Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 28th Aug 2012 20:46 UTC
"For years now, Linux has been a black sheep standing in the shadow of Apple and Microsoft. Despite having a fervent and enthusiastic following, the operating system hasn't been able to grab a sizable share of the computing market and has instead been content to subsist on the customers that come away dissatisfied with the mainstream competition. But that may be about to change. With the release of Microsoft Windows 8 on the horizon, some are saying Linux may have a great opportunity to steal a significant share of the market away from Microsoft, allowing it to finally take the helm as a major operating system service provider." This has to stop, and the only reason I'm linking to this nonsense is to make this very clear: Linux will not magically conquer the desktop or even make any significant gains because of Windows 8. People who don't like Windows 8 (Vista) will continue to use Windows 7 (Windows XP). This is getting so tiring. And does it even matter? Linux is winning big time in the mobile space, server space, and countless other spaces. The desktop is and always has been irrelevant to Linux.
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Member since:2006-01-27
Member since:2010-06-08
For some - may be. For others - they simply might not like the new design, and have nothing against trying other alternatives, out of which Linux is the easiest (or cheapest) to try. So some amount of new Linux users is a very possible outcome from changes in Windows 8. I already heard from several people who use Windows 7 and dislike changes in Windows 8 that they are going to try Linux as an alternative.
Edited 2012-08-28 21:33 UTC
RE[2]: Comment by shmerl
by Drumhellar on Tue 28th Aug 2012 22:05
in reply to "RE: Comment by shmerl"
Member since:2005-07-12
Member since:
2010-06-08
I don't think Linux will gain huge increase in market share because of Windows 8 faults. But some increase is definitely possible. Do you want to call it significant or not? That depends. It may be isn't significant in market share percentage numbers, but on the other hand any mind share gain is significant. To compete with Windows Linux needs more exposure, and this is a good opportunity.
Edited 2012-08-28 21:16 UTC