The State Of The Personal Computer

[apollux]

[citation][nom]Linuxman44[/nom]Until linux programs stop using indecipherable names like "Evolution, Firefox, F-Spot, Gimp, Brasero, Banshee, xgl/Compiz" it isn't going to get anywhere on the desktop.To me it sums up what is wrong with the linux, people want to keep it 'geeky', even my favourite distro, Ubuntu has a silly name and the releases are even sillier, which is fun, but just confusing for the average Joe.The average user will have no idea what Gimp or Banshee does vs names like Photoshop and iTunes which make inherent sense and reduce the confusion and make it seem 'serious'.[/citation]

You can't get a more obvious name than "F-Stop", everyone who has ever used a serious camera knows what that means... and if you don't then you haven't really used a camera. "Evolution" kinda makes sense, I would rename it at "E-Volution". With the others I kinda agree, but "Firefox" has become such a household name nowadays.

Can you really imagine using something like "Open Internet Explorer"... I would dismiss it on the name basics alone.

 

[pochacco007]

i read some of these things and i laugh. what the macs do compared to windows is that macs are about quality while windows are about trying to market to people.

remember that commecial about pc having a big pile of money for marketing and a small amount for fixing. that my friend is a pc.

 

[cruiseoveride]

Another idiot who doesnt know how to use Linux and says stupid things about it.

However, one area where Linux will never succeed is the desktop.

You didn't think you could say that without getting a verbal whipping, did you?

Fool. Do you have any idea how many people use Linux on the desktop today as compared to a decade ago? Why don't you ask Canonical or RedHat for stats from their update servers? Do some real journalism instead of talking out of your ass.
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Statistics

You’re stuck with Firefox

yeah, we're stuck with Firefox alright, and Opera and Konqueror and Epiphany and Lynx and Google Chrome
Fool. Did you think one of the biggest supporters of open source will not have an open source version running on Linux? Google Chrome is in development for linux. Look it up and do some real journalism instead of talking out of your ass.
http://dev.chromium.org/Home

[qupte] many netbook manufacturers such as MSI are backing away from Linux after recognizing a 4x higher return rate [/quote]
Really? Who told you? The little bird? And this is obviously why they are in talks with Canonical for a new Ubuntu? And why the new Wind with Linux is coming to the US next year? I read the press statement as well alright.
Fool. Stop talking out of your ass and do some real journalism.
http://blog.laptopmag.com/msi-wind-coming-to-major-retailer-new-models-coming-soon

A decade ago, people would have said that Linux was ill-suited for “real” server work. Are naysayers of desktop Linux being as naïve? I don’t think so.

Yeah, not naive, blind. Stupid even.
Fool. Did they teach you compound interest in school? Rate of change of growth?
Why dont you tell us all when Linux market share will surpass Windows and Mac and stop talking out of your ass.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_desktop_operating_systems

Alan, this inst your private blog. If you are going to say something you better back it up with more than just your personal experience. If a new ATi and Nvidia card came out and all you said was "ATi is faster and more superior", do you really think people will listen to you? Do you think people need you to give them an update on your feelings about "The State Of The Personal Computer"? Do you think people are listening?

You see, unlike you, I dont talk out of my ass. I provided proof to everything I said.

 

[cabose369]

Ok time to ring in.

Linux will never catch on because the average consumer doesn’t want to learn a brand new system again and find they have no support for any software or when they have problems with it.

I sell both Mac’s and PC’s and I have to say that I hate Mac’s. They are honestly the most over-hyped, overpriced pieces of crap I have ever seen.

Here are some common pro-mac BS comments:

Mac’s run Vista better than PC’s do

My Mac rep tells us that all the time. I asked him if he has ever seen a Mac Vista before. He said he hadn’t. They honestly run like crap. For example there is NO graphics drive (that’s what you get when you use proprietary parts). So it defaults to a Standard VGA driver that goes to a resolution of 800x600 and looks like CRAP. Then there are practically no drivers for Bluetooth, network cards, etc. Yes it does run fast but then again, so does a non-bloatware, non-OEM version of Vista installed on a machine.

Mac’s have better hardware
I bet most people didn’t even know that even the Intel PROCESSOR inside is proprietary. It is made specially for Mac’s. I mean yes you know getting a 2.4Ghz processor, Nvidia Geforce 9400 graphics card, 2GB ram and 250GB HDD for $1599 CDN is good for a mac. But consider for $1599 CDN you can get a Dell XPS Core 2 Quad Q9300 @2.5 ghz, 6 GB ram, 640GB HDD, Dual 4850’s and it will own ANY Mac. Then you can choose any screen that is going to be much higher quality then the cheap, low-grade Samsung screen that comes standard on all the Imac’s.

Mac’s Cinedisplay screen is the best
Hehe I love this one. The CineDisplay screen panel is made by LG. It is the same grade screen as in the HP w2207, 2408, 2558, etc. And those screens are a FRACTION of the cost of the CineDisplay. Compare the hp’s side by side with the CineDisplay and you wont be able to see a difference.

Macbooks have a matte finish screen which PC’s don’t
Not anymore they don’t! The new Samsung screens standard in now ALL Macbooks and Macbook Pro’s are ALL glossy. Cry macboys, cry.

Mac’s are more stable and don’t BSOD
Hehe I saw someone made this comment earlier and clearly he hasn’t used Leopard before. Leopard BSOD’s almost as much, if not more, than Vista does.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1545
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/27/leopard_install_problems/
http://osx.tribe.net/thread/a1989f8a-a175-4932-a43e-93d9c2a884da
http://forums.macnn.com/90/mac-os-x/355126/leopard-crashes-on-me-all-time/
http://guides.macrumors.com/List:Applications_Not_Compatible_with_Leopard

And the list goes on and on.

Mac’s are so much easier than a PC
Hehe, not true. You have to re-buy practically EVER piece of software you own, ¾ of your hardware will not work with the Mac. There is no default right click unless you set it so you have to know ahead of time to hold down ctrl+click on the mouse button. Networking is a pain in the ass on Mac (ex. Setting a static IP address). Dock is useless as it doesn’t show half the stuff it should, it freezes, it won’t show stuff you just minimized, the icons will jump up and down and never stop until you open the program then minimize it. The layout for the Mac version of My Computer is awful and very hard to navigate. You are forced to use the awful program called Itunes.

Mac’s don’t get viruses
That is technically not true.
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/38088/108/ Turn User Account Control On or Off!!!! DURRRRR.....

 

[Guest]

When you say "PC", you mean a computer with windows operating system on it?

That was very confusing of you to say "PC" when PC really means personal computer.

 

[malavena]

My motherboard has an integrated RTL-8187 wireless card which goes detected and online unde Ubuntu 8.04 ... only to work at less than 150kbps for an hour or so and then drop the connection. There's lots about that behavior in many forums, but no one has a solution. Twice I tried to use ndiswrapper only to get the card totally out of sight for the OS and needing a reinstall.
My ATI3870 works very well under the ATI propietary driver that came with Ubuntu 8.04. Except when it comes to using Google Earth over a Compiz desktop, where the earth's blinking becomes intolerable.
Wanted to try Ubuntu 8.10 and (just today) Fedora 10. They use the "open" ATI driver instead. Both give me a blank screen and a "video signal out of range" message upon booting.
My laptop's WiFi card was an infamous Broadcom. I used it under ndiswrapper with Ubuntu v7 until an update decided it was time to test the FOSS drivers it came with. It gave me a message about flashing the WiFi card and after that tried to control it: it couldn't. The worst part is that upon booting back to XP it wouldn't recognize the card either! Fortunately it was only a matter of reinstalling the XP drivers.

 

[AlanDang]

[citation][nom]cruiseoveride[/nom]Fool[/citation]

For the numbers, I went with Net Applications because they've tracked the numbers the longest with the most frequency. Your wikipedia link shows how marketshare numbers can differ from one tracker to another, but sticking to one with a reliable, consistent record makes it easier to make comparisons one year from now.

You point to downloads of Fedora but incidence is not the same as prevalence. "Compound interest" or "rate of change" are too simple to use. You have to consider things like marginal utility, comparative advantages, game theory, etc. That's the concept of "where are they now, and where are they going?"

Ask yourself, what is driving the increased adoption of Linux? There are hundreds of reasons, but let's start with a simple "it's free" argument. In 2009, will Linux improve this driving point? No. It's already free, you can't get "Freer than free" unless you're paying someone to use it. Linux is already at its maximum potential. The exceptions would have to occur in outside sources. If Microsoft raises prices, the benefit Linux gets from being free gets magnified. If Microsoft lowers prices, the benefit Linux gets from being free diminishes.

The global financial crisis throws more fuel to the fire. On the one hand, you might expect a free Linux to have much more utility during tough economic times. Money is tighter, and therefore the difference in cost is going to be a bigger deal. My reasoned opinion is that it is paradoxical. If money is tight, you're not going to buy a new computer -- you'll stick with what you've got. If your computer breaks (and you need one to search for jobs, be productive, etc.) you'll probably pick up a used computer for a low price or purchase a new computer that will have the *perception* of being more reliable and less likely to break in the same amount of time.

Take another "selling point" of Linux: WINE. Is that getting better or worse? Better. A lot better. WINE still has a lot of room to improve, and therefore the "benefit" Linux gets from having partial Windows compatibility is going to grow next year. OS X is also going to grow in popularity for gaming, due to its wider market share. Windows stays the same. All 3 will face threats from Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii.

Usability. Linux, OS X, and Windows will all see improvements in 2009. The comparative advantage may shift.

Think about every other possibility and you'll begin to get a feel of where each OS is heading in 2009. To make my predictions, I started with a simple analysis of all of the past statistics from Net Applications. Using regression to obtain a best-fit curve helps you predict "all things equal, what will market share look like in 2009." Now the trick is nudging the numbers up and down depending on what the momentum and comparative advantages are going to look like next year. That's how the decimal points come into play.

Of course Chromium is coming out for Linux -- but it's not out yet. I've been running *nix forever (before it was on my own machines). Heck, I remember running HotJava! The thing to remember is that WebKit is not Safari and it's not Chrome. It's just an HTML render. In retrospect, the phrasing could have been clearer. We can talk about millions of options. But when you look at the top 3 browsers: IE, Firefox, and Safari by marketshare, you see that Windows runs all three, Mac runs two, and Linux runs one of those three. Then, when you look at Chrome, which is arguably one of the best new browsers to hit the market, you see that although mac and linux ports are "on the way," it too, is only available for Windows.

I've put my prediction in writing on what Net Applications will be reporting for market share 12 months from now. From your post, it sounds as if you think I'm underpredicting Linux's market share. So why don't you give me a breakdown of where you think the numbers will be in 12 months and we'll look back at it when the time comes. If you're going to put Linux at 1.2% or something, then it's a moot point -- if you think Linux is going to have 20% market share in one year, put it writing and we'll see.

 

[zodiacfml]

this is the most number of pages of comments i've seen recently. hehe
anyways, each system has its own quality which suits a particular user well.
every comment i've read is quite right in their own way.

 

[cruiseoveride]

the one T.dawg did on Macs vs Windows had like 30 pages.

Alan. Stop blabbering about Net Applications. You obviously didnt do your homework. So shutup. Who said 20% in one year?

You are a pathetic excuse for a journalist. Just because the Chrome version for Linux and Mac is under development, that makes Windows somehow better? Are you thick?

Calculate the rate of change of market share for Linux, then graph it.

And no Alan, i wont talk out of my ass and just tell you what i "think:. I will use the same source of statistics as you did. Take your Net Application stats for the last year.

2007 Q3 = 0.47%
2007 Q4 = 0.56%
2008 Q1 = 0.63%
2008 Q2 = 0.71%
2008 Q3 = 0.88%

0.47% -> 0.56% | 19% increase
0.56% -> 0.63% | 11% increase
0.63% -> 0.71% | 13% increase
0.71% -> 0.88% | 24% increase
Average increase per quarter = 17%

Now take 0.88% x (1.17)^quarters
5 years = 20 quarters

Linux share projected using Net Application stats ~ 20%

Thats one in every five computers.

And if you wanted a more accurate % you could have weighted XP, NT, 98, 95 demise and Vista's rise in share.

where are they now, and where are they going?

I'm going for lunch, and you are going to do some homework and get back with an updated article on what is _actually_ happening and not whats happening with your _feelings_.

 

[AngryClown]

"This is a virus for Linux. In order to run it's payload, please logout and re-login as root. If you prefer not to login as root, or your system does not allow it, please open a terminal and type "su", followed by your root password, and please execute the attached virus binary. If you do not see any viral effects, please recompile the virus for your system. If you do not have access to your root password, please ask your administrator to run the virus for you. Remember, only 'you' can help us to spread our Linux viruses! Thanks for your cooperation."

 

[mapesdhs]

cruiseoveride,

Just curious, so what is your market share prediction for
Linux by Q4/2009?

Ian.

 

[cruiseoveride]

There seems to be some miscommunication here. I am not _predicting_ anything.

I just used basic statistics to mathematically find a trend line in the data Net Applications provided on Linux usage.

Q4 2009, is 5 quarters away from Q3 2008, that would mean Linux would be up to ~ 0.88% x (1.17)^5 = 2%

Q4 2010, ~ 3.6%
Q4 2011, ~ 6.8%
Q4 2012, ~ 12.7%
Q4 2013, ~ 23.8%

But note, this calculation does not account for the rate at which Vista or OSX eats into the XP share. If our friend Alan did his job, you might have actually got a really accurate market share forecast. But sadly the entry requirements to writing on tomshardware has become so low, they let people like Alan write whatever they want.

Alan, earn your wage for once. Find the rate of change of market share for XP, Vista, OSX and Linux. Remember that the denominator keeps changing as the number of users increases as well. ie it is not a constant sized data pool. Using that break down the rate of XP's decrease (or any other decreasing OS) and fraction that up with all the OSs that are increasing. Then use a trend line to figure out what the total share will be in a decade from now.

Dont forget the data size is changing.

 

[hellcat]

Here is my prediction.

If Windows 7 is better than Vista and XP then I see market share going up for Windows again. People who are now with XP will switch to Windows 7 (and hopefully 64 bit) and people who use Vista will also switch. It'll be like the switch from 98/ME to Vista. From what I read about Windows 7 it'll take up less room on a drive (8 GB of disk space, compared to about 5-6 GB for XP and 19 GB for Vista). I'll be faster and more secure. So we'll see.

OSX will make an increase but if Windows 7 is good then it'll slow. People switch to alternative OS' because Vista has a bad rep, if Windows 7 clears up that rep then fewer people will switch to OSX or Linux.

The people who switch to Linux are 1 of 2 type of people. 1. Geeks, people who just want to try Linux. Yes they may be sick of Windows but a free OS looks good to them and their not afraid to get their hands dirty. 2. Cheap people who see a $200 laptop and don't think about the OS until they get it home. Then they have to learn the new OS. For Linux to gain more ground for the regular person it'll have to be more like an OS for a cell phone. It updates what it needs to update with no problem, it has an app store where you get what you want and it installs it and if you want to delete it it deletes it quick and easy. Basically make it simple enough for grandma and grandpa to use.

There isn't one answer, there are just to many variables. Only time will really say who is right. Apple fanboys will always say Mac OS will take over the world and MS fanboys say the same thing about Windows, then Linux fanboys claim the same thing. My thought though is unless Windows 7 is really bad I don't think Mac OS or Linux will gain a huge amount in the next few years. I think when one of the OS' has a MAJOR upgrade build...I'm talking voice navigation, and touch screen. Windows 7 won't be that OS, neither will the next version of Mac OS or Linux, so we'll have to see what Windows 8 and the next major versions of Mac OS and Linux has to offer. Voice nav has a LONG way to go, touch screens I can see happening on desktop and they'll be on all if not most laptops in the next 3-5 years. I don't think touch screens will be enough though, I think it would have to be voice nav and touch, or some other way to nav like in the movie Minority Report. People are use to what they're use to. I think Windows will get better, if we look at past versions of windows they went from 3.1.1 which was good to 95 which was ok, to 98 which built on to that, to ME which was a flop, to 2000 which did pretty well, to XP which did very well, to Vista which isn't doing so well, so MS probably leaned from Vista and 7 will be good. Not all versions of Mac OS were great, they had their flops too and as they try new things it may have its downs in the future too. So you can't say Mac OS is better than Windows or Windows is better than Mac OS, its a matter of taste. I personally have Vista 64 and have had few problems with it (it won't run Gametap Windows games). I've used Mac OS and I thought it was confusing, but I used it no a friends laptop and didn't use it long enough to get use to it. If I used it long enough I probably would end up liking it. I've also used Linux and with what little I know about it I was able to make every version I've used crash just trying new programs, drivers and such. I know Windows and its what I'm use to.

I'm pretty sure any OS that gains a decent amount of market share then criminals will make viri for it. Its not really that one OS is better than the other, its popularity. There are vulnerabilities in every OS, their will never be an OS that is invulnerable to attack...at least not in our life time. I think when artificial intelligence becomes a reality and an OS can find a viri and fix itself then maybe we'll have a close to invulnerable OS, but until then probably not.

 

[Guest]

This article feels like it's from the early 90s when it comes to describing Linux.

Hardware support is often better than windows, there are over 5 modern browsers: Firefox, Opera, Chromium, Epiphany, Konqueror. The list of outdated facts goes on. This feels a lot like FUD.

 

[AlanDang]

[citation][nom]cruiseoveride[/nom]There seems to be some miscommunication here. I am not _predicting_ anything.[/citation]

Using your formula, in 10 years, Linux will have 470% market share. Resetting the denominator doesn't work either because "basic statistics" is fundamentally the wrong approach. You have to look at the problem using microeconomics.

You're fond of wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forecasting

The approach you're using is a simple time series. Even if you forecasted the total number of computers so that the denominator continues to grow, the approach is fundamentally flawed because it's based exclusively on historical data. The assumption is that Windows Vista and OS X and Linux all continue to do the exact same things.

The approach I've used is an econometric one. Why is Vista losing market share? Why are Linux and Mac OS gaining market share? What are the external factors that will maximize or reduce the comparative advantages of each platform? If you understand the forces that are at play, you can make a better prediction. But you can't do a pure econometric one because people aren't rational buyers -- how many Mac users refuse to try something different? how many PC users refuse to go to Mac? how many users end up running multiple platforms. This is where some judgment and opinion comes into play.

You are applying statistics incorrectly for this question. Econometrics is a better approach, but it's impossible to accurately assign weights to marginal utility of each feature -- so you have to use opinion to estimate the marginal utility of the most important features from each OS.

I love my Fedora-based workstation - it's the system where I install my best hardware and do my data critical work. Just because *I* love it, it doesn't mean that the *mainstream* loves it -- and that's what ultimately drives the market share numbers.

 

[cruiseoveride]

Did you just take a course on microeconomics?

Why do you insist on me teaching you everything?

Mathematics is a pure science. According to Newtonian physics equations i can mathematically predict your every move, but in reality you have free will to move wherever you like. Does that mean his model was wrong? No it wasnt.

I used a very simplistic approach. It will work for a few years. There is no limiting factor to that equation. It does not take into account Vista, or OSX. Your job is to do a detailed analysis. Dont make me tell you what your job is.

And stop blabbering about economics. You wrote a load of bull. And you have 8 pages of comments that say *Your* logic is flawed.

Try to write something credible for once. Its harder. But its more rewarding.

 

[cruiseoveride]

[citation][nom]hellcat[/nom] From what I read about Windows 7 it'll take up less room on a drive (8 GB of disk space, compared to about 5-6 GB for XP and 19 GB for Vista).[/citation]

XP is 1gb install

 

[Tindytim]

[citation][nom]Alexandru4[/nom]Mac OS X is based on a BSD kernel, thus it's a UNIX clone as well. That's why its more stable than windows.[/citation]
No, that's one of the reasons it's less virus prone, the other being it's market share, especially in a Corporate setting.

Stability is a different story. Windows will crash because of malicious code, or bad app programming. Macs crash because their operating system isn't as stable (doesn't have to be, their marketing campaign makes up for all the faults).

 

[AlanDang]

[citation][nom]cruiseoveride[/nom]I used a very simplistic approach. It will work for a few years.[/citation]

That is our fundamental difference of opinion. The rate of change that is predicted with regression is only valid if the rate of change remains constant. You believe that the rate of change in the near-future will be similar to the rate of change in the past and therefore you are advocating for a statistical approach.

On the other hand, if a person believes that upcoming internal and external forces on Windows, Linux, and OS X will be of sufficient magnitudes to result in a deviation from the historical trend (as I do), then a pure statistical analysis would be inaccurate.

I've made my predictions in writing, and I encourage you to do the same and let the published data in 2009 prove that you were right if that may be the case. I see no purpose in arguing back and forth when it is clear that this fundamental difference of opinion is irreconcilable.

 

[Tindytim]

[citation][nom]AlanDang[/nom]That is our fundamental difference of opinion. The rate of change that is predicted with regression is only valid if the rate of change remains constant. You believe that the rate of change in the near-future will be similar to the rate of change in the past and therefore you are advocating for a statistical approach. On the other hand, if a person believes that upcoming internal and external forces on Windows, Linux, and OS X will be of sufficient magnitudes to result in a deviation from the historical trend (as I do), then a pure statistical analysis would be inaccurate. I've made my predictions in writing, and I encourage you to do the same and let the published data in 2009 prove that you were right if that may be the case. I see no purpose in arguing back and forth when it is clear that this fundamental difference of opinion is irreconcilable.[/citation]

You implied Firefox was a lesser Browser (and then praised Safari). I think you lost the whole argument on reason a while back.

Although I do believe the market share on Windows decreasing, I certainly think Windows 7 will keep Windows dominance (I probably won't being using it at release, and will probably stick to Ubuntu, but I cannot contain my excitement).

 

[Guest]

If the Mac market share does go because of "new enthusiasts who want a system that “just works"" then it will be counter productive for them. I learned from playing with my wife's Mac that it does any but "just work" the way a fanatical Mac users would like the world to believe. The more the market share goes up the more complaints and negativity will be reported. It just plain statistics.

 

[garydale]

I have to disagree with some assessments made about the future of Linux. While home users may be content to put up with crashes, malware and anti-virus subscriptions (among other problems), the corporate world isn't. They want a stable, easy to maintain, desktop environment for their employees. Increasingly that means Linux. And that means increasing exposure to the Linux desktop and increasing numbers trained in using it.

Macs won't crack that market in big numbers because their machines cost too much for budget-wary businesses.

Linux is also stealthily creeping into the home through the large numbers of people who aren't looking to play the latest video games. They want e-mail, web browsing, and other productivity apps. And the relatives who support them don't want to put up with fixing Windows every few weeks or months.

And yes, many of these people also want reasonable performance and a modern desktop to run on their older hardware. With Microsoft abandoning XP and Vista still being buggy bloatware, Linux is a no-brainer.

And even dedicated gamers often go for an X-box, play station or Wii instead of paying big bucks for a high-performance PC game machine.

Yes, you can often plug in the latest the video card into a Windows box and it will run, but the same is usually true of Linux these days too. Plus Linux supports a huge range of hardware that Vista doesn't.

Moreover, while Vista is slowly moving Windows users over to 64bits, Linux has been there for a couple of years. You don't have to choose between the larger driver base of 32bits versus the performance of 64bits with Linux. You get both.

The only Linux users who run 32bit versions are those with 32bit machines. With Vista, you probably aren't going out next year to buy a new operating system to upgrade to 64bits. You'll stick with the 32bit version installed on your nice Core2 Duo machine, probably not even realizing that you're running a crippled version.

The nice thing about Linux these days is that things just work. It's like running a Mac only with your choice of hardware.

My prediction is that you will see an increasingly steep decline in Windows market share, matched with the comparable growth of Linux.

 

[WheelsOfConfusion]

All this discussion over Linux has my curiosity piqued.

I'd like to see Tom's put together some Tuxboxes (like "Old," "Cheap," "Mainstream," maybe?). Maybe evaluate them with the Phoronix suite or some Linux native/WINE games, and you have a lot of media transcoding options to mess with. Perhaps document some of the finagling if there are hardware or configuration issues. Maybe even reuse the same hardware over and over while testing out different distributions and point out where they contrast in things like ease of use or performance.

I think Tom's has a lot to offer the readers by evaluating the Linux options the way y'all delve into these SMBs.

 

[cruiseoveride]

[citation][nom]WheelsOfConfusion[/nom]All this discussion over Linux has my curiosity piqued. I'd like to see Tom's put together some Tuxboxes (like "Old," "Cheap," "Mainstream," maybe?). Maybe evaluate them with the Phoronix suite or some Linux native/WINE games, and you have a lot of media transcoding options to mess with. Perhaps document some of the finagling if there are hardware or configuration issues. Maybe even reuse the same hardware over and over while testing out different distributions and point out where they contrast in things like ease of use or performance. I think Tom's has a lot to offer the readers by evaluating the Linux options the way y'all delve into these SMBs.[/citation]
Now when was the last time you read something of that nature on Toms?

 

[Guest]

My take on the linux thing.

The problem is that people like shiny things.

Maybe you have ignored what KDE4 has done (with Kwin effects and everything) and what you can do with gnome and compiz. Lets not forget the easily downloadable and installable themes for each desktop and you can even build your own. and trust me it isn't going into command line and tweaking files. In fact in KDE4 I can download themes from the settings menu, get a preview of it and apply it without having to open another window or even using the command line or keyboard.

The problem arises when the consumer decides to upgrade to get a new printer or a new HDTV tuner and suddenly discovers that Linux does not support the new hardware.

Really? cause most times configuring printers in linux is easier than windows cause I don't need drivers. In fact if you could point out some of the mainstream printers and other hardware items not supported by linux I'd be happy to pass those on to the kernel developers, As one of there main goals is to support all modern devices out right now.

However, most consumers want plug-and-play, and that’s where Linux fails.

This is the point at which I know you haven't used linux enough to know how easy it is. Ubuntu is plug and play. In fact most of the distros released now are plug and play. Ubuntu even offers to install non opensource drivers to make wireless and graphic cards work better.

Want a modern Web browser? You’re stuck with Firefox.

Firefox, konqueror, opera, arora, Epiphany just to name the ones I can get from the suse repos. If I were to search harder I could find more. And all of them are maintained. RAW camera pictures, didgikam and gnome picture editor can edit those pictures. and koffice will offer a feature to support that too.

It’s just as stable as Linux and offers the same or even better out-of-the-box security

Umm I think a recent hacking convention reveled you could hack a mac in 30 minutes. The linux machine lasted about 2 days.