"More than five years ago the launch of Microsoft Windows XP - and its considerably improved features and reliability compared with Windows 98 and 2000 - made a comprehensive desktop rollout a no-brainer for companies. The other options were all far from desirable. Now, as the world gears up for the launch of Windows Vista, the conclusion may not be so cut and dry. Certainly, Vista is set to be feature-packed and reliable, and many companies will move to the new platform as a matter of course. However, Linux has come a long way in five years, with the concerted effort of hobbyists around the world supplemented by the resources of tech heavyweights to push its desktop features to near-parity with Windows XP."
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RE[2]: It's not about the technology
Member since:2005-10-02
Member since:2005-07-14
When you throw OS X into the mix, Linux stands almost no chance on the business desktop.
Yeah, because we all know how easy it is to install OSX on all those Windows 2000 (or heck, 2005) era computers many corporations have.
Plus we all know how corporations would love to rely on a company best known for selling music players to teens.
I won't argue that Linux is a perfect solution (except maybe with REALLY old stuff- dumb terminals) but it and OSX have about the same chance to take over the business desktop over the next five years.
And by that, I mean almost no chance at all.
Even if Windows Vista sucks, its far better than OSX or Linux to many companies simply because it can run most Windows applications.
If CPUs have taught us anything its that real progress isn't made in the tech industry until its backwards compatible with what came before it. Many good CPUs have died at the hands of the x86 just because they could not run x86 code.
OSes are the same way. No OS will ever really dent the MS monopoly until they can use Windows drivers to install Windows hardware while running Windows applications. The business world demands at least that.
It might be nice to pretend that the superior OSes like OSX might can make huge headway just because of how much better they are than Windows...but in the end it does not matter. OSX and Linux, just like the the Alpha CPUs, are doomed to staying on the margins.
The only OS that has a chance to go against Windows in the next ten years is ReactOS....
Member since:
2005-07-06
What about Mac? It has a bona-fide version of MS Office and it talks to Windows systems. Bulk purchases could make it comparable to buying Windows boxes and I would expect Apple to be around for the next decade. Plus there's the whole argument about lack of malware and less maintenance required because it "just works". Corporations give user training in Windows so teaching OS X isn't any more difficult.