Analyst: It's Game Over for Linux

[back_by_demand]

[citation][nom]dspider[/nom]What MS code? Patents refer to concepts, ideas. Like FAT/FAT32 for the memory card. Open source drivers can read it without even a single line of MS code, but if it's still FAT32 we're talking about here (so that ~80% of the people can access it under Windows, OS X, Linux, etc. without installing an additional software suite).Then there's the "slide to unlock" type of patents... But we're going off topic. The point is you can accomplish the same thing with your own code, but the patent (the concept, the idea) for doing so isn't available simply because some douchebag company hurried up and patented it. You'd have to pay up in royalties or risk getting sued for "patent" infringement. And currently I hear that MS gets payed something like 55% of whatever Android costs (per sold unit). So yeah, I can see it as a protection racket. Pay up or risk getting sued.[/citation]
I never said the patent system was perfect, heck the system is totally FUBAR but the fact remains that part of Android is not pure Linux and is something that belongs to Microsoft.
If the Linux purists don't like that they need to bosh out their own mobile OS based on a more pure form.
Of course Google and Apple would have somethjing to say about that but that's another matter entirely.

 

[aldaia]

Linux achieved WORLD DOMINATION long ago.

Talking about serious work just look at the top 500 supercomputers list (http://top500.org/).
Linux 456 91.20 %
Unix 22 4.40 %
Windows 6 1.20 %

Linux is everywhere, even this so called "analyst" probably owns more devices that run linux than all other OS together.
Lets count what we have at home:
Do you have a digital TV? yes, your digital TV runs linux under the hood.
Do you have a DVD o BluRay player? yes, it also runs linux under the hood.
Do you have a cable or satellite settop box? yes, it runs linux under the hood too.
Do you have a multimedia disc? It also runs linux under the hood.
Do you have a wii? It's OS is a proprietary form of linux.
Do you have a router? it also runs on linux.
Android also has linux under the hood.
Do you have an e-book? most are linux based.
Do you have a GPS navigator? yes, you guess it, most are also linux based.

What about cars?

Thu Oct 27 2011, 15:15 GERMAN CAR MAKER BMW spoke about how it might use Linux for in-car entertainment at Linuxcon Europe in Prague today.

"Linux gives us the flexibility and technology maturity we require to evolve our In-Vehicle-Infotainment and communications systems to address the expectations of our customers," said Kenichi Murata, a project general manager with Toyota.

Because drivers typically keep their cars for much longer than they do electronic devices, Cadillac needed to make Cue as flexible as possible for future updates. For that reason, the user interface system for the car synonymous with luxury and expense will be based on Linus Torvalds' legendary free operating system, Linux.

Actually it is hard to think of any segment not dominated by linux other than desktops.

 

[apexwm]

Here we go again, another hilarious article sponsored by Microsoft. Please don't buy this garbage, please don't. Read real posts by real people that are actually representing real companies out there other than Microsoft, and see what they say. GNU/Linux is superior to Windows in many ways. The problem is Microsoft is too busy lobbying and using software patents to try and keep GNU/Linux from growing further in the market. I can only hope that through education of users, that they will make the right decision and try GNU/Linux and Windows, and make their decision based on that.

 

[Vladislaus]

[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]Well, if you believe 55% of the mobile market who pay licensing fees to Microsoft for Android, then Android contains Microsoft code as well as Linux code.So saying it's not Linux isn't completely accurate, it would be more accurate to say it's not just Linux.[/citation]
Since when does Android uses microsoft code?

 

[egmccann]

[citation][nom]jdwii[/nom]they have 60% of the server market WoW! How is Linux dead again?[/citation]

"On the desktop." You may have missed that part of the statement.

And, honestly, I'd (somewhat) agree.. *on the desktop alone.* It's there, but really, the marketshare isn't all that impressive unless you compare to, say, current BeOS or OS/2 users. There's not much mainstream development going for it - I mean, the biggest "names" I can think of are trying to be everywhere anyway (Mozilla, Chrome, Libre/OpenOffice.) Someone who just wants to get work done (or just wants to play the latest games) is not going to stick with Linux for the most part.

Which is a shame. I'd like to see it grow more and be accepted faster - but it's got a ways to go, IMHO. Being a solid hobbyist/enthusiast OS, though, isn't a *bad* place to be.

However... that mobile ("Android is built on Linux, but is not Linux") statement - that I'd disagree with. That sounds like someone trying to stretch to make a point, to me.

 

[randomizer]

[citation][nom]game_on_0[/nom]Man this site is still killing me with the chevron brackets. I meant to say the I need to press [Shift+'] to get [@], something all of us are used to accomplish by pressing [Shift+2], and there are many more similar mistakes my keyboard makes in windows.[/citation]
Sounds like you've got your keyboard set to something other than US 101. I'd say that's the UK and Ireland layout.

 

[Guest]

Saying that "Linux is only one of many piece parts of the Android mobile operating system. It is not Linux." is ridiculous. Is he also arguing that iOS on iPhones and iPad isn't Apple?

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]game_on[/nom]To all the people saying how great Windows is and how everything works, hardware and games and such, tell me one thing: How come Ubuntu and Debian~~~~[/citation]

Why is your text all greyed out... its hard to read.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]apexwm[/nom]Here we go again, another hilarious article sponsored by Microsoft. Please don't buy this garbage, please don't. ~~[/citation]
Yeah! All those people using Linux on their desktops and all those stores that are actually selling Linux Desktops are being hidden by Microsoft.

Er... no. Number of **DESKTOP** Linux users is about 1% of the overall market. Linux is not a viable mainstream desktop system, even thou - under the hood, its better than Windows.

Get over it.

 

[DSpider]

[citation][nom]belardo[/nom]Why is your text all greyed out... its hard to read.[/citation]
Because either he doesn't have an account or he logged out so that he can post under a different nickname.

 

[Guest]

And iOS is based on FreeBSD a relative of Linux and Unix. Just because an operating system spawns relatives that are purpose built doesn't mean that the core failed. That's like saying Jesus failed when he died. But then his disciples managed to spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. Did Jesus still fail? Analyst really lacks knowledge and adaptive thinking, harsh criticism for a harsh critic. Linux isn't meant for the casual user, it takes work to install, of course it will have less market share, because people don't want to do that work. One day we may see Unix/Linux relatives enter the desktop market via iOS and Android. Nothing has been written yet. And people have a penchant for branding (e.g. More likely to buy from Microsoft, Google and Apple as opposed to Redhat, Ubuntu, Slackware).

 

[shealladh]

Hmm, if it's so dead then what serves all those mobile devices.

This "anal" yst should get change careers

 

[conalmc]

People have been predicting game over for desktop linux for years....every year someone one posts a stupid blog or article about how its going not going to be around the next year...yet it is still around. There is obviously enough people that prefer linux to keep it going and that number will continue to grow regardless of what percentage that takes up. People just need to take a chill pill and relax. The fact that it can maintain its 1% when the industry continues to increase in size and numbers isn't to shabby imo. This all being done with almost no advertising. I don't care if my work mates use windows, OSX or linux, as long as the job gets done right. If you work more efficiently in linux, by all means use it. At my work, 90% of our servers are linux so having a linux workstation certainly has its advantages for me.

 

[conalmc]

People have been predicting game over for desktop linux for years....every year someone one posts a stupid blog or article about how its going not going to be around the next year...yet it is still around. There is obviously enough people that prefer linux to keep it going and that number will continue to grow regardless of what percentage that takes up. People just need to take a chill pill and relax. The fact that it can maintain its 1% when the industry continues to increase in size and numbers isn't to shabby imo. This all being done with almost no advertising. I don't care if my work mates use windows, OSX or linux, as long as the job gets done right. If you work more efficiently in linux, by all means use it. At my work, 90% of our servers are linux so having a linux workstation certainly has its advantages for me.

 

[eddieroolz]

They must have seen this coming. Sure, Linux is capable - perhaps more than any OS for that matter - but if using it involves spinal cord surgeries each time you do something, it won't get ANY market acceptance. At all.

 

[Guest]

Like most Toms readers I have it all,ipod touch,desktop running win7 another with Xp and 3 laptops running various Ubuntu versions. There are no winners or loosers they all have ther time and place.

 

[Guest]

Aah, yet again Linux is dead. Maybe it should have adopted the cat instead of the penguin for a mascot.

Seriously, GNU/Linux (to be P.C.) gets a bad rep for being difficult. I have used many distro's and most are not difficult to install (Ubuntu, Fedora, Zenwalk, etc - actually take less time than Windows). Others are a little more involved (Debian, Slackware, etc) but the average noob Linux user isn't using them anyway. Right now I use Arch. I have friends using Windows who have no clue how to fix problems (and call me instead) so that's no advantage over Linux. And in my experience Linux runs with fewer hassles than Windows in the long run.

 

[Guest]

World domination isn't all it's cracked up to be. In world history, for example, while Spain was king of the hill in the late 15th - early 16th centuries, the folks back home suffered a lot - crippling inflation w/ the gold pouring in. And everyone thought because they were on top, there was no need to make their own country (Spain) better, so they stagnated. Eventually, after they toppled from the top like all empires do (take note, MS and Apple), things got better (okay, Franco was bad). Until recently, when worldwide recession struck, they were doing fine, even helping their former colonies to move up in the world. So, world domination is an ephemral illusion anyway.