31–40 of 78 posts
Don't call the PEOPLE using your software "consumers", they're people.
While I agree that people are people, they are also consumers. And he's talking about the consumer market, not enthusiasts adding it to their own systems so in this context it makes sense.
Two things are real blockers for Linux desktop adoption: the Adobe suite (or alt) for professionals, and gaming for casual users. One of these is about to be solved :)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"what does Linux not provide, that the common user needs" Office, Outlook, most AAA games, itunes. Don't tell me that because you can run them today on your machine (well maybe) that that somehow translates to what common users have experienced over the last decade.
Arguably, the majority of PC users don't care about heavy gaming. While gamers are an important factor, they aren't the blocker for any OEM to provide an option of Linux preinstalled. There are lot's of people who use their computers merely for browsing, reading e-mails and some minimal document editing and multimedia like audio/video. Many don't even use desktop office applications, using some web services for that.…
As for Outlook - while I've set up my home computer to not use it, for most it's just easier to use it. Convenience has a lot going for it. For non-tech-savvy people it's also a lot easier, since then calls to tech support at work will actually get you help. :)
I think all of this is close to be pointless, when there is an abundant and sickening Windows bundling problem which persists until present day. End users don't care about any ISVs, ABIs and other such matters, and some even don't have a clue about OS names. They buy a computer with an OS preinstalled. And guess what that OS is? That's the problem which needs to be solved first. The rest as the author admits, will be…
I won't go much into the issue other than say that I find it somewhat sad that we are essentially hooking up these children and ultimately our future on the products of a private entity. Even if they are the better option out there, there is still an issue of unnecessarily power being granted to a private entity.
You might also want to checkout what kind of deals your local government/municipality made with MS.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> And those phones will run Linux with the Android UI and drivers. You seem to assume Android is just another Linux distro with a different windows manager? If so, you are mistaken. An Android system is very different from a Linux distro - they basically only share the kernels and it is quite wrong to classify Android as "Linux" because it creates confusion.
The Linux kernel and Android kernel have already become one again, and I suspect that the community will narrow the gap further. Right now they mainly just share the kernel. If the GNU tool chain is included and you can compile and run linux programs, what is the difference besides some architectural changes?
That's a very big "if". It is not the case currently so I would not put them under the same umbrella.
Android is not suddenly going to be a desktop thing. It'll happen over time as Android devices become more and more important than desktops. An Android PC will serve to extend that Eco-system on the same level as iOS & OSX (but better since it's still fun).
I'm betting long on ElementaryOS[1]. It's a distro that wants to be top-notch in UX, design, developer APIs and system frameworks. They even have a Human Interfaces Guideline. Still a work in progress, but I used their previous release for a while and it was just a breeze of fresh air after Gnome/Unity, and surprisingly stable. Two things are real blockers for Linux desktop adoption: the Adobe suite (or alt) for prof…
Unfortunately I cannot seem to find any details on the what's backing this distro. Maybe that's the point and that you shouldn't have to care, but I'm still curious.
Do you have any more details on what's actually running here?
I still think it's going to be Android PC that's the next big (Linux) desktop OS. It has openness and it has the big support of Google. Android is not suddenly going to be a desktop thing. It'll happen over time as Android devices become more and more important than desktops. An Android PC will serve to extend that Eco-system on the same level as iOS & OSX (but better since it's still fun).
> It has openness and it has the big support of Google.
Google did not open up Android 3.0 when it did not suit them to do so (commercially). I've never heard of Redhat or Canonical doing something similar with one of their Linux releases.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"what does Linux not provide, that the common user needs" Office, Outlook, most AAA games, itunes. Don't tell me that because you can run them today on your machine (well maybe) that that somehow translates to what common users have experienced over the last decade.
Arguably, the majority of PC users don't care about heavy gaming. While gamers are an important factor, they aren't the blocker for any OEM to provide an option of Linux preinstalled. There are lot's of people who use their computers merely for browsing, reading e-mails and some minimal document editing and multimedia like audio/video. Many don't even use desktop office applications, using some web services for that.…
I use Linux machines for what they do well, and pretty much all my machines sans the "main" Laptop are Linux-driven.
That said: This statement cannot be refuted enough.
Libre Office and its forks are merely bad imitations of previous versions of MS Office while offering few to no benefits once you exclude cost. They are not "decent" alternatives. They are free, but noticeably sub-par alternatives. They are in no way drop-in replacements.
If I want to take the cost of working with a low-end Office-suite which covers the bare basics and sticks to a late 90s design-paradigm, I'll go with Google's online-offering because it actually provides some benefits to weigh up for the cost.
And sometimes I do just that. But you'll never find me meddling with the desktop Linux office-suites. They're simply not worth it.
I'm betting long on ElementaryOS[1]. It's a distro that wants to be top-notch in UX, design, developer APIs and system frameworks. They even have a Human Interfaces Guideline. Still a work in progress, but I used their previous release for a while and it was just a breeze of fresh air after Gnome/Unity, and surprisingly stable. Two things are real blockers for Linux desktop adoption: the Adobe suite (or alt) for prof…
This looks very interesting indeed. Initially it looks like a darkly themed Gnome-desktop with a new launcher, but looking around it seems like this is something different. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find any details on the what's backing this distro. Maybe that's the point and that you shouldn't have to care, but I'm still curious. Do you have any more details on what's actually running here?