Descriptive quote from the OSOpinion editorial: “Linux has not aggressively exploited the nearly two-year gap between the release of Windows 2000 and the release of Windows XP. With the Home Edition of XP now the standard operating system shipped with most PCs, Linux advocates can no longer use the instability of Windows 95/98/Me as an argument for Linux. Linux advocates missed a golden opportunity to evangelize their platform to these third-party hardware and software companies. Instead, they spent their time arguing over issues like whether KDE or Gnome was a better desktop environment, ignoring how confusing that topic was to other developers.” Our Take: I agree that XP is the best offering overall in the OS world today. Faster, much more solid, lots of advances both in the backend in the front end. Life goes on in the Linux camp though, and kernel 2.4.11 was released yesterday. Changelog here.
Did Linux Miss Its Window of Opportunity?
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
Notice how alll the anti-GNU/Linux articles on OSOpinion are written by people who have a vested interest in Microsoft’s success? This guy, for instance, has “worked at Microsoft for over ten years before leaving in April 2000,” and he is trying to sell a book about his experiences there.
The articles that criticise GNU/Linux and open source in general often contain a small shred of truth, which is then blown out of proportion by the author. This is a classic example. He refers to Open Source as if it were a company with a clear focus and direction, yet he criticises Microsoft of doing the same “In February 2000”. The community will do what it wants. There are quite a few projects with clear goals, but it obviously takes time for them to attain these goals. This guy fails to recognise this, and proceeds (in typical Micro$oft fashion) to deride the community as a whole as a failure.
This article is nothing but a troll piece, with a few ‘statistics’ thrown in here and there to make the ‘arguments’ sound authentic. As Benjamin Disraeli once said, “There are lies, damn lies, and statistics”.
In the last three years Linux has gone from bbs discussions to getting support (both monitary and marketing) from the biggest IT companies in the industry (MS not-withstanding). Billions have been invested, companies have sprung up all over the place. If you expected Linux to overtake MS overnight, you’re not thinking clearly.
Even a year ago, Linux didn’t have a viable desktop alternative (thus the ‘window of opportunity’ wasn’t missed, it wasn’t there in the first place), and until what, a day ago?, we didn’t have a comparible Office suite. An Outlook work-alike just reached version 1.0 a few weeks ago, most of the browser options didn’t have very good plug in support until this year, updating the Linux OS was a bitch for new users, Xwindow fonts looked like crap in many of the applications (not to mention xwindows configuration problems in general), and the list goes on and on and on. Most of those issues are solved or at least improved now, a short few months after Linux actually started to even get noticed (1999? 2000?). The window of opportunity Linux had to overtake MS is a little bit harder now that XP is coming out (Let’s be honest, it’s not HORRIBLE, it’s just Microsoft’s) but it’s hardly something that will push Linux to the back burner at this point.
Linux has just been trying to prove itself to the masses, and it will probably be 3 more years before the public accepts the merits of Linux (I still know people who won’t consider it because they’ve never heard of it – they don’t know anything about technology so they use what they’ve heard of). Even then, it’ll be two more years before the majority of people would accept it on their home PC’s.
So yes, the window is a little harder to crack now, and with some of the pending legislation it could be a legal risk too, but for anyone who’s seriously tried it out in the last few months, there’s not a chance it will happen… it’s inevitable.
Sgt_Jake
Ok, time for some reality…
GNU/Linux is an OS developed by alot of guys/gals mostly for the fun and becouse they find it useful. I think Linus doesn’t cry everynight just becouse Windows is more widely used.
The thing Linux users can do to make Linux better isn’t to “aggressively exploite” the fact that MS had a big release gap (or even that some MS products are bad in some aspects) but to try to make Linux better and push what is good _and_ bad with Linux.
If Linux (or any other OS) has qualities people will use it. MS products have qualities for some people, fine, then use MS products.
Some thought on the “Gnome vs KDE” war thats been going on: At least Linux users may choose to use Gnome or KDE.
Not to start a stream of postings on what everyone thinks is the best OS, but I’d like to put a vote in for OS X. I have to say I thoroughly enjoy Windows2000, and won’t use XP because of its new big brother extensions. OS X is Unix, it has a beautiful interface which isn’t beat by any of the OS’s out there. It too is fast, stable and multi-processor aware. The only I problem I see with it right now is the speed issue with some of the GUI elements, and that it is locked to a potentially dying microprocessor platform. With OS X 10.1, many of those types of issues have been solved. Of course, that’s all in my opinion.
OS X = Unix for the mass…finally!
Hank
XP is not faster than anything. XP is too slow, at least when I tried the latest version on my notebook. What kind of computer does it require to run on? My notebook is a celeron 400 with 64 mb of ram, not the best configuration at all, but it runs well with win2k… I can’t say the same about XP professional.
Regarding the much more solid part of the phrase, let’s wait a couple of weeks until new worms and problems appear. Any bets? My bet is that the first service pack will weight more than 90 megabytes… and the number of critical updates necessary to have a non-crashing OS will be…hmm… 27.
cheers!
AiZ
It’s Linux, it’s doing fine, people are still developing on it, and it’s getting better, everyday. I, for one, use Linux as a desktop OS, and we’ll continue to see converties. Other then that, unless you’re a super evangelist, who cares what OS who uses? It’s a matter of opinion folks…right? So let the OSX people have their OSX, and the windows users have their windows OS, because you still got your OS, right?
Why this sensless competition? I sense that what is often called “the linux community” has problems with the success and business methods of Microsoft. If anyone tells me “this is as good as windows” I say “I don’t want it, I’ve got my stuff working and I love devstudio”. So what am I really saying here? I’m saying that if I am supposed to switch, it needs to be very much better, and if it should be very much better it can’t be a copy of Windows, it has to be it’s own thing. Let it evolve on it’s own please…
How stupid are you people? Linux is not in any real direct competition with MS because all the software is free. Vendors and developers dont see any money in GNU and thats not a bad thing becaue there really isnt and money in it. Linux will always be a semi-underground OS crafted from the hands of people who care about getting the most out of their systems and it will be used by those who are intelligent enough to understand how a computer functions. The more you burden Linux with sloppy GUI’s and automatic this and that the more you bloat the hell out of it like windows and decrease system performance just like windows does. Bottom line is that Linux didnt miss any great “window of opportunity” because “beating” windows isnt the strategy, read the Linus interview, from his own mouth its “making Linux better than itself”…so why dont you morons stop hyping on the buzzwords and try to understand the methods behind the structure of an organization before you post on them. All those who disagree…please dont use linux you dont know what its for.
About advances in XP seems that this are most in (home)networking and multiuser accounts. Linux has that, much better. Linux is not for the masses therefore there is no direct competition For example Linux is only for those kind of persons that likes to see things as they are not just as they appear to be, it is for persons who don’t get satisfied with browsing the Internet and email and chat with friends it is for people who, instead, want to learn how the Internet work and what is it made of, in my modest opinion a normal Windows user would never bother him/herself with this explanations and studyings.
About stability (and about security?) XP has nothing that could amaze me.
Brian Livingston, Infoworld.com’s “Window Manager”, has reached his limit for Windows “upgrades”. check his latest column at http://www2.infoworld.com/cgi/component/columnarchive.wbs?column=wi…
Linux is a kiddie OS kludge of the UNIX insanity that should have been killed off years ago. Even Dennis Ritche has moved on and think it should just DIE. But no, the sheeple of kiddies and college students who can’t invent anything new keep trying to polish up the dead dog, like the guys in Russia assigned the task of sticking some new wax ears on Lenin. Go ahead, make my day.
fud is dead. http://www.scaredcity.com>Welcome
In fact, http://www.scaredcity.com>we even try to help you get started, with this highly descriptive/distinctive set of <a href=http://www.opensourceworks.com>URLs, including a year’s free hosting, on one of our, secure/dependable linus webserver devices. The ‘linux window’ works so well, you won’t believe IT. Nothing MiSsing here.
In many ways GNU/Linux has already achieved its goals. It provides an free, alternative operating system. I don’t think its goal was ever to overtake windows. I was very happy when I found I didn’t have to be dependent on a single company anymore, but that is just my opinion…
I have started fiddling with Linux not because it’s so much better than Wins, but becuse it’s so open and is becoming standard.
It’s a bit like comparing special alloy nut that someone finally got right for Nasa and which has proprietary dimensions,coiling etc.
It’s 30% stronger than any off-the shelves, publicly known nut, but end user has to sign EULA with manufacturer, basicaly divesting from his human rights.
On the other hand, one can use 30% bigger plain ol’ standard nut, and get on with his life…
With wins, whatever you do, you can almost feel someone hands in your pocket and some lawyers watching what are you doing. Whatever you do, you will make $$$ for M$, one way or another, and for that pleasure you have to live with legal strings.
Maybe, that Windows XP is better than older Win Versions and may be that Linux didn’t develop itself it should (Thats not really my opinion). But one argument is still and always arguing for Linux – Its just free. And its not only the OS which is free. There are tons of good software for it – for free (and Open Source).
And that is definatly a fact which always makes my decision the linux one.
OK i’m going not going to bash XP too much (or maybe too little) but i couldn’t believe this guy who said that linux has lost the stable part of the operating system war. now maybe XP is stable. OK? yes but… have you seen the _minimum_ requirements? let’s compare XP to linux mandrake.
windowsXP
ram: 128mgs
proccessor: pentuim2 300mhz
hdd: 1.5gigs
mandrake 8.1ram: 64
proccessor: pentuim
hdd: 500mgs to 2gigs.
clearly you can see that mandrake requires less. but i’m comparing two OS’s that are said to be equal in stablility. but i don’t believe that xp is stable. i’ve heard to many bad reviews from people and too many good reviews from people who run these type of sites. i can also get into the other specs about these two OS’s.
windowsXP
guis: 1
licencing: payware. basically with xp you pay to licence the os and not own it. and you can only install it on one computer. also if you upgrade your os thinks its another computer so it basically alerts M$ or doesn’t run. i’m not sure which would happen, but i heard it was a big anti-pirate thingy.
price: ~200
cd’s: ~2
Mandrake 8.1
guis: 11licencing: GPL. if you copy it… they don’t care. if you put it on five computers… they don’t care. if you do something involving S&M gear with the cd or the box… they don’t want to know.
price: ~30-100 but you can download it for free, or bum it off a friend.
cd’s: usually 3-4.
see how screwed you’d get with xp. basically if i was to draw a diagram of what windows is doing to consumers it would look as though as windows is bubba and the consumer is the one picking up the soap…. ouch. so glad to get into linux.
OK i’m going not going to bash XP too much (or maybe too little) but i couldn’t believe this guy who said that linux has lost the stable part of the operating system war. now maybe XP is stable. OK? yes but… have you seen the _minimum_ requirements? let’s compare XP to linux mandrake.
windowsXP
ram: 128mgs
proccessor: pentuim2 300mhz
hdd: 1.5gigs
mandrake 8.1ram: 64
proccessor: pentuim
hdd: 500mgs to 2gigs.
clearly you can see that mandrake requires less. but i’m comparing two OS’s that are said to be equal in stablility. but i don’t believe that xp is stable. i’ve heard to many bad reviews from people and too many good reviews from people who run these type of sites. i can also get into the other specs about these two OS’s.
windowsXP
guis: 1
licencing: payware. basically with xp you pay to licence the os and not own it. and you can only install it on one computer. also if you upgrade your os thinks its another computer so it basically alerts M$ or doesn’t run. i’m not sure which would happen, but i heard it was a big anti-pirate thingy.
price: ~200
cd’s: ~2
Mandrake 8.1
guis: 11licencing: GPL. if you copy it… they don’t care. if you put it on five computers… they don’t care. if you do something involving S&M gear with the cd or the box… they don’t want to know.
price: ~30-100 but you can download it for free, or bum it off a friend.
cd’s: usually 3-4.
see how screwed you’d get with xp. basically if i was to draw a diagram of what windows is doing to consumers it would look as though as windows is bubba and the consumer is the one picking up the soap…. ouch. so glad to get into linux.
also i believe that mandrake is the best desktop alternative to windows, so far. but there is already good desktop linux distros. it’s not like linux is in the dark. actually i love linux. it’s got all of these apps i can get my work done with.
and for linux missing any opertunities to take out windows is not that it can’t get the right distro for the desktop windows replacement. it’s all about chemercailism. think about it. really think about it. i’ve never seen linux advertised on tv. the closest thing i’ve seen linux advertised on tv was when ibm had one chemercial that had a woman mention linux. other than that i’ve only seen linux on the back or side of a city bus for ibm with the peace sign, the heart sign and the linux mascot saying “peace, love, and linux.” big… whoop. and a couple of minutes ago from writing this i saw a cow talking about xp. now what does this tell you?
The ‘linux window’ works so well, you won’t believe IT. Nothing MiSsing here.
————
Uh, yeah. Except a decent desktop experience for the masses. Linux the future of computing for the desktop? What a sad world we must be living in. Instead of moving forward we are digging our own little hole, content with the conventions and crap of the past, and calling it ‘cool’. Rewind me back to the 80s please, when I could do insane things with my Amiga, and computing was breaking new ground, and lets redo this whole ugly episode again.
Hi there,
I agree with most opinions here except for the folk who said Linux is about to die, or the others that state that Linux is old stuff bound to death…
I use win2K at home as well as Linux, the reason? I do graphic design and haven´t seen any decent graphic design software for Linux (plz dont mention GIMP, a nice try, but still too far…)that´s why I still use win2k, pretty stable if you ask me… compared to win95/win98…
The statement of linux just meant for “people who know how to work with computers, etc” is actually quite “crappy”… I don´t see why Linux could not overcome the desktop area, just like windows did… it has a very STRONG kernel, something Microsoft has never gotten… but the graphic side of linux must still improve a little… (xfree4 is a big step towards this…)
IMHO, Linux, having a very strong kernel, improving the graphical access (how apps interact with video cards, etc), polishing kde and gnome (good to have choices here!!!), and creating those great apps we need for graphic design, is going to gain a very huge share of the desktop market someday (even if you dont have to pay for it!!!)