There’s an opening for Linux to grab a much larger market share on the consumer desktop side over the next twelve to eighteen months, but penguin advocates need to pull their act together and hope a couple of software companies – or one big hardware company – decides to throw their weight into giving Microsoft heartburn.
The real Window of Opportunity for Linux
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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i think this phenomenon has been talked about for quite a long time.. it’s always the matter of someone big promoting linux (e.g. dell not getting money for recommanding windows – which’d be revenue-loss for them).
fact is that it’s not from today to tomorrow that the world’s gonna be linux (as much as i’d like it to). it’s going to be a slow but steady shift – first people have to get the attention, then interest, afterwards desire and finally the action of switching (AIDA-marketing formula) – i’d say the non-techie consumers are at the point were they are aware that linux exists. that’s a start but it’s still a long way to go! untill then linux’ user-friendlyness will hopefully get better (i’m sure of that) and we’ll get more support from larger companies. but we can always make a start and spread the word around because that’s the way it’s gonna grow
“…hope a couple of software companies – or one big hardware company – decides to throw their weight into giving Microsoft heartburn.”
Then, what are Sun, Novell, and Red Hat doing? Twiddling their thumbs? The recent GNOME desktops are really nice and a large customer could save millions deploying them over Windows and Office. IMO, these companies are the lumberjacks that will cut down Microsoft within this decade or just beyond it.
“…so the Penguin bigots need to lobby someone like oh, Gateway, to take a trip down Linux lane for the mass market world.” That would be a bold move for a company like Gateway. Can you imagine the pressure Microsoft would put on them if they agressively promoted computers with Linux pre-installed? I’m all for it though.
“Or start lobbying one of the Big Boxes to start stocking boxes that are pre-loaded with Linux.”
I would think it would be easier for the electronics superstores to do this than computer oem’s but I’m sure the first question they’re going to ask is, “If we offer computers with Linux, will they sell?” I think they’d want some proof up front first.
talk about assumptions. if every OEM started pre loading linux, the only way that would hurt ms is through increased piracy.
The author made an interesting reference to loading a Mac Mini-type box with Via chips with Linux. I wonder if this would be even cheaper than the Linux boxes from Walmart? I would also like to know how many linux boxes Walmart sells. I guess it can’t be too many, as others would get into the mix as well.
The entire article is based on a faulty assumption: that the price of Windows is a constant.
The gist of the argument is this: as hardware becomes cheaper, computer sellers will increasingly look for ways to cut costs. One way to cut costs is to sell PCs with free Linux distributions pre-installed, thereby saving the cost of a Windows license. The price point where this will happen (according to the article) is $200.
That is wishful thinking. When $200 computers start to sell in quantity, Microsoft will simply reduce the price of Windows accordingly. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft negotiates tiered license agreements with major PC seller. Microsoft will sell Windows at a percentage cost, say 10% of the PC selling price, instead of a fixed cost per copy. That would eliminate the cost of Windows as a major impediment to sub-$200 PCs.
I am really getting bored by these stories. Linux is not more ready than five years ago but still I hear this is the year of Linux. As long the Linux developer don’t have the End-User in mind nothing will ever change!
All Linux needs to succeed is a “platform” – meaning something that developers can target and users can recognize and easily install. It’s way too hard to get commercial software installed because of all the dependancy and distro incompatabilities.
Oh, and IMO, the platform should be hardware and OS independant (eg Mono, Java, or Parrot).
no chance.
microsoft must charge on a license per seat model and keep the cost constant around the world or it will get ripped apart by the courts.
eg. say ms decided to sell windows for $40 in the US, they would also have to sell it for $40 in every other country in the world.
They cannot do this.
More often than not what you are going to hear from Joe Sixpack is “well can I run this (enter Windows app name here) on Linux? If the answer is no, then don’t expect anyone to bite. For the vast majority of users there is no compelling reason to use Linux. The operating system that comes with the PC is what they are going to use. The only attractive part of this is the price factor since the vast majority of public think computers cost too much.
The second part of this equation that I think gets blown over is support. Not everybody is going to be happy with a machine that works more like a kiosk to prevent a person from having problems. This seems to be a common approach to the “clueless luser”. Some people are going to have problems, and with a group of people who would just as soon tell a n00b to “RTFM” or “read the FAQ”, some Linux users had better pick up some decorum lessons along the way. And don’t tell me that this doesn’t happen, read some of the stuff here.
Getting a vendor to pre-install Linux is also not a ticket to selling machines. Linux has to have something people want before they will buy it. Just because anti-Microsoft Linux geeks want people to use it is not enough. Software developers are going to have to port software to Linux, and based on the reception Nero got, I think Linux has a long way to go.
this year ACTUALLY is the year of Linux…..
when you heard it before, that was just us practising !
btw – have you actually tried a current version of linux ?
“…Linux is not more ready than five years ago…”
That seems to be an ignorant comment. To me you’re saying Linux hasn’t improved usability in the last five years. I cannot agree with that at all.
Maybe this will help
http://www.linux-gamers.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=793
According to latest statistics Linux’ market share is skyrocketing. IDG, Gardner, etc. are all predicting that somewhere between 12% and 20% of us will be happy Linux users by end of this year. IBM, HP, Novell, and many other major corporations are officially going Linux now and have confirmed their support. This is great news. Lately everyone around me is switching to Linux and everyone loves it.
Then, what are Sun, Novell, and Red Hat doing? Twiddling their thumbs?
Yes. Yet again, unfortunately, no other company apart from Microsoft appears to grok what is actually necessary when it comes to the desktop.
The recent GNOME desktops are really nice and a large customer could save millions deploying them over Windows and Office.
It’s got nothing to do with Gnome or anything else as a desktop running on a bse system. A desktop, certainly to a user, is the whole system and the whole OS. Besides, no alternative desktop, but particulary Gnome, is good enough for the wider development community to get hold of.
IMO, these companies are the lumberjacks that will cut down Microsoft within this decade or just beyond it.
Not unless they grok the desktop, or one of them takes a lead.
As soon as Quickbooks Pro goes Linux (it’s already mentioned on the Intuit site) you will see small businesses start to really give Linux a look. I work with alot of small shops who have unplugged the Quickbooks machine from the net altogether and keep it as a stand alone only hooking up to the net for updates.
I hope this day comes sooner rather than later.
X
More often than not what you are going to hear from Joe Sixpack is “well can I run this (enter Windows app name here) on Linux? If the answer is no, then don’t expect anyone to bite.
Except if there’s a perfectly usable equivalent app on Linux…Since Joe Sixpack’s uses for a computer are usually pretty standard, this shouldn’t be an issue.
The second part of this equation that I think gets blown over is support. Not everybody is going to be happy with a machine that works more like a kiosk to prevent a person from having problems. This seems to be a common approach to the “clueless luser”.
Newbie-friendly distro (Linspire and XandrOS, to name but two) offer regular technical support for users. Other distros offer support as well, but not in a way that’s as accessible for new users, although they do have support forums (Lycoris had great user forums, but the distro is not doing too well at the moment, I guess).
Some people are going to have problems, and with a group of people who would just as soon tell a n00b to “RTFM” or “read the FAQ”, some Linux users had better pick up some decorum lessons along the way.
You know, when I started using Linux I knew very little about it and UNIX in general. My main source of support was Internet forums and newsgroups, and not once was I ever told to RTFM. On the contrary, I found other Linux users to be polite, helpful and dedicated to helping others.
And don’t tell me that this doesn’t happen, read some of the stuff here.
Well, this isn’t a support site. It’s a news site, and there’s quite a lot of advocacy going on (from both sides). Anyone looking for support here is simply looking in the wrong place.
By the way, “RTFM” is not limited to the Linux world. It’s part of Windows folklore as well. And over the years I’ve done enough “family tech support” to know that Windows really isn’t any easier to use than Linux for “normal” users.
Software developers are going to have to port software to Linux, and based on the reception Nero got, I think Linux has a long way to go.
I think you’re exaggerating, Nero didn’t get that bad a reception. However, if they had wanted to make a splash, then they should have offered more than what was already available for Linux. K3b is a very complete app, and the Linux version of Nero was quite limited in comparison to the Windows version.
To paraphrase you, software vendors are going to have to offer something Linux users want (and don’t already have) if they want their apps to be popular…
Besides, no alternative desktop, but particulary Gnome, is good enough for the wider development community to get hold of.
I’m not sure what you mean by that. However I would argue that KDE is certainly good enough as a desktop for the development community. It’s a very well-structured desktop environment, and a very powerful framework for developers.
This article assumes that Linux is at the same quality level as Windows. If that were the case then i can see Linux putting a dent into Windows within said timeframe. The only people you could sell to would be the Surfers and the emailers features you have on a cheap game console(Xbox, Playstation 2). Linux needs to functionally mature in a big way and garner serious software support before any direct competetion with Windows can be discussed in this fashion.
Cool! I wasn’t aware that Intuit was porting Quickbooks Pro to Linux. This is excellent…
Maybe that will shut up the usual naysayers for a bit (I doubt it, though). Oh well, the Linux desktop is growing, whether they like it or not…
microsoft must charge on a license per seat model and keep the cost constant around the world or it will get ripped apart by the courts.
You make a valid a point. However, Microsoft has been convicted of monopolistic abuse in the past and it hasn’t affected their business much. And anyway, Microsoft’s secret contracts with computer sellers have not (to my knowledge) yet been tested in court. You and I don’t know what is in those contracts.
As for the retail prices of Windows, you’re probably correct. Microsoft would have to develop and market different versions of Windows if they want to charge substantially different prices.
On the other hand, US law doesn’t apply to the whole world, so I’m not sure if the price of Windows in foreign countries would be fair game for US courts. But at least in the EU I think Microsoft would have to charge the same price in all member countries.
“Or start lobbying one of the Big Boxes to start stocking boxes that are pre-loaded with Linux.”
Try wal-mart.com or samslub.com for boxes preloaded with linux.
The OS is not the problem.
As some mentioned, Gnome and KDE are at least as good as Windows.
Applications are the problem. Most commerical Software is available for windows or mac only.
Industrial solutions are also mostly windows based.
Most companies can’t use linux on the Desktop because they own and use already special software which is available for windows only.
Wine could be a solution, but not in all cases.
I hope that there will be a big grow of professional applications for linux, than it has a chance to get widly used.
>microsoft must charge on a license per seat model and keep the cost constant around the world or it will get ripped apart by the courts.
As soon as Linux+MacOSX+Solaris10 take, say, 20% of desktop combined and more outside U.S.A., it would be much harder for anyone to claim Microsoft is still a monopoly.
It would be impossible then for courts and European comissions to tell Microsoft what to do.
>eg. say ms decided to sell windows for $40 in the US,
They already do. OEM Windows XP price is $45-$50 in the U.S.A. The claim that you have a $399 PC and $100 is Microsoft software from the article is factually incorrect for more than 90% of computers users worldwide.
Most users do not buy Windows CDs retail.
Also, nobody stops Microsoft from going Linspire way: OS delivered for free to everyone, but Automatic Windows Updates services, antivirus subscription, anti-spyware subscription and other often necessary stuff- for money, through voluntary subscription.
Linspire charges $50/year for its services from willing consumers, I am sure Microsoft will survive on 1/5 that price, just because of the number of Windows already installed and because $50 OEM divided by average computer life of 5 years will give exactly $10=1/5 of annual Linspire subscription.
With the piracy rate of 90% in Russia and 30% in the U.S.A. Microsoft needs to sign just 10% Russian users and 70% American users for annual $10 subscription providing automatic updates for Windows, anti-virus, anti-spyware, third-party drivers, etc., etc.
That would keep Microsoft as profitable as it is now. Does not seem to be hard to achieve.
>They cannot do this.
They can and they will. Microsoft may not be the great innovator, but they are known to adapt quickly.
Do not underestimate Microsoft. We haven’t seen it fighting for survival yet.
>Do not underestimate Microsoft. We haven’t seen it fighting for survival yet.
i don’t know how much the % of MS’income comes from Windows.
But Windows is not their only product.
If Linux (or something else) got a reasonable market share, they simply support it with their Software like Office.
And if Linux will grow so much that it out sales Windows, MS sells simply it’s own Linux Distribution
They will survive for a very long time.
Where did you get that info (QuickBooks on Linux)? I can’t seem to find it..
As soon as Linux+MacOSX+Solaris10 take, say, 20% of desktop combined and more outside U.S.A., it would be much harder for anyone to claim Microsoft is still a monopoly.
For the OS, indeed it would be harder. For Office Suites (or, more precisely, Office document formats) there would still be a case.
In any case, I for one would love for Linux+Mac+Solaris to have a 20% market share. I’d probably still complain about MS, but not as often. 🙂
The entire article is based on a faulty assumption: that the price of Windows is a constant.
No, the entire article is based on the assumption that the price of Windows is too high, and the $100 Windows Tax isn’t worth paying.
And, for most folks, paying $100 to be able to run Office, Quickbooks, Photoshop, and every $5 game in the bargain bin along with their $39 Color Inkjet Printer is a cheap price to pay.
Apple survives based on its entrenched market, and its style backed by substance. You can see an Apple and their glitzy hardware, they’re cool commercials, their beautiful OS, etc., and THINK, and at least CONSIDER switching. But Linux on the desktop is simply not as compelling.
Can I go to Comp USA and get Linux for free? No. The local Micro Center sells PCs with Linspire on it — I bought one for the office, it was the cheapest machine they had (and it’s a low end machine). We immediately wiped it, and put Debian on it, as we just wanted a cheap machine, but other than that, Linux costs money at the store, and technical expertise to load.
Simply, the value proposition for home users is NOT there for Linux. Even for low income families. Why should they hamstring themselves in terms of software availability for $100?
That’s what Linspire is trying to do, focus on the user experience, get pre-loaded, make software easy to get. But when Windows costs the same…why bother?
You say: Linux is not more ready than it was five years ago.
I call BS on that. I used linux in 2000 and it was absolutely NOT ready for the desktop. It could barely install, had terrible icons, jagged text, no good apps…seriously, Windows 2000 blew it out of the water. Now, in 2005, it certainly is ready for the desktop, with the easy install, the graphical refinements and the attractive, useful apps people expect. Many people are using it as a desktop OS. It just needs a bigger push to get the general public aware of it. Keep in mind, your average office worker, who uses computers all day long, doesn’t even know the different between “Microsoft Windows” and “Microsoft Office”, and often doesn’t even know the names of the programs they are using at any given time, i.e., “I typed this document using Microsoft.”
Linux certainly sucks at running viruses and spyware. If that’s what you were getting at, I agree with you.
Getting a vendor to pre-install Linux is also not a ticket to selling machines. Linux has to have something people want before they will buy it. Just because anti-Microsoft Linux geeks want people to use it is not enough. Software developers are going to have to port software to Linux, and based on the reception Nero got, I think Linux has a long way to go.
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Nero got the reception it deserved. It’s utterly amazing that Windows users seem to think the that the crap they use under Windows is going to appeal to Non-Windows users.
Nero is a perfect example of this. Window users like yourself seem to think Nero is a highly thought-of software package by Linux users when in fact Linux users view Nero as being little more than a huge joke and something they wouldn’t want to use if you held a gun to their heads.
Linux must invent and offer totally new experience for desktop users. Hopefully something look/feel better and different than windows. only linux fanatics that will say KDE and Gnome looks great, we all windows user will tell you that both KDE&Gnome just an ugly, crude copy of windows GUI !.
If you just copy windows than look at OS2, its just plain dead.
learn from NeXTStep, a new, cool and fresh experience for everbody.. to bad Steve charge Insanely high price for it, and when MS catch-up with win95..it’s all to late.
only linux fanatics that will say KDE and Gnome looks great, we all windows user will tell you that both KDE&Gnome just an ugly, crude copy of windows GUI !
I’m a Windows user, and I don’t think that neither KDE nor Gnome are ugly. Of course, I’m a Linux user as well so – unlike you – I actually know what I’m talking about.
The fact of the matter is that you can make your KDE desktop as nice or ugly as you want, since all of it is configurable. You can make it into a clone of Windows (with better open/save file dialogs) or give it a mac look. Gnome allows for a lot of customization as well.
And if you liked NeXTStep, well there’s nothing preventing your from running GNUStep or WindowMaker or any of the other derivative DEs.
If you like minimal desktops, you can run the excellent XFCE. If you like eye candy, wait for e17.
And of course all Linux apps work in all of these DEs/WMs.
You see, with Linux it’s not about what Microsoft thinks you want, it’s about what you want (in desktop aesthetics, since that’s the subject at hand).
<bold>learn from NeXTStep, a new, cool and fresh experience for everbody.. to bad Steve charge Insanely high price for it, and when MS catch-up with win95..it’s all to late.</bold>
NeXTStep is far from dead…it’s called OS X 10.4 Tiger now, and it’s wildly popular. I had to wait in line for 45 minutes just to get into the Apple store in Pasadena last Friday to buy my copy. The line stretched far down the block! People haven’t lined up like that to get their hands on an OS since Windows 95. Look around you…the game is changing. It’s never “too late” in this industry.
I agree with you, Microsoft could offer a free version and charge for updates and addons the same way linspire does. this would of course help students who cannot afford a full package. it would also benefit sme’s who only need a subset of windows features. but microsoft cannot break up windows and resell different versions…. for one simple fact
microsoft said in court, that it cannot remove certain parts of windows, like the media player or ie without breaking it… and everyone here knows thats true….
so if microsoft did sell a version without ie or wmp, then they will have purgered themselves in court.
so microsoft has to maintain the full version of windows for sale… and it has to keep the prices constant across all countries
you might have seen it for $45.. but over here in the UK, the cheapest I can find it for is £125… I am talking XP pro..
what is included in the UK version that is not in the version you seen for $45 ?
Linux needs to functionally mature in a big way and garner serious software support before any direct competetion with Windows can be discussed in this fashion.
Even though I wish it wasn’t true, I couldn’t agree more with that statement.
I primarily use Solaris, as well as Windows and Linux. If Linux is going to “take off” then software vendors are going to have to port applications to Linux. The lukewarm reception to Nero by the Linux community exemplifies two points, that first people don’t want to pay for software and that unless a particular piece of software is “better” than something that is free, nobody is going to buy it.
I am sure a number of commercial software vendors watched the response to the Nero announcement and made their decisions accordingly. For Linux to expand to the point where Joe Sixpack is going to want it, commercial apps will have to be developed and supported. Joe Sixpack does not want to hear the various Linux “battle cries” about installing software and useless arguments about installation methods and tools. They just want to use the computer with as little thought as possible.
The “I can get it for free somewhere else” attitude goes a long way toward software vendors avoiding porting anything to Linux at all. I have used Linux off and on since 1993 and the amount of commerical applications is abyssmal! In many cases the Linux user community is its own worst enemy.
“The lukewarm reception to Nero by the Linux community exemplifies two points, that first people don’t want to pay for software and that unless a particular piece of software is “better” than something that is free, nobody is going to buy it.”
Well duh, you’re complaining that the damn Arabians don’t buy any sand from you!
Create a high-quality product that’s better than the open source alternatives; THEN we’ll talk.
And really, the Windows community isn’t as perfect and cozy-dozy as you people pretend it to be. I sell Windows software (for a very cheap price: $12) and at least once a week people come to me and cry that they’re too poor and want it for free, or try to scam me by pretending to be customers who have paid before.
I would have responded sooner but I was working on an article I’m writing last night. See my response to Rick James about software.
Yes there are “n00b” versions of Linux and that is great (except for Linspire (security reasons)). The problem still is a lack of applications. Another poster talked about OS/2, and I liked OS/2. What killed it was a lack of applications (and an absolutely idiotic marketing method). John Dvorak even commented “technically superior does not mean better”. I had less issues with OS/2 than I did with Windows 95, it was also faster.
And I have been the recepient of negative comments from Linux users while trying to get help. In fact while I was trying to find out how to fix a printing issue I was told by some zealot to “rewrite the Printing FAQ”! Yeah, that’s really helpful! And what some people don’t realize is that one negative response goes a long way toward turning people off something. And Joe Sixpack is not an experienced Unix admin, so some extra “hand holding” will be in order.
Thanks for making my point about software so clear!
I stand corrected.. any references to Quickbooks on Linux are no longer there. The best I can find about Linux now is the Q & A section of Quicken with the following:
Q: Is a Linux-compatible version of Quicken 2005 available?
A: We do not offer Linux versions of our products at this time; however, we are currently investigating the demand for Linux-compatible Intuit products.
And that they are looking for a Software development manager who has Linux qualifications..
http://www.intuit.com/about_intuit/careers/job_search/job_posting.c…
X
I agree with you, Microsoft could offer a free version and charge for updates and addons the same way linspire does. this would of course help students who cannot afford a full package. it would also benefit sme’s who only need a subset of windows features.
That just won’t work on a widespread basis. Small businesses and especially individuals are just not going to pay for regular updates to their system, as they just won’t feel as if they’re getting anything. It’s far easier to have your OS pre-installed with your system, included in the up-front price and to have free updates. The ‘paying for updates’ model works for largish enterprises, which is why Linux companies are quite successful there but it simply doesn’t work on a widespread scale.
If you have a software which currently runs under Windows, and you consider porting to Linux, consider the following:
1) Lots of Linux users are actually dual-boot users. They can (and will) compare the features of the Linux-port of your software to the features on the original platform. Don’t EVER give the Linux-port of your software any disadvantage (release in sync with the Windows-app and provide the same features), otherwise you will not sell it.
2) As the dual-booters will have some files generated by the Windows-app, which they want to be able to open with the Linux-app, full cross-platform compatible file formats are an absolute MUST. File converters suck, missing items after opening suck too.
3) Look for free software with similar capabilities. Don’t try to compete with a free product if your commercial app is not MUCH better, you would loose. The free software comes pre-packaged and pre-configured with the distribution and can be installed with a distribution-consistent tool with better ease of use than you can ever come up with (including install shield – like installers). Additionally the user has the benefit of central software management for the free software.
People always seem to assume that there’s no usability problems whatsoever in windows, and I disagree. Look at media player if you need an example.
Thing is, linux is around the same usability level as windows, and kde can even work almost entirely like windows. But being just as good while still being deficient in some other areas (like not just shipping with the machine like windows does) means that it can’t put much of a dent in windows market share on the desktop yet.
Then there’s the applications problem. But apple showed with the minimac that you can sell a machine that can easily:
– go on the web
– read emails
– burn/watch dvds
and other similar kind of things, even if it doesn’t run windows.
A linux based machine could do that pretty easily: take a good end-user oriented distro, like mandrake, set it up with a good MythTV configuration as default (to have a nice, easy to use UI to do all the essential things that most people need), and you have it.
If the machine comes with it preinstalled (perhaps also with a tv tuner card), and is very cheap, then IMO it could sell. And perhaps it could provide an entry into the home desktop market for linux.
i stand by my original point, it actually would work for the majority of SMEs. they do not need the full subset of windows components, so it would vastly benefit them only having to pay for what they used.
btw – have you any idea of how SMEs implement installing software?
they do not need the OS to be pre-installed, it benefits more to by a business license for the software and then run a standard install of the software from an image on the server onto a blank machine.
>>>Linux must invent and offer totally new experience for desktop users. Hopefully something look/feel better and different than windows. only linux fanatics that will say KDE and Gnome looks great, we all windows user will tell you that both KDE&Gnome just an ugly, crude copy of windows GUI !.<<<
Well, I’m a windows user, as well as old OS/2 user and mac and linux today (and don’t forget DOS, and before that Commodore 64 and Amstrad 664).
KDE and Gnome are not crude in anyway. They are superior to the windows desktop, even though some basic functionality is alike to windows (and mac and os/2 and everyother desktop – a spoon tends to look like a spoon – and a desktop tends to look like a desktop). Personally I’m very fond of Gnome, but KDE is another great desktop (environment).
>>>If you just copy windows than look at OS2, its just plain dead.<<<
Haha.. you don’t know what you’re talking about. OS/2 was not and is not a copy of windows. It’s the other way around. The OS/2 WorkPlace was radically different than anything else in that time (especially on the x86-platform). The windows desktop anno 2005 is way behind OS/2 WorkPlace anno 1992. And the windows desktop hasn’t really changed since win95/nt 4.0 – the look has changed and some extra unwanted and uncalled for functionality has been added – but even the most simple things that any decent desktop ought to have hasn’t been implemented yet. However, I do have a reasonable hope that it will be implemented in Gnome within the next 2 or 3 years.
>>>learn from NeXTStep, a new, cool and fresh experience for everbody.. to bad Steve charge Insanely high price for it, and when MS catch-up with win95..it’s all to late.<<<
NeXTStep was waaaay to expensive, but then again – not at all targeted for desktops. But if it had been… oh boy oh boy
>>>Linux must invent and offer totally new experience for desktop users. Hopefully something look/feel better and different than windows. only linux fanatics that will say KDE and Gnome looks great, we all windows user will tell you that both KDE&Gnome just an ugly, crude copy of windows GUI !. <<<
Hey, I’m a Mac user, which has the prettiest desktop of all, but KDE and Gnome certainly ARE great-looking desktops, unless you configure them to be ugly. How they look and behave is in large part up to you, the user.
I use Mac, Linux, and Windows, and Windows is the weakest –and crudest — of the three.
Those who say Linux doesn’t have enough software for the average user are just full of it. For certain specialized professional uses, it’s true that Linux lacks the necessary applications. But for general purpose, “Joe Sixpack” type applications, and for many other productivity and scientific projects, just about everything the user wants either comes already installed or is easily available.
No, Linux is not the best gaming platform yet. But then again, we can keep Windows as long as we have to limit ourselves to playing with toys.