Mad Penguin has published an excellent interview with Techmeister Leo Laporte. It’s a two page review in which Leo discusses the possibility of a UNIX owned future. The interview starts here.
Leo Laporte: The PC and Open Source Will Outlive Windows
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
but when Windows dies, so dies the PC. At that point, we’ll have all moved on to other forms of computing.
Who needs a fat client when your cell phone does everything like balances your cheque book, helps you buy stuff on the net, lets to dictate a “word” document that gets emailed or printed at your customer’s printer. You’ll be able to photoshop stuff right on your digital cam. You’ll be able to Cubase or Protools stuff right on your iPod. You’ll be googling on your TV or your PocketPC. You’ll be able to download your internet prOn right from your TiVO. Games ofcourse will be only available in Xbox and PlayStation format.
The only time you’ll need to use PC is when you’re developing apps. Too bad Linux came at a time when the PC’s basically relegated to the ranks of Pagers and Cassette Tape and type writers.
You might be right with your predictions. Windows will be around for a long time to come as long as the PC is around. But more and more computing will be done in various devices – and not a one-stop shop.
I’ve become convinced that more and more functionality will be on the browser eventaully. There’s just so much momentum and it’s easy to deploy. So yeah, I think it’ll be not quite a fat client, and not quite a thin client, but something in between.
At that point, operating systems become pretty much irrelevant. Well, they are pretty much irrelevant for most people today. People don’t care about operating systems, they care about apps that get things done.
We’ll probably see a day where most people don’t even know what operating system they’re running in various devices they interact with and PCs will be relegated to geeks/programmers. Windows isn’t going anywhere and either is Linux.
I’m sorry, but I don’t envision serious work on a cell phone until we have:
Holographic displays without frames.
Holographic input devices also without frames.
Until then you can do serious work on a cell phone. It could kill the home PC, but not the work desktop
.
Besides, almost everyone whose made predictions about something killin the PC has been proven wrong. And usually they’re silly ideas like cell phones taking over. Today a cell phone can’t even make it through a full work day while actually doing something productive; although it’s getting close.
Take a minute and consider all that you actually do do with your pc and I think you’ll realize just how far the cell phone has to come. Then think about what you did on your pc five years ago and you’ll realize how far the pc has come.
Personally, I envision the PC increasing in functionality while other devices approach it’s state of usefulness today. You could probably do on your cell phone now what you could do on your “pc” 25 years ago, well with a real keyboard magically attached and a text editor written for it.
Ooops, that was “can’t do serious work on a cell phone”
I’m sorry, but I don’t envision serious work on a cell phone until we have:
Holographic displays without frames.
Holographic input devices also without frames.
I’m sure they’ll be powerful enough in the near future, but there’s no way I’m gonna sit there and type on a tiny-ass keypad and LCD screen. Heck, I don’t even like PDAs or portable gaming devices.
Maybe to check email and voice mail, but that’s about all.
Photoshop on a digi-cam? checking on a phone?
Please, no way.
And Gaming on only consoles? Again, NO.
All this “doom and gloom” for the PC is just bogus.
I agree with you. What kind of drugs are these people on. You can’t use photo shop on a digital camera with a 1″ screen and a D-Pad and ok button for input. Did you even read what you wrote?
The only way that could even almost happen is like with holograms like the guy said. Or like a brain implant for input and output… And even if that did happen, then your digi cam would pretty much be a pc, as would your phone in that case. It would be the same thing, just smaller, which is hapening already…
It is wise for a fool to keep silent but foolish for a wise man…
The PC is too general in purpose to out live its usefulness. However; if MS has a down fall, then the market could loose its driving force, unless there is something to replace it.
As for every little applicance doing every little thing; in a half baked manner, I must agree with Leo. I will take a PC over 100 little widgets that do a little of everything.
Who really needs a cell phone to:
1) take pictures
2) function as a camcorder
3) check email
4) make coffee???
No function in these widgets are complete enough to replace the PC; nor are they can they stand against a counter part that has been dedicated to that particular purpose.
IE: you can play games on your phone but will it replace your Gamecube, Xbox, PS or whatever.
Who really needs a cell phone to:
1) take pictures
Try 10 billion PIX messages sent around the globe each day.
2) function as a camcorder
You haven’t been paying attention to prOn – my friend
3) check email
I can vouch for that – I can’t live without my blackberry. Laps for email is so 90s.
4) make coffee???
A PC wouldn’t help you either.
In the referenced interview, Leo states:
What really motivates people is the ability to create on your own terms, and the ability to get recognition for what you do.
For me, this sums up the power of the PC, regardless of OS. This is what makes the PC fun.
cells acting like cams….. it is a cool feature but I don’t think that a cell phone will replace a real cam for example, it won’t replace a “real” microphone neither… it doesn’t make any sense, the market is competitive, the prices tend to go down….. How much would cost a cell with 100000x zoom or 1000000 mpixels…. 10000000 times more than a camera with the same caracteristics.
I don’t have anything againts cells, I just took that scenario as an example. At the end this will happen with any kind of devices.
I’ve got your point but:
3) check email
I can vouch for that – I can’t live without my blackberry. Laps for email is so 90s.
I still prefer my laptop over the blackberry. I only use the blackberry’s email feature on emergencies.
Ha, that’s kind of funny, when this guy talks about creativity and prices of software, compares programmers to musicians, but, I’d advise him to ask any professional designer – what programs does he uses – I don’t think he’ll hear “The GIMP”, then visit some software company – just to take a look how development process is organized, then think about comparisons. Though there’s obviously some magic and art involved at very early stages, the development, maintanance, support – all that is an industrial process, as well as roll out of that stuff to customers, as well as training of IT staff and users.
I gess this guy should check out things like MOF and MSF, then make statements
Also I’d advice him to learn a bit more on Windows architecture and it’s kernel too
I think from all the years that Leo has under his belt, he already knows about how Windows kernels work and even more. You evidently don’t know who Leo Laporte is.
I work as a system engineer and consultant, and have some programming experience, so I deal with customers of various sizes and I didn’t see any mass migrations to Linux or intentions to do so.
I see some Linux installations in specific areas, such as low cost file/print, web, mail relay servers, but also see that many of those are getting replaced with Microsoft Server 2003.
And yes, I don’t know who Leo is, just disagree with his comments on kernel and OS architecture.
And no, I’m not an M$ or FSF zealot, I just work with both systems and can see strengths and weaknesses of both, and I had very high expectatios for broad adoption of Linux and other open source software, but it just didn’t happen, and I don’t think it ever will, because timing is everything and now that battle is lost.
IMHO.
Leo didn’t say pros are using The GIMP over Photoshop or anything. He said software is just tools to get things done, to be creative. He said that open software opens the door for more people to have access to the tools. Not everyone can or wants to pay 800 bucks for Photoshop like Leo said. The GIMP is free and can do much of the same thing.
Also the programmers and musicians thing is a very valid comparason. I happen to be a little of both. Both create things and must be creative to do so. It’s all about creating things. Building designers, programmers, engineers, artists, they all do the same thing. Creation, just in different ways.
Again Leo Laporte is right on. I was a convinced Windows user and have made fun of Linux all the time while it was still in its infancy. After trying out and playing around with Ubuntu, one of the new and easy-to-use Linux distros, I started to like it so much that I have finally switched to Linux as my primary OS.
Most people I know who once used Microsoft Windows have already switched to Linux or are at least trying it out. Even our company went Linux recently and OpenOffice seems to get praised over Microsoft Word. With new and easy-to-use distros and thousands of free applications Linux is taking over the desktops of even not so computer savvy users lately. Just as predicted 2005 has become the year of the Linux desktop and this is only the beginning of a trend that’s growing stronger by the week.
You guys are all crazy. The PC will never die, just the environment that runs in it will change. People have been using personal computers for more than 25 years, what is going to make things change now? A portable device is going to be useless in the business environment.
Dano.
What world are you living in? Our company has just replaced 260 Microsoft Server 2003 with Linux machines and we are about to replace all our Windows XP machines with Linux desktops. We have already saved tens of thousands of dollars in licensing fees by moving to Linux in some of our other offices. This is a trend whether some people like it or not and at least our company has already profited from moving to Linux in several locations tremendously.
Well, the only word – TCO.
I’d agree that if your company already has properly trained staff, such as administrators, for managing Linux network, if your users are trained to use Linux and OpenOffice and don’t need Microsoft Office and other collaboration software such as SharePoint, Exchange and so on, and your company doesn’t have any serious investments in custom LOB applications that run on Windows only, and your company doesn’t require powerful and well integrated directory service, and you can manage desktops without the GPO – well, you live in a wonderful world, but the rest of us it’s not that nice and easy.
Don’t try to bring that TCO bull in here. Linux having higher TCO is a myth. Sure if you only look like 6 months down the road, Linux cost you a fortune to swith in your case, but pull out your telescope and look a little futher, and you will see that your TCO is really just an inital cost of ownership (ICO from hence forth).
As you continue to use Microsoft products, you are forced to upgrade when bugfixes are no longer supplied. And because you waited so long to upgrade, cause it kept your TCO so low, now you have to migrate your software to a completely new platform any way.
With Linux, it is much eaiser to upgrade and you will never be left without updates. Sure it may cost more at first, but in the long run you save tons and tons of money. The city of Munich realizes this and even though Microsoft made a better offer, they know that the actually TCO in the long run is cheaper for Linux and OSS.
So keep that false TCO crap you got from Microsoft’s marketing department to your self.
As usual Leo Laporte is right again. After the server market Linux is now taking over the corporate desktop market thanks to software packages like Open Office. The corporate world seems to have woken up. Whoever I talk to Linux is the big new thing and wherever I go I see Linux desktops popping up. Security, flexibility, and cost savings are clearly the driving forces here. Many of our clients are reporting substantial savings from licensing fees to anti-virus subscriptions. Its the big new thing and our company is fully “riding the wave”.
It’s only a matter of time,if linux will be the more mainstream OS, there will be viruses and anti-viruses, and, I believe, corporate desktops that are switching to Linux, won’t be Debian or Gentoo, it would be most likely a “supported” distro – RedHat or Novell/SUSE – and it would cost money.
Also, support and integration of applications is expensive thing too, user support too – so, if you saw a couple R&D departments running happily on Linux, it doesn’t means that somebody switching from Windows, more likely that they used Linux or some variant of Unix before. The same is true for the server side as well.
Like it or not, but that’s the reality.
There are already anti virus packages for Linux. ClamAV is one and the Linspire people have one as well. Of course there will be viruses for Linux. But you have to understand, viruses will not have nearly as much as an impact as they do on a Windows based system. It is also more difficult to infect a Linux system and use it to the extent that a windows system can be used.
On top of that it is eaiser to clean a virus infected linux system than it is a windows based system, because of it’s modular nature.
I aggree that people will probably not be running Gentoo or Debian, but you must remember that Ubuntu comes with support from Connocial (spelling?). Even though it may not be as popular as RedHad or Suse, I do see it gaining popularity as it is a better product technically. This of course does not gaurantee success, but in an open environment, genererally if a product is technically better, it will do better. Of course the BSD’s are often considered better than linux, but ATM they are not as useful as Linux is.
Also in an open environment you can switch the underlying technology very eaisly with out effecting the software because of open standards, so switching from RHEL or SuSE to Ubuntu, or Debian or Gentoo would not be that expensive.
Like it or not, but that’s the reality.
This may be your reality, but every one does not see through your eyes. Your statement is somewhat true, but go back and read my post on TCO for reasons why smart companies might switch to Linux.
It is true that some companies feel more comfortable with “supported” distros but I’ve also seen many running Fedora, Ubuntu, or even Gentoo. Distros like Fedora are so easy to install, support, and manage nowadays that those aspects are no issues anymore like they have been in the past. Most employees I talk to say they got used to Linux within a day or two, usually prefer the applications, and need to call support much less frequently than when they were still using Windows.
In terms of viruses it is virtually impossible to get viruses on a Linux system because of its permission system which makes Linux inherently more secure.
It’s too late for Linux to ever be a player on the desktop. Time doesn’t stand still for anybody, and it took too long for it get something usable up and there’s no stable kernel ABI for hardware manufacturers.
Nobody cares about open source except programmers, so that’s irrelevant. People just use windows or osx for the desktop and sometimes linux, bsd, solaris on the server.
You should move. Living under a rock is not good for you. It is not just about the source code. My dear mother, who is a nurse by profession, has discovered several bugs in gnome/ubuntu/whatever. She comes to me telling me about her problems, I directed her to submit a bug report (and provided her with some assistance with her first submission).
It is more than the source code, it is the whole development model. Generally with closed software when you submit bugs, you never hear anything about them until the next release of the product. With open source software, you get feedback on your bugs, you know when they are fixed and what not. I personally as a software developer, could not do with out valuable feed back on bug reports from users.
So it’s not just programmers who care. As open source software becomes more popular, I think more people will get used to submitting and following up on bugs, and they begin to understand open source software, and the power it gives them.
Clearly you do not understand this “new to you” aspect of the open source development model.
Dude, what planet are you living on? Don’t start telling me about how stable XP or Vista is and that it doesn’t get viruses, spyware, etc. Linux is everywhere and its secure. Our company is also running Linux on both, servers and desktops. If you have a problem with Linux you might want to close your eyes and not leave your house.
Don’t start telling me about how stable XP or Vista is and that it doesn’t get viruses, spyware, etc
XP is stable, you’ve never used Vista so you wouldn’t know if its stable or not, and I don’t get viruses, spyware. Ubnuntu’s ext3 fileystem just died on me a week ago. missing inodes everywhere.
Our company is also running Linux on both, servers and desktops.
Yes, some companies also run BSD, Solaris, and Dos on the desktop too. It doesn’t mean its a significant number.
If you have a problem with Linux you might want to close your eyes and not leave your house.
If you have a problem with windows you might as well close your eyes and never leave the house because its everywhere.
XP is stable, you’ve never used Vista so you wouldn’t know if its stable or not, and I don’t get viruses, spyware.
What makes you think you don’t have a virus that your anti-virus software has not found yet? Is your computer unplugged from the internet? Do you use it with the power cable unplugged?
For that matter, my linux system could have a virus too. Highly unlikely but it is possible. How can you be safe from viruses and spy ware if I am not even safe on my Linux system? Btw, unless Debian is bundling spy ware in their debs, then I am pretty safe from that
.
Ubnuntu’s ext3 fileystem just died on me a week ago. missing inodes everywhere.
That I will give you. I too have had problems with ext3, but with Linux you get plenty of choices for better file systems, so this is only a semi valid point.
The only thing open source has done is to make proprietary Unix irrelevant on servers.
The home consumer doesn’t care about operating systems or source code. They care about applications.
XP and stable and virus and spyware free? yeah, right. I can’t even count how many times a day my XP machine freezes and I keep removing viruses and spyware from all my relatives all the time. XP sucks and its a fact.
On the other hand I started to run Ubuntu a couple of months ago and I am absolutely delighted with it. It is fast, stable, easily to configure, etc. etc. Anything an OS is supposed to be.
By the way the company I work for is using Fedora on all the PCs and most of our suppliers have also switched to various flavors of Linux.
XP and stable and virus and spyware free? yeah, right. I can’t even count how many times a day my XP machine freezes and I keep removing viruses and spyware from all my relatives all the time. XP sucks and its a fact.
You just admitted that you’re a liar by saying you can’t even count how many times a day your XP machine freezes.
Windows Engine is a hybrid microkernel, which would be nice if the driver model was implemented in an elegant way. I’ve seen poorly designed drivers pull a Windows box down to the point of not being able to boot, you rarely see this with a monolithic kernel classic unix.
I’ve had my computer lockup doing video editing, freeze with gaming (over and over again), and produce the strangest memory leaks. I have not experienced these under most versions of Unix. The more simple the design, the less likely you are to have problems. Windows is very complex and until recently have not put any effort in to security (started in NT 4.0).
Ubuntu’s ext3 file system just died on me a week ago. The partion was unsalvagable. I’ve had probably 3 lockups or BSDOD all the times I’ve used XP. I have Gnome lockup on me fairly often.
Maybe you should run a test on your system memory (knoppix has a memory tester in it, and your bios should have an option for one as well).
I have had problems with ext3 (none with reiserfs that were not caused by bad memory). But Gnome locking up is generally not a problem. Bad memory, would cause this. Also if you are using the nvidia X drivers you may want to google for X locking up with those. Setting RenderAccel to “false” generally fixes that (I have seen this bug myself).
It is unlikely that ext3 dies just like this except maybe when you cut off the power without shutting down properly many times in a row or if there is some kind of hardware problem with the harddrive. I personally use reiser4 instead of ext3. It is a journaled filesystem and one of the fastest and most reliable ones.
No, windows is on the same hard drive and didn’t have problems. Not the first time that this has happened with ext3. I’m just using ReiserFS now and will use Reiser4 when that gets into the mainline kernel.
Well I feel Linux wont need to compete on the desktop when its ready for it. People will as readily accept it as they accepted Windows.
“Leo discusses the possibility of a UNIX owned future.” But nevertheless I hate the clause “X OS” owned future.
what do you mean by “when its ready”? anyone is moving to linux and most distros make a better desktop than windows ever did.
leo laporte seems like a nice guy, and is generally knowledgeable, but then he says ridiculous comments from time to time, like explaining to callers on his show that windows xp slows down over time due to “bit rot”, and he’s serious too he mentioned it a few time, like oh leave a system installed for a few months or years and the bits will start to rot, how absurd. how come linux doesn’t slow down in a similar way over the months and years, oh yes, it’s because it’s not designed by microsoft techs.
But it does slow down. It always consistently did that for me, and for all of my friends. I’m talking about developers and people who fix computers for a living here.
One thing that particularly irritate me are those times where it starts thrashing on the hard disk for a couple minutes out of the blue, without anything particularly memory consuming running.
I don’t see any reason as to why it would do that (no, I don’t spend my time installing dodgy software and spywares all over my machine), so bit rot is as good an explanation as anything else.
I have never heard him use the term bit rot and talk about it like it is an actual phenomon. But I have heard him discuss computers slowing down. I think you are just missing what he is saying in reguard to MS computers slowing down over time. Leo is not stupid, he does not actually think that something in the computer is rotting away causeing performance to degrade…
http://www.digeo.com/
That is proberly the way computers could go for mainstream consumers, of course desktops and notepads will continue, at least for programming reasons alone.
There will always be choices
I think home servers will become more and more popular. It’s already possible to do this, but the GUI and usability is not there yet.
Possible future:
You will buy a “box” that can be a media center, communication hub (WLAN, VoIP etc.), and an application server. You will have (at least) one thin client per room/person and run programs installed on the central server. Some will use a standard keyboard/mouse configuration with a large screen and will be used in the same way as a PC, while others will be portable devices (Tablet PC, a combination of PDA/Mobile phone etc.).
The only OS of importance will be the server OS.
I totally agree. For example the PS3 is exactly supposed to be that box. SONY, IBM and Toshiba are betting their future on Linux as the OS for the PS3 so we’ll see how that plays out. One thing is for sure: I can’t wait to get my hands on one.
> betting their future on Linux as the OS for the PS3
But I can also bet you that Sony will make NO mention that the OS is linux – just like TiVo or Motorola mention Linux. You’ll get a one pager in documentation bundle making some obscure reference to GPL.
Do you know what OS runs on your Digicam?. How about your cell phone?. Do you know what OS the Shuttle uses and do you even care?
The OS as we know it today is overrated – be it Linux or Windows or OSX. Only kids who want to participate in pissing contests and di*k-size contests will care about the OS. The rest of us have a life to live and money to make (or spend)
The OS as we know it today is overrated – be it Linux or Windows or OSX. Only kids who want to participate in pissing contests and di*k-size contests will care about the OS. The rest of us have a life to live and money to make (or spend)
Exactly, in the real world nobody cares about operating systems. In fact, the operating system will be increasingly less relevant as time goes on. Zealots would like people to care about Linux and open source, but they’ll just give you funny stares.
Exactly, in the real world nobody cares about operating systems.
I guess Microsoft would disagree with you, seeing as how they prepare to mount yet another massive marketing campaign to push Vista.
If OSes become less and less relevant, as you suggest, then that’s all the more reason to choose Linux (for low cost, robustness and openness).
Meanwhile, the response to Tiger’s release shows that, not only do people who have to work with computers now largely understand what Operating Systems are, but that new alternative operating systems still generate a lot of interests.
Has Linux swept the desktop landscape? Of course not – these things take time. But its use continues to increase, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. The journey of a thousands steps begins with just one. Already the Linux desktop has caught up with Windows as far as usability and eye-candy go, soon it will pass OS X. The evolution of the Linux desktop is simply too rapid.
Oh, and Sony has already indicated that it is very likely that Linux will come pre-installed as the OS on the PS3 Hard Drives…since they never tried to hide Linux when they put out the Linux PS2 kit, I fail to see why they’d act differently this time around. Don’t kid yourself, Sony understands that the next battle is not the desktop, but the living room, with entertainment (TV, Music, Video Games) and e-commerce being accessible in a practical and user-friendly fashion using their tool and a complete, capable OS ready-made for such a use.
Both MS and Sony are after the prize, each is building up its arsenal. Linux fits perfectly in Sony’s plan…with such a powerful brand behind it, I wouldn’t dismiss Linux so quickly!
Zealots would like people to care about Linux and open source
Brading people you disagree with as “zealots” is pretty weak. Provide counter arguments instead of trying to pigeonhole people you disagree with.
…troll tryin’ to see if we’ll bite. Yawn.
it bogs my mind how people, supposidly “techs or geeks”
post idoitic comments like windows 2k/XP is unstable which is complete hogwash.
windows lost all its unstable roots with win98, the NT/2k/XP/2k3 is very stable.
i admin both windows and Linux machines and i say use the
right tool/OS for the job. period.
weather its Win or lin. does not matter and to ‘use’ Linux just because u hate MS and not for good solid reaseons is stupid.
reality for the corprate desktop is far More complex then just throwing out a base linux install, and a few scripts to manage them.
a windows 2000/2003 AD with GPO’s vbs logon scripts.
sysprep universal images, set up correctly
really is far head of linux, and if you can setup
something close it would require a pretty high skillset and that very few really have.
i have a standard win2k image rolled across 1000’s of desktops and i dont see the ‘unstable” issues, and even
virus are under control,
sheesh
amatures…
-Nex6
exactly!
I may use FreeBSD as my desktop OS at home, but that doesnt mean its the “correct choice” for my next-door neighbor. Windows can campaign all they want, GPL’s and BSD licenses can be pushed in as many faces as they can find, it’s about prefrences through personal experiences. If there was something I needed done that I could only get through a different OS then what I run now, then I would be running it.
it bogs my mind how people, supposidly “techs or geeks”
post idoitic comments like windows 2k/XP is unstable which is complete hogwash.
Bad video drivers notwithstanding, of course. I could crash my Windows 2K computer at home on command, simply by starting Half-Life then pausing twice. The second time I’d pause, the computer would spontaneously reboot.
a windows 2000/2003 AD with GPO’s vbs logon scripts.
sysprep universal images, set up correctly
really is far head of linux, and if you can setup something close it would require a pretty high skillset and that very few really have.
Well, it takes Windows skills to set it up too…of course, if you want the exact same setup in all respects for Linux, then it’s going to be difficult – different OS, different ways of doing things. But you could have a Linux setup that achieves similar goals without too much trouble, it seems – and then it’d be difficult to setup a Windows setup so that it would behave identically to the Linux one.
It seems that despite your assurances that you use both systems, you’re still a little biased towards one…typical.
“Yeah, I use both, but Windows is better, so trust my judgement!”
Rrrrright…
Laporte is right about the bitrot, too – at least for workstations. Compare a fresh install with one that’s been going on for two years, with lots of installs/uninstalls. There’s a definite performance hit. This is most obvious in home desktops, where people install all kinds of crap…however, you don’t see that phenomenon on Linux or OSX workstations.
it bogs my mind how people, supposidly “techs or geeks”
post idoitic comments like windows 2k/XP is unstable which is complete hogwash.
windows lost all its unstable roots with win98, the NT/2k/XP/2k3 is very stable.
I agree that Windows XP and such are much more stable than older versions of windows, but you cannot deny that unless you are using some kind of system imaging software (home users are not), windows becomes unstable over time.
Every home user who I meet want’s me to fix their broken windows xp computer. Why cause they have had it for a few months or years, and now it is unstable. This may not happen in your controled cooperate environment, but it sure does happen at home.
reality for the corprate desktop is far More complex then just throwing out a base linux install, and a few scripts to manage them.
a windows 2000/2003 AD with GPO’s vbs logon scripts.
sysprep universal images, set up correctly
really is far head of linux, and if you can setup
something close it would require a pretty high skillset and that very few really have.
Active Directory and simular things can be done with open source software and linux. Aso for universal images, see the linux terminal server project. This is different, but you can get the same effect. I know you cannot do exactly what you do with windows, in Linux, but it is by no means disabled or un capable.
I laughed and stop reading when he claimed that Microsoft Windows will die because MS is too tied to pleasing legacy needs which is stiffling innovation, but then in next question he thinks that UNIX will be the next successor.
LOL…
Windows {laughing} too Legacy..NO innovation!
Unix is the obvious {laughing} successor.. Unix has no legacy problems {spit up my milk}? OMFG how do some of these people become the voice of Tech?
Fairweather fan too. Leo was big Windows supporter 8 years ago when I used to watch his TV/Cable show. Now a closet MS hater turned typical delusional Linux Fanboy.
I’m calling my broker on Monday to start accumulation of MSFT while it is down and continues to get kicked.
>>But it does slow down
Run disk defragmentation, disk cleanup, check your settings for indexing service, check what else might be running in background, maybe something like antivirus.
You forgot to ask me if I didn’t forget to turn my computer on.
This is a real problem. It’s not just something the users are doing. It is something that cannot be prevented without using some sort of disk imaging stuff. It is not a matter of just tunning up the system.
I have never defragmented a Linux system in my life, and I also have never observed a performance decrease over time. BTW, you forgot to ask if he turned on his computer.
Leo who? A dumbass who lost his job and now trying to make headlines about stupid non-sense crap.
I should care about this? hmmm ok
Oh, I’m sorry, please be sure to turn your computer on before following my instructions.
Have a nice day
Linux or BSD distros start following the example set by SimplyMepis where you have a live CD to check it out beforehand then a complete install which gives the average computer user everything they would need upon installation like Java, Skype, Pan, RealPlayer, Gaim, The GIMP etc. without having to use the shell at all unless they really wanted to and certainly not having to configure everything using bizarre commands, etc.
I had hoped this would happen a long time ago, but the Linux and BSD geeks have prevented any of this happening for the most part, and that is a crying shame!
It’s really bizarre. For years Linux advocates have clamored for a Linux desktop OS for the average user, but the die hard geeks and Luddites have prevented it from happening by whining it’s too much like Windows. Well people if you want to replace Windows you have to make the OS at least as easy to use for the novice user as it is to use Windows! You cannot have it both ways!
As a result I feel all these arguments and resistance to changing the way things work in Linux and in the BSD’s have put the last nails in their coffins and have confined both of them to die hard Luddite geek hell. Now that is a damn shame. :/
In my opinion and at this point in time anything done to make any of this happen would be way too little and far too late! :/
All:
No, I am not “Biased” toward one platform or the other.
and while it may be true that my windows machines out number my Linux machines. that does not never the less
make me biased. i am a firm beliver of using the right tool for the job no matter what it is.
alot of linux guys(even some that go to the LUG i belong to)have this problem of say stuff, about large corparate eniviroments they know little about.
mirgrate to linux in a large enviroment is not free by ANY stretch of the imaginatation. i am sorry, but as much as i want to i cant to replace everything with debian, and call it a day even if i can get 80 or 90 %
close to the functionality with Linux. so, i use linux where Linux makes sense, print serverss, web, some DB, some custom apps stuff shell servers etc all run Linux,
for file servers space i have a san, and NAS servsrs.
windows on the desktop and an AD domain. so most of my backend is all linux, i have some desktops where is makes sense.
and yes:
you CAN, get most of the domain setup with linux but its not as mature or as unified.
a fedora/RH directory server, AFS/NFS file mounts,
local apt servers and custom scripts for sucking down custom rpms/deb packages via a cron. all all doable and i do them for the linux infrastructure.
but, the Cost of migration in a large enviroment, is more the just the ‘geeks’ telling everyone whats good for them and forcing everyone to do it.
you have many, many custom apps writen over years and years. other eneterprise apps the the eneterprise paid alot of money for that are not easyliy replacable.
all factor in.
so i am not the biased one you are. i always recoemend what ever the best tool for the job is weather its, win/lin or some other form of *nix does not matter to me. what matters is,
support: who will support it? how much training is involved and by whom?
cost: how much and the maintence costs?
how well does it fit into our enviroment?
does it support RACF or AD or LDAP based authencatiion?
in 5 years how much will the project changes and how coplex are upgrades etc.?
how stable?
these kinds of things are some of the basic questions you ask when recomendating or looking over recomendations.
you do not just throw OSS at every problem just becuase
its OSS. you find the best solution for the problem, and part of the is cost not just the cost of the product but the cost of migration.
-sheesh
-Nex6