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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RE[2]: Linux desktop distro's have to mature a while longer
by Yehppael on Tue 28th Aug 2012 22:03
in reply to "RE: Linux desktop distro's have to mature a while longer"
Member since:2012-08-01
... now people realize than things can be done with more than one UI.
That! That is exactly it. Apple is showing people a different UI, but so does Windows 8.
Linux share won't increase by much, but it WILL increase. What it needs right now is a little popularity boost to remind people, there are other options as well.
There is ONE thing that everyone seems to keep on forgetting. We're talking about market share, but the market size right now is considerably larger than it was 5-6 years ago.
Honestly though, I really don't care. I'd rather have a solid Fedora or Slackware than a popular Ubuntu.
RE[2]: Linux desktop distro's have to mature a while longer
by ze_jerkface on Tue 28th Aug 2012 22:03
in reply to "RE: Linux desktop distro's have to mature a while longer"
Member since:2012-06-22
RE[3]: Linux desktop distro's have to mature a while longer
by shmerl on Wed 29th Aug 2012 03:15
in reply to "RE[2]: Linux desktop distro's have to mature a while longer"
Member since:2010-06-08
RE[3]: Linux desktop distro's have to mature a while longer
by r_a_trip on Wed 29th Aug 2012 13:52
in reply to "RE[2]: Linux desktop distro's have to mature a while longer"
Member since:2005-07-06
Are there going to be classes on:
1. How to fix broken updates
2. How to install from a ppa just to get the latest version of a browser or word processor
3. How to see if a sound card is working by using the command line (this is actually what Ubuntu expects users to do)
There is practically no need for classes. If a power user willingly makes the switch, s/he will find out how to do all that stuff on their own. That is why we call them power users.
When it is the casual user who is being switched, there is no need to. People who are afraid of mucking things up, don't go on an updating rampage. They leave the updating to their trusted resident geek. So there will not be any clammoring for PPA's, or teeth gnashing over updates or mucking with sound cards. This is left to their friendly Linux geek.
But let's keep trotting out the arguments about the mythical average user. It is a delightful creature. It has all the wants and needs of a power user, yet strangely lacks any computing prowess whatsoever.
P.S. pavucontrol is a nice graphical tool to manage your sound in- and output.
RE[2]: Linux desktop distro's have to mature a while longer
by CodeAndSyntax on Tue 28th Aug 2012 22:08
in reply to "RE: Linux desktop distro's have to mature a while longer"
Member since:2012-08-28
learning curve from zero (first time touching a computer), agreed isn't that much different.
I was thinking more from those who might migrate away from Win 7 to Linux if they're that dissatisfied with Win 8, which I'd doubt will happen as the tablet market is adding an extra dynamic and Win 8 has been created specifically to cater for it.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:35 UTC
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/11/13 17:07 UTC
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/10/13 23:13 UTC
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/08/13 14:57 UTC
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/07/13 11:40 UTC
This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/04/13 12:45 UTC
Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
Linked by nfeske on 05/31/13 10:12 UTC
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/29/13 16:59 UTC
At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!More Features »
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Member since:
2006-04-10
The learning curve from zero (first time touching a computer) is not that much different. When the schools start teaching concepts, rather than "push the button right there, and good luck if they ever move it" it will even out at least somewhat.
Mac being significant in the marketplace is good, because now people realize than things can be done with more than one UI. Maybe that can spread.