The Desktop Linux Consortium has developed an exclusive one-day event, hosted by Boston University, which will include the first program ever to offer an in-depth exploration of Linux on the desktop.The event will feature key open-source technologists who will discuss the emergence of the Linux desktop. Among the speakers are well known names in the OSS world, like Nat Friedman, Havoc Pennington, Bruce Perens (he will deliver the keynote) and more.
The pricing is $250 but Linux User Groups (LUGs) attending the Desktop Linux Consortium Conference at Boston University’s Corporate Education Center will be offered a limited number of spots for LUG members for US $25.
Also, IBM’s other Linux shoe could drop Monday, as Big Blue is expected to endorse the idea of Linux on desktop computers at the conference.
The rate of change of the linux desktop is phenominal. I am a Windows developer by day (I make Windows drivers for a certain scanner company), and a Windows user by night. The last time I used Linux was three years ago, and upon advice of a friend, I tried it again a few days ago.
The last time I used Linux was around 2000– it was RedHat 6.0 running KDE 2.1 and GNOME 1.2 I think. I installed a copy of Debian and installed unofficial copies of GNOME 2.4 and KDE 3.2 beta1, and *wow* am I impressed. A LOT has changed in three years, especially with KDE 3.2 beta1- it’s user interface was quite powerful and an absolute joy to use. GNOME 2.4 feels in many ways similiar to GNOME 1.2 (quite incomplete as a whole solution) but it’s web browser, Epiphany, is most excellent– it’s probably the best dang web browser I’ve *ever* used.
Am I going to switch away from Windows however? Absolutely not. I pretty much have no reason to. There is almost nothing I can do in Linux that I can’t do in Windows, therefore there really isn’t any reason for me to switch at the moment. But, KDE and Epiphany are really quite nice projects, and I wish them all the luck in the future. I just might yet switch to Linux, but I really don’t see it happening in less than five years or so.
Evolution – GREAT groupware app– is it as good as outlook? not yet– just not as a complete solution as outlook is- outlook is- Outlook has 100% compatability with the industry standard (Exchange), whle Evolution has compatability with certain Exchange configurations, but only as an add on pack. I give it five years or less to catchup.
KDE – GREAT desktop enviornment – is it as good as windows? not yet– there isn’t many niche apps created for it. niche in terms of apps meant for individual professions and hobbies. I give it five years or less to catchup (and hopefully GNOME gets merged in to it too, I don’t care which one does the merging, but KDE seems to be much ahead in features in being a “complete” desktop from what I’ve seen)
gimp – GREAT painting app – is it as good as Photoshop? not yet– PS has an interface atuned for artists, has thousands of plugins available, and nearly every graphics tablet works for it. I tried the newest unstable GIMP and my tablet did not work even after much frustration. I give it five years or less to catchup.
quanta – GREAT webdevelopment app – is it as good as Dreamweaver? not yet– quanta lacks Dreamweaver’s visual mode, which is what is used 90% of the time by people who use Dreamweaver. It also lacks many of the templates and script libraries than Dreamweaver has- you won’t beleive how widely these are used. I give it five years or less to catchup.
So, GNOME is an incomplete desktop environment? Care to elaborate?
“KDE – GREAT desktop enviornment – is it as good as windows?”
KDE is a desktop environment, Windows is an operating system, two VERY different things.
And why don’t you give specifics about what is going to take Open Source apps “5 years” to catch up?
There’s a good reason to switch to Linux that you never even realized, but if you look close enough to your own post you’ll see it. Need a hint?
The Windows apps you compared the Linux apps to cost around $1000 collectively vs. the cost of the Distribution for the Linux apps. In your case with Debian, $0.
He overall all liked Linux and said it has come a long way since he tried it three years ago, he simply doesn’t see a compelling reason to switch.
and he is only saying that he is estimating that in at the most it should take those specific apps 5 years to catch up? what specifics does he need for a gut instinct.
not everybody cares about cost, especially when they are pleased with the product they are getting.
i wont debate that some software seems over priced but that is not the point.
He also said a compelling reason for *him* to switch, not you or anybody else. cost is obviously not a factor for him.
Cost is though a factor for many people.
jeez…i still can’t believe you guys are giving this guy such a hard time…
If an app is 5 years behind (some of them haven’t even been developed for 5 years), then there has to be MAJOR problems with it.
He could simply state those problems, as many of them DO exist, if he wasn’t just trolling.
It’s not that i don’t agree with you it’s just that after reading his first post i didn’t think he was trolling. I think he is just a little (way) off on his time estimates…but then again he is a windows user and doesn’t understand how fast things can progress in the Linux/OSS world.
I mean in his first post he was almost all praises and said he wished all projects the best of luck…then in his second he said all the apps were great just lacking a few things (which probably isn’t *too* far from the truth.)
more creative criticism would be nice though i guess.
No there wasnt any trolling 😉
Outlook and Exchange server (the standard)? I think 80 percent of the web servers run sendmail not exchange. You know what, there really is no need to defend the point to 1 person (who is trolling).
Enjoy you M$ future and I will enjoy my OSS/GPL future.
ps… been using M$ products since 97 and I have gotten way to tired of the garbage that M$ puts out. Leave the troll and his posts alone. He is just trying to get a reaction.
The guy was just expressing his opinion. No need to be so damn harsh.
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2003/08/17/wwwmicrosoftcom_runs_l…
and dont forget the unix tools that M$ uses are from internix which is based on openbsd. Ok what can I say. I had to do some defending of opensource and gpl. Here is the link that show M$ uses opensource.
http://www.interix.com/PressOct8.htm
I guess it will take at least 5 years for M$ to catch up on the unix/tcp/ip thing. Yeah… at least 5 years…
If an app is 5 years behind (some of them haven’t even been developed for 5 years), then there has to be MAJOR problems with it.
He could simply state those problems, as many of them DO exist, if he wasn’t just trolling.
Well for me, he lost all credibility when he said that “Exchange is the industry standard”, sorry, it isn’t and Microsoft is going to suffer once there is a Notes plugin for Evolution. One client and the ability to communicate with different vendor offerings.
SUN has a great solution using their full suite which covers EVERYTHING exchange offers, from scheduling to instant messaging, then there is Lotus Notes, IMHO, the only thing that I found that really sucks is pop3, however, since I am an IMAP man, it is a none issue, as for Groupwise, if you want a server with minimum fuss and bother, it is an awsome piece of software.
With all these great offerings, I can’t work it out for the love of me why a person would use Windows on the server. Sure, use it on the desktop but on the server? good lord no.
I saw this on zdnet and thought it was very relevant.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5104650.html?tag=zdfd.newsfeed“>…
whoops sorry about that, I guess my HTML skills are a bit rusty.
I use Linux 100%; I haven’t used Windows for the past 2 years. Is there’s anything I need to use Windows? No. Do I miss Windows, especially its eye-candyness? No, I got used to the Linux environment (kde, gnome, xfce & etc); my eyes don’t feel easy when I use Windows nowadays. What are my basic needs from an OS? A web browser, a text editor, a word processor, a calculator, a screenshot capturer, an iso/cd burning utility, a centralized system configurator, a dvd player, an archiver/extractor, an IM and few board/card games. What are my advanced needs from an OS? Stability, security and development tools. Does Linux provide my needs from an OS? You bet. Is Linux difficult? No; it’s becoming more easier, more automated. Do I use Linux because it’s cheap? No, because it’s logical and gives me power and peace of mind. Is Linux perfect? No, nothing is what it seems, especially Windows.
That Linux is viable. I can’t wait until more people are using it so that there is more hardware support.
We can respectfully disagree, but he’s not trolling. There have been a lot of trolls in these comment sections recently, but that’s not one.
For my taste, Linux is already better for some of these things – I prefer using KDE to the Windows UI. I also appreciate its ability to be customized. There are some desktop apps that are better than their Windows equivalent already. But he’s got a point about niche market, and these will take time to develop. The important thing is that more and more people agree that, at the very least, it’s ready for most corporate desktops. And it’s been clear for a while that the road to the home desktop begins with the corporate one.
I’m a bit more optimistic than him: I think the Linux desktop is ready for some now, and in that 5 years it will have surpassed Windows in those aspects he mention. Linux may develop in a more chaotic way, but it does at a faster than Windows.
I think one of the biggest things holding back people who are seriously considering trying Linux is the attitude of some of it’s avdocates. You can’t have a discussion with them without them having a quasi religous fit.
Jeez the guy was basically singing the praises of Linux. He just said he wasn’t ready to switch yet and bunch of people have to jump on him like he is some kind of heretic.
Who would want to be identified with people who behave in such a manner?
“I think one of the biggest things holding back people who are seriously considering trying Linux is the attitude of some of it’s avdocates.”
I don’t think that has ANYTHING to do with the adoption of linux. I see your concern about the attitude, but again, that’s completely different from Linux adoption.
“Who would want to be identified with people who behave in such a manner?”
Good point, but then again, I doubt Windows is so popular because the company has such high ethics.
I kind of like the passion people have towards Linux, but we all lack manners from time to time in the forums, and I am certainly not immune to that either.
You get that with any computer community. Note how heated the discussion gets whenever Mac vs Windows comes up. You’ve got immature people with nothing better to do in all camps. You just need to learn to ignore them.
PS> Although, the attitude is less prevalent than you’d think. On Linux boards, we don’t spend all our time making digs at Windows and Mac. Just take a look at the civilized discussion on forums.gentoo.org or dot.kde.org. All the Linux users I know in person are extremely curteous and friendly when talking with people who may be thinking of Linux but haven’t made the jump. Again, its just a small contingent of users that are bohemians.
PS2> Of course, there is a difference attacking and being defensive. When people make comments like “KDE and GNOME need to unify” or “we need to get rid of X” Linux users get defensive, and justifiably so. Because usually, those comments are made by people who do not use Linux as their primary desktop, and don’t “get it.” We have our interests too. We use Linux because we like it. We don’t want outsiders messing things up. Its like telling Mac users that OS X should be made to run on very cheap Dell, or telling Windows users that Microsoft should adopt the Apple HIG. Those comments are offensive to users of the repsective OSs, and if you make them, you pretty much deserve all the flames you get.
I think one of the biggest things holding back people who are seriously considering trying Linux is the attitude of some of it’s avdocates.
I disagree. When I myself migrated three years ago, I discovered very quickly that the Linux user community is very big, very active and quite varied. Mostly, I’ve found people to be helpful and polite, and this has increased my interest in discovering Linux.
Sure there are OS fanboys, just like there are console fanboys and sports fanboys, etc. But that doesn’t make the particular OS any more or less popular.
There’s been a lot of anti-Linux trolls on OSNews recently. All were from Windows advocates – will that turn some people away from using Windows? No. People aren’t stupid – they can judge a technology by its merits, not by what some people say on some website. If they want to know stuff about Linux, they’ll go to one of the distro’s site anyway and will be among enthusiasts, where few trolls dare to tread…
Regardless of people’s impressions of Free Software or Linux advocates, the first post-er misses the larger reasons for using Free and Open Source Software.
There’s nothing strange about that, and for someone thinking only in terms of his comfort with technology it isn’t surprising. But the functionality and phenomenal growth of something like the Linux desktop is about more than how pretty, stable or easy it is.
It’s about the Freedom, with a capital “F”. Over the next several years, as technology and entertainment companies start to lock down more and more of the features we take for granted, the fact that installing and using Linux will be easy and gratifying will just be a great side-effect of the fact that we can do whatever we want with it.
Isn’t it strange? A conference on Linux on the desktop and no representatives from Mandrakesoft or SUSE – the two biggest desktop distributions… and noone from Lindows or Xandros? The other big desktop players… Does anyone else see this as odd?
Afterall, these companies actually produce Linux desktops yet the key representatives are all from RedHat (a server distro) and GNOME (the desktop minority distro)
What gives?
You need to read more about the history of the event. SuSE and Lycoris are part of it. I think Xandros too. MandrakeSoft doesn’t really have the money to send people over, while Lindows, well you need to read some history and how they got banned of the conference.
Novel will be attending!
The main problem is Linux has no credible stance on the desktop. It has problems with hardware recognition, stability, and lack of applications for the average user. IBM is basically reinforcing what the CEO of Redhat stated to just use ‘Windows’ on the desktop. Linux has it the hype of all time, it could not fill the shoes it was asked to fill.
Lastly, you will see a big revolt against Linux and more users wanting to see what MS is doing with Longhorn.
>> Lastly, you will see a big revolt against Linux and more
>> users wanting to see what MS is doing with Longhorn.
Yes, I will like to see the DRM revolt on Longhorn too, and the performance impact, also I would like to see what Linux looks like at the time MS takes it out of the oven.
I will like to know how much time between initial release and SP4 to make the damm thing stable.
More and more people in the Linux field are starting to realize they need to agree on inter-operation standards.
Once those standards are met, Linux is going to be an interesting platform where you’ll be able to switch any part of the OS you don’t like for another you like more.
You don’t like the media player? you change it, you don’t like the browser? you change it, don’t like the text editor?
you change it.
I do not see MS going in that direction, I see MS building the perfect OS for their needs, I see them trying to lock-in corporations with their bloody frameworks.
The truth is; only god knows what’s going to happen in 2-3 years.
Don’t bother replying to “CooCooCaChoo”. That is the newest “I steal usernames” troll who can only say the same things again and again.
“Big Blue is expected to endorse the idea of Linux on desktop computers at a conference.”
http://news.com.com/2100-7344_3-5104650.html?tag=nefd_top
Thanks Eugenia. I heard about the Lindows-Desktop Summit last year. I didnt think this was the same event.. thanks for the clarification. I still think its a shame Mandrake can’t be there… what do they spend my club money on then? 🙂 – other than wages of course!
I see that only USA (and maybe UK) will remain M$-addicted in the future. All other countries already understand the importance of linux and free software, specially development countries like China, Brazil, India, etc.
If we, who don’t speak english as native language, can use linux in many desktops with success why cannot you do the same (almost all linux software is developed in english and then translated for other languages)? I see only laziness of some people to not implement it and commercial interests of big american companies and Mr Bush’s government …
I think that linux desktop is technically viable whenever:
a) the computer environment is managed by technical people (non-technical users will be only users, not admins).
b) there are no need of special software, like CADs, Photoshop, Corel Draw, etc. It is the situation of most of offices.
Windows is, of couse, very expensive but the central problem is that a windows desktop needs also antivirus, winzip (before WinXP), M$ Office (VERY expensive and bloated), etc to makes anything useful (Windows comes only stupid applications like notepad, worpad, paint). And you need a BIG hard-disk, much RAM memory and a powerful CPU because you will be pressionated to follow other people who use the last version of (pirated) Windows. Windows also cannot run directly from a CDROM or be loaded from network (using LTSP) like linux. You need ONE good machine for EACH people. It is VERY expensive for us (poor countries).
M$ Exchange ? Who needs it ? We only need a stable SMTP server like postfix or exim.
Linux desktop is a definitive and logical solution for us (other countries). And if is not 100% now, it will be better in the near future. And M$ Windows ? It will be more bloated, expensive, lock-in directed and DRM capable.
My message is not an atack to american people but to corporate american ideas. I hope you understand my opinion and you don’t feel offended.
I am writing this message from a brazilian linux ditribution and I can browse web, exchange emails, typing letters, make spreadsheets and presentations for university, play CDs, mp3s and videos and much more, like a normal person would do.
I got a lot of flack for the first two comments I made.
No, I was not trolling at all. Notice how I said *five years OR LESS*.. it could be I fully think that the major open source alternatives to various Windows apps will catch up in this time period. It could be two years, it could four years, it could be one year, or it could be five years. All I think is that it’ll be less than five years.
“I find it amazing one would even attend such an event. Linux never even had a decent desktop operating system much less any functionality. It is time for linux to fade away, it is like a flea that needs to be sprayed with pest repelent.”
LOL anonytroll, why are you posing as me?
“…while Lindows, well you need to read some history and how they got banned of the conference.”
That’s not my understanding of history. The Desktop Linux Consortium asked Lindows.com to join, but since they did not see any real benefit, they declined, but said they would reevaluate if things changed. I don’t think DLC is an exclusive club. It’s a marketing group, not a standards body.
Don’t bother replying to “CooCooCaChoo”. That is the newest “I steal usernames” troll who can only say the same things again and again.
Yeah, I figured as much. He’s pretty easy to spot. Now, I know that Eugenia is getting really tired of these suggestions, and I apologize in advance, but I must say again that if nicknames could only be used by registered members (and non-registered members had to post as Anonymous only) we wouldn’t have this type of minor identity theft.
Anyway, to stay on topic, I think everyone (but the trolls) agree that, at the very least, Linux is ready for some desktops, and that it evolves at a very quick pace. Sure, MS is raising the stakes with Longhorn, but that will only spur the OSS community to come up with its own version of the next Windows “killer” feature. I think Storage has a good chance of being ready by 2006, just like the enhancements freedesktop.org plans on adding to X.
Also, with projects such a mono and dotGNU, it will be easy to use apps designed for .NET – and Microsoft can’t really change the .NET specs to make life harder for mono and dotGNU without antagonizing the current .NET developers…
Add to that the self-destruction of the SCO case (hey, did you hear they want to pay people to migrate away from Linux now? I guess they know their time is up since Novell has bought SuSE, a mark of confidence in Linux from a company that has all the BSDi case info…)
hello,
Currently I’m a Windows & Linux user.
Probably the ONLY thing keeping me and a number of people off of Linux is ONE THING: MS OFFICE Document matching. If I write and edit a doc file in Open Office, and email it to someone else who uses MS Office, they will be able to read it, but the formatting of Page Margins, TABs, Spaces, and Blank lines gets very very messed up.
I do love open office, but every important document I have to send (like a resume,) I have to re-edit in MS OFFICE to ensure the document is formatted properly.
every other application need I have is met or exceeded by an OSS equivalent to commercial software.
Yes this is an off topic post, sorry.
One application I’ve been interested in, for Mandrake / KDE specifically, is Video editing software & Cd / DVD+RW burning software. Nero is the best commercial burner software I’ve used, and I hear Adobe Premier is pretty good, but its out of my price range (windows movie maker isn’t so hot.)
anyone know of an OSS counterpart to Nero or Adobe Primier ?
>>anyone know of an OSS counterpart to Nero or Adobe Primier ?
Try k3b for a nero replacement.
http://k3b.sourceforge.net
— “I do love open office, but every important document I have to send (like a resume,) I have to re-edit in MS OFFICE to ensure the document is formatted properly.” —
I know exactly what you mean. I have been in that exact situation plenty of times. Thankfully, I have Office on my Mac now, so I can stay Windows free, if not Microsoft free.
I don’t know why so many people are being so harsh to Jon. He said he used Linux 3 years ago, and has uesd it again recently. That gives him a reference for extrapolating where Linux would be relative to Windows 5 years down the road. However inaccurate (can you define accuracy in the computer industry?) his estimations may be, he is at least not pulling all of this out of his behind.
BTW, 5 years from now the Windows standard would be something like Longhorn SP2. I think it is actually very optimistic to think Linux would catch up with the Microsoft standard bearer then on the desktop.
You can generate PDF files from Open Office.
Try this
http://www.xcdroast.org/
This come with most Linux distros.
“anyone know of an OSS counterpart to Nero”
Well im quite fond of k3b but you can get Nero 4/5.5 to work perfectly in wine.
http://appdb.winehq.com/appview.php?appId=152
I can find myself in your opinion, except
“b) there are no need of special software, like CADs, Photoshop, Corel Draw, etc. It is the situation of most of offices. ”
There are certainly situations where GNU/Linux can be used for such special software. There’s a lot CAD software for GNU/Linux (try a search on ie. FM). There are also alternatives for Photoshop, and Photoshop runs almost flawless in WINE (Disney used WINE + Photoshop – see /. for source).
The only reason I don’t use Linux as a primary OS is because of the lack of professional music applications. But in a corporate environment, I wouldn’t go for anything else.
I think we will see IBM Linux in a year or so…
Wrong… most people in those countries would rather use a warez version of windows than use linux and you know that. Other than the usual (tropical variety) brasilian geek nobody uses linux.
And please stop posting the same political crap time after time, it’s getting boring. If Brasil has problems it’s not because of Bill Gates or Bush, it’s because of your own corrupt and incompetent politicians.
“Wrong… most people in those countries would rather use a warez version of windows than use linux and you know that. Other than the usual (tropical variety) brasilian geek nobody uses linux.”
It is true if you think in raw numbers (specially domestic desktop use) but I see many companies, universities, governments of these countries using free software.
M$ is a monopoly in entire world, not only in USA. But here we can see our president speaking positively about free software. We don’t see Mr Bush do this…
“And please stop posting the same political crap time after time, it’s getting boring. If Brasil has problems it’s not because of Bill Gates or Bush, it’s because of your own corrupt and incompetent politicians.”
For your name I can see you are portuguese… Portugueses costumam ser amargos com tudo. Só lamentam o que já foram e não fazem nada de positivo para mudar o presente. Nós somos realmente um povo bem diferente, embora falemos a mesma lÃngua.Penso que tu deverias ler mais o gildot.org …
” I do love open office, but every important document I have to send (like a resume,) I have to re-edit in MS OFFICE to ensure the document is formatted properly. ”
Send in PDF format. OpenOffice 1.1 do this for you without any aditional programs. And OpenOffice is free; if they need to edit your file they can install it even on Windows.
And if you want you can use MS Office in linux using wine or Crossover Office.
And don’t forget about programs like vmware or bochs. You can use windows (and all your programs) inside a linux box if you really need this.
“Wrong… most people in those countries would rather use a warez version of windows than use linux and you know that. Other than the usual (tropical variety) brasilian geek nobody uses linux.”
Can you proof this?
Let me bring something else up. Currently, 4500 computers (P1, P2, such low-cost thingies) are being moved to Brasil. I know which OS they’re all gonna run as desktop. It’s _not_ gonna be Windows.
“How do you know they will not use Windows”
Because they have GNU/Linux pre-installed, with Spanish language
“Brasil give me a break, you would be lucky to have drinking water much less electricity”
Why this arrogance? Oh, and you kinda state the reasons why they’re given as a donation, with low extremely low TCO (besides antitrust..)… Such boxes would run too slow on XP…
“Plus, Brasil give me a break, you would be lucky to have drinking water much less electricity….. Good one!”
Yes, we have the largest power plant (Itaipu) and we have also the largest river in the world (Amazonas).
See
http://www.solar.coppe.ufrj.br/itaipu.html
“Having more power than 10 nuclear power stations it supplies the second largest city on the planet with zero-emission electricity since 1984, still being extended until 1991. 26% of the electrical power consumption of Brazil and 78% of Paraguay are supplied by ITAIPU.”
and
http://earth.esa.int/riverandlake/samples/samples_amazonriver.htm
“The Amazon river basin, draining over 7,000,000 km2 holds by far the largest river system in the world, draining 2/5 of South America through its 6,000 km course.”
before say things stupid !
“Because they have GNU/Linux pre-installed, with Spanish language
”
Yes, we love linux also but we speak portuguese, not spanish…
Oops! OMFG… thanks for clearifying! You just saved a lot of problems. I’ll forward it to the project
🙂
Ms Office – Open Office.
You have got the possibility to save your Docs as .pdf files in Open Office 1.1.
That is what i do to ensure that they are received properly formated.
BTW, I find OO 1.1 awesome!
Well, I used MDK 8.2, 9.0 and SUSE 8.1 on my Home Desktop.
I must say that i wasn’t completly satisfied with those two.
A few too many bugs for my taste and some H/W recognition has to be improved as well (CD Burner, CD Drive, USB-Mouse, etc), but Linux is getting there(in less than 5 years – 1-2). I will give Libranet a go as soon as they release a version containing KDE 3.2+ and Gnome 2.4+
At the moment i am using Xp. (it’s pre-installed)
“All other countries are 3rd world when compared to the United States.”
I think you never travel out of USA and you need to take lessons of history and geography…
” Second, if you want to come to this country, speak the language.”
There are more people in your country speaking spanish than many countries in latin america…
For some idiots like you apache indians, E.T.s, etc speak english natively 🙂 You are seeing many Hollywood films…
“Third, Windows rules the desktop, get over it!”
Yes, you are right ! Windows rules 9x% of PC desktop market. The world i full of idiots like you !
All other countries already understand the importance of linux […]
I’d say they understand the cheapness of Linux, coupled with the fact that it’s good enough for the job and usually comes with a ton of applications, a small number of which are also good enough. It’s also a great way to stick it to America.
I see only laziness of some people to not implement it and commercial interests of big american companies and Mr Bush’s government …
Right, it’s all Mr. Bush’s fault. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Linux, while technically a nice implementation of a proven OS design, offers zero reasons to actually switch from Windows or MacOS.
I think that linux desktop is technically viable whenever:
a) the computer environment is managed by technical people (non-technical users will be only users, not admins).
Agreed. As long as there are people around to recompile kernels, apply patches distributed as source code, and hunt down shared libraries, you’re OK. Then again, such people could easily keep a Windows network locked down and up to date, and probably do so more easily.
b) there are no need of special software, like CADs, Photoshop, Corel Draw, etc. It is the situation of most of offices.
Agreed. That’s a very important point. If all your needs are satisfied by the contents of some distro, you’re all set. Third-party commercial Linux applications will continue to be practically nonexistent, because an ISV would have to be nuts to develop for Linux.
My message is not an atack to american people but to corporate american ideas. I hope you understand my opinion and you don’t feel offended.
I’m not offended at all. I think it’s great that people all over the world are giving Linux a go. There’s definitely a need in the world for a cheap Web + email + office setup. But don’t fool yourself into believing that Linux will give you all the advantages of a vibrant third-party commercial software market.
>>”Wrong… most people in those countries would rather use a warez version of windows than use linux…”
>Can you proof this?
Simple: piracy rates in China, Russia, East, Easter Europe, and some other countries is 90%+.
You can not pirate Linux, it is free, which means that people prefer to pirate Windows rather than use Linux. Make all Russians use Linux and piracy rate in Russia will drop to 0.
Russian people hack Windows copy protection scheme faster than Microsoft applies patches to it. There is a huge market of sellers and buyers of pirated Windows and Windows based software in Russia and other countries near by.
That may change, of course, as copyright become a tool in the killing of competition. Tell Russian authorities that competing Internet cafe uses pirated Windows: see a truckload of guys in uniforms and masks, equipped with machine guns come to perform ‘audit.’
That forces businesses to get legit or move Linux, but home users who does not give a s**t about authorities continue to stick with Windows.
In fact, funny as it is, more and more government tries to force legit software or Linux on the masses, more and more these masses stay with pirated Windows. It is getting political: a way to show finger to the government.
As much as people all over the world hate America and Microsoft, they often hate their own government even more- and rightfully so. Applies to Brazil, too.
@dpi: There are **MILLIONS** of computers in Brasil, 4500 computers are nothing but a drop of water in an ocean.
@marcelo: Cada um é como é, a diferença é que nós não culpamos os outros pela merda que fazemos.
Sagres: depends on the purpose, ofcourse.
Russian guy: “In fact, funny as it is, more and more government tries to force legit software or Linux on the masses, more and more these masses stay with pirated Windows. It is getting political: a way to show finger to the government.”
(Niced argumented. Perhaps statistics would have made it more strong)
Hmm, can you proof *this*? I understand your other points but i’m wondering wether all people do this finger work to the government; i doubt so. It isn’t only about either money or freedom either
I see that only USA (and maybe UK) will remain M$-addicted in the future. All other countries already understand the importance of linux and free software, specially development countries like China, Brazil, India, etc.
I agree completely. Brazil has a thriving )largely open-source) development community. India is filled with talented programmers. China, S. Korea and Japan are set to work on an open-source windows alternative
http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=displaynews&News…
The thing is that the rest of the world (from the prime ministers down to the common man) by-and-large has a healthy bit of contempt for the US and the place in the world that it holds. It doesn’t take a genius to see how these developing nations like the ones mentioned want to move away from a situation where they are tied (TECHnically speaking) to the financial success of the US.
Open-source OS´s (with Linux leading the way) are the future, and it seems hard for alot of Americans (I am one) to grasp that fact. They can’t imagine the current market turned on its head. They can’t imagine the will of the rest of the world to be out from under their thumb. Linux will rise to dominance IMO not from superior quality (at least at first), but because it offers independence not from MS, but from the US.
Wrong… most people in those countries would rather use a warez version of windows than use linux and you know that. Other than the usual (tropical variety) brasilian geek nobody uses linux.
The changeover will being to occur in government offices and businesses where piracy is not a viable option. Using and knowing Linux will be important for your resume…