meanwhile, for both personal and professional computer use, I want access to all multimedia functions.
That paragraph summed up desktop Linux's single biggest problem and dilemma. Not only does the software need to be worked on, and distributors need to make the OS a coherent whole like Windows, but there is a strategic game at foot.
How do you get the software out there, and in enough of a critical mass, to ensure that people stop sending Office documents and start sending ODF ones? How do you make sure that open formats that work well on any system are used at the expense of proprietary ones like Windows Media and Real on the internet? How do you ensure that this ball gets rolling and starts a snowball effect, supporting desktop Linux in a non-linear, upward, fashion as it rolls?
Unless that strategy is worked out and those questions are answered, you can forget desktop Linux being used in more of a widespread way than it is now. Most distributors seem to think that the answer is running around frantically trying to provide limited and unreliable support for Windows Media (cementing its position even further in the process!) and Microsoft Office files. Unfortunately, that is treating the symptoms rather than providing a cure, and will ensure that desktop Linux really never amounts to anything.
Edited 2006-05-15 22:50