How Linux Can Achieve Faster World Domination

[fuzzylogue]

"The future is open source everything."
—Linus Torvalds

The statement above seems naive, even at the time that it was made.

Linux suffers from two fundamental problems that prevent its general application. So far it has done well for IT departments and geeks that manage servers.But, if it wants to be a general computing tool and platform it can not have it both ways. That is, remain a powerful server tool but not be easy to use.

The first problem is that it has remained a non-intuitive computing platform.

The second problem is-and this is one that buffles its proponents-that hardware can not be open sourced. This is the reason why the linux kernel is always on a chase after the hardware.

The market has rejected Linux. Its market share after so many years remains at about one percent. It rejected it for many reasons the most obvious been that it is not a cohesive computing platform on which many companies can anchor their investments on. Linux is still stuck on the confusing implementation and organizing concept of "Distros," and the "rolling" release vs "versioning release" cycles which should have produced a cohesive operating platform for the market by now. At this time, there is no denying its strengh and its weakness. It is really a work in progress that has taken too long to come to fruition. Power and complexities does not equal general applicability.

 

[Tomtompiper]

"The market has rejected Linux. Its market share after so many years remains at about one percent"

Market share is 5-6% on desktops, 60% on servers and 90% on super-computers.

 

[captaincharisma]

dstudentx said:
I like the romantic thought of linux but it just takes too much work to achieve a simple task. I been using Ubuntu for sometime now. I think Linux is amazing for anything scientific but when when it comes to everyday computing its not with the time it takes to get simple programs running.

Are you kidding me? I have about 12 customers that now use linux and love it. Not one of them is a tech guru, and they have no problems doing anything. Installing apps could not be any easier than opening the package manager and clicking on what you want.

thats because they don't do anything on there computers except e-mail!!!! if they could just use DOS to check there e-mail they would accept that. but the other mainstream users who like multimedia programs, use things like skype watching movies or maybe playing music will not put up with the BS you have to put up with to do simple tasks such as those just to get stuff like that working on an OS that has so many versions that are probably made by no talented programmers in there basements.

stop drinking the cool-aid

 

[captaincharisma]

I have encountered installations that required at least 10 minutes of reading some stupid a## help file then writing idiotic shell commands. Of course that was for a programming tool, but that didn't ever happen on a Windows machine.

add to that installing things like flash in a version of Linux that only works from the command console and vmware tools has to be installed via the console too. also don't forget how much a pain it is to install plug-ins to get windows media player web content working in linux install wine because you cannot find any good alternatives or similar programs windows has but take 13,000 lines of commands in the console to just get it installed

i have tried many times to get linux working the way i want it but there just too much BS to deal with

 

[Tomtompiper]

[citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]add to that installing things like flash in a version of Linux that only works from the command console and vmware tools has to be installed via the console too. also don't forget how much a pain it is to install plug-ins to get windows media player web content working in linux install wine because you cannot find any good alternatives or similar programs windows has but take 13,000 lines of commands in the console to just get it installedi have tried many times to get linux working the way i want it but there just too much BS to deal with[/citation]

"add to that installing things like flash in a version of Linux that only works from the command console"

Why pick a version of Linux that only works from the command console? On my system I clicked on Synaptic, typed in Flash and hit enter, clicked a check box and hit run updates. Hardly rocket science. It was the same for the Win32 codecs and Virtualbox. Don't use Wine so I can't comment on that, if I want to use windows I'll boot into windows. I don't know what half assed distro you were trying but they sound old to me. If somebody wants to try Linux I suggest the burn six or seven Live CD's and try before they buy. I have never had much luck with Ubuntu, but I have used Mint, Mandriva, Mepis, Knoppix, DSL, Puppy and PCLinuxOS at various times on a range of machines and have found that there is always one of them that will do the job. I carry them with me in an old clam case, they are ideal for rescuing Windows machines.

 

[captaincharisma]

"add to that installing things like flash in a version of Linux that only works from the command console"

Why pick a version of Linux that only works from the command console? On my system I clicked on Synaptic, typed in Flash and hit enter, clicked a check box and hit run updates. Hardly rocket science. It was the same for the Win32 codecs and Virtualbox. Don't use Wine so I can't comment on that, if I want to use windows I'll boot into windows. I don't know what half assed distro you were trying but they sound old to me. If somebody wants to try Linux I suggest the burn six or seven Live CD's and try before they buy. I have never had much luck with Ubuntu, but I have used Mint, Mandriva, Mepis, Knoppix, DSL, Puppy and PCLinuxOS at various times on a range of machines and have found that there is always one of them that will do the job. I carry them with me in an old clam case, they are ideal for rescuing Windows machines.

so your saying ubuntu is a bad distro? sorry man i don't feel like going threw 1000's of linux distros to find one i like cause some linux cult follower told me to give it another try.

 

[danimal_the_animal]

you want graphics drivers?

buy nvidia

 

[ToddAndMargo]

It does not matter how well Linux is written as long as M$ has the applications base. Period. The answer it to actually make Wine work. Fat chance, so we are stuck with crappy old Windows to get our jobs done. No Autocad, no Quickbooks, no Acrobat Professional, yada, yada, yada. Yes there are some substitutes, but the user does not care. They want what they are use to and have been trained on. So, until Wine actually works, we are all stuck with Windows. And that really stinks.

 

[nebun]

[citation][nom]tomtompiper[/nom]All of the people I know that have a console also own a PC so it's not that it's a cheap option, hell the games cost much more, it's because they get better games and a greater choice with a console. Try this experiment open two browsers and run them side by side, now go to Walmart or any game retailer website and put xbox on one browser and PC on the other. Scroll down the lists and watch how quickly the PC games dwindle from current games to discounted older games. Marvel at how many of the PC games are also available on the xbox and how many more new and current xboxgames there are compared to the PC. Even the PS3 has more titles than the PC, the writing is on the wall. I've seen this happen many times before, it's not always the best system that wins, consoles are easier to easier to develop for and that is where the software houses will concentrate their resources, get used to console hand-me-downs it is the future of PC games.[/citation]

ha ha ha. ok, i see what you are saying, i really do. i have owned both ps3 and xbox 360 x2. guess what? i have allways found myself playing games on the computer. i even compared graphics and extra stuff that comes in the games and on a pc the games were much better developed. so, that's why i don't own or will ever own a console game ever in my life. btw, really graphic intensive games will bring any console to it's knees. trust me i know it from experience, when my PS3 was really choppy when started to intensive graphics games like racing games. console are so underpowered and overpriced. the consumer probably pays double for those machines. with a self built machine it's a lot different because you know what's inside the damn thing and if it breaks you can fix it without having to wait weeks for another one if it breaks.

 

[daggs]

[citation][nom]dgingeri[/nom]That's easy. The same thing Linux has has been in Windows since Windows 95: Add/remove Windows Components. it's part of Add/remove Programs.Select a component, it adds all dependencies. In Windows Server, that includes Administration tools, DHCP, WINS, DNS, and all web server functions. (I still wouldn't use Windows as a web server, though.)I have not seen anything like you are describing anywhere in Linux. Personally, I've tried CentOS, Ubuntu (8.04 and 8.10, since 9.10 won't even install on a virtual or on my secondary system), Fedora, and OpenSUSE. At work, we currently use RHEL and SUSE, along with a custom build. I have not seen any graphical interface to add components.people aren't afraid of "difference". (I'd have used the word "change" myself.) I certainly am not. I've been using Windows Powershell for a couple years now. That's new. I moved to Vista and got used to the new interface pretty quickly, despite the issues. I have used multiple monitors since Windows 98. (Well, SE when I actually got the money for the second monitor.) I accept the change, when it is needed. I certainly know that Linux has its place. The security is better for outward facing applications, such as firewalls and web servers. It's is great for back up applications. (We use a custom Linux app to back up all our Windows file shares, along with file deduplication during the backup.) However, it is too hard to use and takes far more time to do anything because so much has to be typed. I didn't say I will always hate Linux. I said I will hate it until they make the graphical interfaces necessary to do the things Windows does. Then I wouldn't have to sit at a black screen and type in, with half of my keystrokes being typos, all those stupid commands. Oh, and while I do periodically use the command line in Windows, I am able to mostly avoid it. Linux, I have to use it for EVERYTHING, and I hate that.What is this tab completion you talk about? Would it help me? I have no idea what it is. as far as your example, I am a bad dancer, and don't blame the floor for my problems, I simply state that I hate dancing and don't do it unless I have to. (Which, that has thankfully only come up once. that particular red head was SO worth the humiliating experience.) I am bad at typing, so I hate it when I am forced to use it constantly. Linux forces me into that.[/citation]
here is a few starting points: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installingsoftware http://embraceubuntu.com/2006/01/28/turn-on-bash-smart-completion/ https://help.ubuntu.com/8.04/serverguide/C/index.html
hope these links will help you more, if you have another question ask google first, then others good luck,

 

[randomizer]

[citation][nom]dgingeri[/nom]...having to type everything precisely or type the whole thing over.[/citation]
Try pressing the Up Arrow key. It works in Windows too.

[citation][nom]Alessandro17[/nom]And why use Linux, when you can use such great operating systems as Windows 7 or OS X...[/citation]
Why use OSX when you can use Linux or Windows 7? Why use Windows 7 when you can use OSX or Linux? It comes down to either choice or indoctrination, and usually it's the latter.

[citation][nom]sailfish[/nom]You lost 99% of the masses needed for world domination after "OOP blocks", methinks.[/citation]
The same would be true if you mentioned "Windows registry." The masses don't know anything about this stuff.

[citation][nom]fuzzylogue[/nom]The first problem is that it has remained a non-intuitive computing platform.[/citation]
There is a fundamental flaw in this statement. You have not defined intuitive, and you can't define intuitive because it is subjective. But I'm going to assume you meant "like Windows" because Windows is, as we all know, extremely intuitive. That's why the masses don't need tech support to use it.

[citation][nom]fuzzylogue[/nom]The market has rejected Linux.[/citation]
The market has been saturated with Windows. If it was saturated with Linux, it would reject Windows. If it was saturated with OSX, it would reject the other two. Most companies will not just up and replace their entire Information Systems just because they think Linux could be fun. MS software dominates the market because of extremely good marketing and uncompetitive practice, as well as lengthy contracts with OEMs ensuring Windows will always be replaced by Windows and tech support will always have a job dealing with worms running through company email.

[citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]but the other mainstream users who like multimedia programs, use things like skype watching movies or maybe playing music will not put up with the BS you have to put up with to do simple tasks such as those just to get stuff like that working on an OS that has so many versions that are probably made by no talented programmers in there basements.[/citation]
What a load of bile. I can't even be bothered to respond with proper reasoning. The only person on kool-aid here is you and the rest of the Windows "power users" (people unable to grasp any concept they haven't been indoctrinated with) with their heads in the sand.

 

[Tomtompiper]

[citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]so your saying ubuntu is a bad distro? sorry man i don't feel like going threw 1000's of linux distros to find one i like cause some linux cult follower told me to give it another try.[/citation]


I never said Ubuntu was a bad distro, just that I had trouble with it, I have tried it on a few machines and the only one I kept it on was as a dual boot on my daughters Dell Mini 1010 which had a GMA500 IGP which is not well supported however as Ubuntu have been partnering Dell it worked on this machine. I just find Ubuntu to be a newbie unfriendly distro compared to the ones I listed Mint is much more user friendly and is Debian based, the one I choose to use at the moment is PCLinuxOS a Mandriva based distro. And I did not suggest 1000 distros, I recommended a few, from small and light like DSL and Puppy to the more sophisticated, like Mepis and Knoppix. And I am not a Linux Cult follower, just a computer enthusiast who uses Windows, Linux, and GEM. There is only one reason I use Linux more than the others and that is security and usability, I can surf, download, stream and read e-mail in complete safety. No need to take precautions, no need to constantly update AV databases or run scans. It is called freedom and it is great.

 

[nathanielng]

i don't see how people having problems installing and setting up Ubuntu can be the norm... sure there'll always be a handful of people who have incompatible hardware (maybe too new/bleeding-edge or too old...), or a handful of people who happen to need some not-so-stable software or software that conflicts with something else on the system. However in my experience, this doesn't seem to be the norm: i've installed Ubuntu on all sorts of places: 1) an old Pentium 2.8GHz single-core machine, 2) dual booted on a Lenovo desktop, 3) dual booted on a Fujitsu laptop, 4-5) two thumbdrive installs, 6-7) virtual machine installs in VMWare Fusion on a Mac, VirtualBox on Win XP, 8) helped another person install it on another laptop. I've done at least two in-place upgrades to Ubuntu Karmic Koala and still no problems. Eight successful Ubuntu installs and yet to hit a roadblock, not to mention an earlier CentOS 4.5 install before I switched to Ubuntu. Unsuccessful Linux installs are more or less unheard of among the Linux users I work with... what's more, for those who aren't sure, just ask the sales person if you can test the laptop with a Live CD / thumbdrive install before you buy it, or if not check the internet for hardware compatibility of the laptop you are buying.

 

[Guest]

When many years ago I mentioned to someone what I heard about "the tremendous capabilities" of Linux, immediately, I was put to the task by asking: "How do you copy a floppy?"--then one of the most mundane task on DOS. In a bookstore, it took number of Unix and Linux books to find the first vague idea how to start it by mounting the source floppy. That was more than the one could tolerate. Just like in the pouring rain in the evening one should unmount the tires by leaving the car, and mount them in the morning--the Unix-way!

Nowadays many distributions could auto-mount that floppy, but similarly simple questions have similarly complicated, or unaccessible answers. For instance in Windows when you install a new program you are allowed to specify the destination directory, to put an ikon on the desktop and/or in the tray. In Linux land, the destination is fixed. It is in a bin directory housing the new files together with the additional few thousands of binary files. And, really, very few people know how to put an ikon to the corresponding places. Similarly very few people know how to change the keyboard input language, how to configure an Internet connection, not to speaking about a simple router to share the same Internet connection on two or three PC-s. I have never seen a single Linux book that would address these issues. You may google for days and never find the very subject that you are looking for. Like it, or not: We were still in the digital dark ages without Windows.

Windows 98, XP have been for more than five years, and Windows 7 likely will be, too. Hundreds of Linux distributions are for six months with hundreds of indiscriminate updates during that time period. Updates like updating a translation to a language that I have never heard about! Should not the system ask during installation what language should be the user interface and what languages should be used by the applications, and for documentations. Many applications know only one language: English. You may have a dozen different dictionaries in some wordprocessors, yet when you ask for spell checking there is no way to tell which dictionary to use, and actually English is used all the time! If you write in a different language, most of the words are marked as misspelled. That happens similarly in the Windows version of the same programs. Word domination in a very imperfect word?! Let's not fool ourselves!

 

[Guest]

Make no mistake that opensource is taking over. With the global financial crisis its going to last several years market share is going down to windows. Until 2005 Linux had 0.6% of total maket share. Now in 5 years it has almost 3%. In the Mobile market Android has double the share in 6 months. Even Steve Jobs is scared with the open source developers making constant threats to them. Because Apple will be the first to be surprassed by open soft companies. Remember the netbooks? Gates went frenzy when people start to buy linux based systems! Games? Try to search the net: Black Mesa and see for yourself the power of openGL come to life. Ubuntu is growing without a stop. And drivers are more and more builted in to linux kernel. Remember also that there was a time where it was impossible to man go to the moon...